Kitchen Garden Forum

Something is eating my pea seedlings. I can't see any slug trails. Could it be mice? Here is a link to a picture I took of them if that is of any help. http://www.vegswap.co.uk/blog/image....otment+009.jpg. How would I stop mice? I think they ate my carrots last year too. Help!!

I can't get your photo to open, but wonder if the birds are eating the pea shoots. Pigeons, collared doves and sparrows are very fond of any new shoots.

Wire netting tunnels are quite a good way to keep them off until the plants are large enough to climb up the pea sticks or supports. Sparrows used to be such a menace that I had to rig up cages to keep them off the plants even when they were tall, but we've only got three sparrows in the garden just now so they aren't much of a problem.

I would still put a few slug pellets down too and check in the morning if there are any dead slugs around. It is usually the tiny keel slugs that aren't easy to see that get the peas.

http://www.vegswap.co.uk/blog/image.axd ... nt+009.jpg

Hopefully that works better-sorry. Thanks for the advice. It seems such a battle sometimes getting anything left for ourselves after all the pests have taken their share!!

I have had the same problem this year, vegswap, but it can't have been birds in our case because the plants are covered by wire netting, BUT that means the mice still get at them and I feel sure it's mice which have nibbled some of the top shoots of the peas. It probably happened when it was very dry until a few years ago, now that it's wet, it seems to have stopped.

Hello Vegswap
I would suspect birds, most likely sparrows. I have the same problem and can only grow peas under netting. Once the sparrows have discovered your peas they will keep on at them even as the plants get older. They will go for the young tips, flowers and pods if you get that far. I would suggest that you use some sort of temporary cage covered in netting.

John

Another likely culprit - pea/bean weevil.

Hi Alan,
Before I got to your photo, but had looked at Vegswap's photo, I thought its those Bl--dy Weevils again.
Strangely people seem to expect them to appear only on Broad Beans but they can very seriously affect Peas as I suspect is the case here.
It seems that the damage done to Broad Beans doesn't affect the crop but with Peas they seem to attack the growing point.
JB.

I have noticed wood pigeons eating my neighbours peas. After she netted them the trouble ceased.