Something is eating Alice’s Daffodil Bulbs.

Hi all

I thought this might be a good time to share some stories with Alice who just wrote us about her Daffodil Bulbs being eaten. Alice says:

“””My sister has many varieties of daffodil growing in her Virginia yard. Suddenly something is eating the bulbs — she suspects chipmunks who are voracious in her garden. Is this even possible? would anything else be able to eat them?”””

Most of the time we never have trouble with anything bothering Daffodil bulbs. However, I have nosy squirrels who often dig up freshly planted bulbs. They don’t eat them. They’re just nosy. I have had chipmunks get into my containers of warm weather cultivars and chomp into them. And, those pesky moles will push bulbs out of the ground when they tunnel under them.

Please pass on some stories for Alice

5 comments for “Something is eating Alice’s Daffodil Bulbs.

  1. Unless, there is a new critter that we don’t know about, I do not believe it is chipmunks eating the bulbs. Daffodil bulbs would be poison to Chipmunks as well as to squirrels.

    I would guess that she has a problem with the small bulb flies that eat damaged bulbs, or she has a bad case of basal rot, or worse nematodes. When I lived in Virginia years ago, as well as in Bethesda, MD I had problems with the small bulb flies.

    Clay

  2. Actually, it looks like chipmunks have recently been chewing on some ‘Autumn Colors Group’ fall-blooming daffodil bulbs that were in pots on my back patio.  I also had several avocado trees in pots there and first one of the avocado seeds (still half-out of the dirt like they are planted) was mostly eaten and the tree above was cut off.  The next week I notice a couple of partially eaten bulbs on top of the pot of ‘Autumn Colors Group’ daffodils.  I haven’t seen any dead chipmunks and you would think they would prefer the sunflower seeds nearby I put out for the birds (that the chipmunks fill their chubby little cheeks with and take to hide for the winter) , but I’m assuming chipmunks are who chewed at least part of several of daffodil bulbs.  We can say critters don’t “usually” eat daffodil bulbs, but I don’t think we can say “never.”

  3. Becky,

    You are correct. The wild and species daffodils are eaten by animals all the time. I can’t keep miniatures and species outside my fence because they eat the foliate. However, normally “critters” don’t eat the bulbs. I had one chipmunk at our place in Maryland that I called “fat boy” and he ate my species tulips foliage as well as some miniature species daffodils back at the coy pond. However, I have never seem them eat bulbs as such.

    Put the little “small bulb flies’ will consume injured daffodil bulbs.

    Clay

  4. I suspect that woodlice, earwigs and/or slugs chew exposed bulbs at my place.
    Dave

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