A couple of weeks ago I reported that badgers had eaten my sweetcorn.
Today somebody on the allotments said it was not badgers but foxes.
He had not seen them but thought that the signs he had seen indicated
foxes.
Do foxes eat sweetcorn? I thought they are carnivores. We've had the
same thing happen before with sweetcorn. This year and last the
carrots were also eaten. Carrots and sweetcorn, on most allotments.
Badgers or foxes?

Pam in Bristol

"Pam Moore" wrote in message
...
A couple of weeks ago I reported that badgers had eaten my sweetcorn.
Today somebody on the allotments said it was not badgers but foxes.
He had not seen them but thought that the signs he had seen indicated
foxes.
Do foxes eat sweetcorn? I thought they are carnivores. We've had the
same thing happen before with sweetcorn. This year and last the
carrots were also eaten. Carrots and sweetcorn, on most allotments.
Badgers or foxes?

Pam in Bristol

maybe the fox converts the carrots and corn into rabbits then eats the
rabbits...

On 2009-09-17 18:11:47 +0100, Pam Moore said:

A couple of weeks ago I reported that badgers had eaten my sweetcorn.
Today somebody on the allotments said it was not badgers but foxes.
He had not seen them but thought that the signs he had seen indicated
foxes.
Do foxes eat sweetcorn? I thought they are carnivores. We've had the
same thing happen before with sweetcorn. This year and last the
carrots were also eaten. Carrots and sweetcorn, on most allotments.
Badgers or foxes?

Pam in Bristol

Could be a combination of critters, Pam. Could deer be around there
going for the corn?
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

On Sep 17, 6:11*pm, Pam Moore wrote:
A couple of weeks ago I reported that badgers had eaten my sweetcorn.
Today somebody on the allotments said it was not badgers but foxes.
He had not seen them but thought that the signs he had seen indicated
foxes.
Do foxes eat sweetcorn? I thought they are carnivores. We've had the
same thing happen before with sweetcorn. *This year and last the
carrots were also eaten. *Carrots and sweetcorn, on most allotments.
Badgers or foxes?

No, Pam, it is undoubtedly Freddie Starr - he ate my hamster!

Pam Moore wrote:
A couple of weeks ago I reported that badgers had eaten my sweetcorn.
Today somebody on the allotments said it was not badgers but foxes.
He had not seen them but thought that the signs he had seen indicated
foxes.
Do foxes eat sweetcorn? I thought they are carnivores. We've had the
same thing happen before with sweetcorn. This year and last the
carrots were also eaten. Carrots and sweetcorn, on most allotments.
Badgers or foxes?

Pam in Bristol
My S.Corn is fine even with a resident fox on the allotment. He/she digs
around new plantings but never eats anything.
--
Pete C
London UK

In message , Pam Moore
writes
A couple of weeks ago I reported that badgers had eaten my sweetcorn.
Today somebody on the allotments said it was not badgers but foxes.
He had not seen them but thought that the signs he had seen indicated
foxes.
Do foxes eat sweetcorn? I thought they are carnivores. We've had the
same thing happen before with sweetcorn. This year and last the
carrots were also eaten. Carrots and sweetcorn, on most allotments.
Badgers or foxes?

Pam in Bristol

On the local allotment it is squirrels that are blamed for eating
sweetcorn. The proposed solution is to grown squashes round them - that
is supposed to deter the squirrels.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

In article ,
Chris Hogg wrote:

Farmers in these parts grow fields of maize for cattle fodder (I think
the whole plant is shredded to make a silage. Said to improve milk
yield relative to ordinary grass silage). Occasionally you see patches
around the edge of the field that have been flattened, say a few yards
square, and the cobs partially eaten. I have always assumed it to be
badger damage, as I don't see that foxes would flatten it down on such
a large scale. The maize stalks stand six feet high and are quite
sturdy.

Try deer or wild boar.

Green monkeys are a major problem, and baboons are much, much worse,
but global warming hasn't reached the level that they are major UK
pests yet.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Pam Moore" wrote...
A couple of weeks ago I reported that badgers had eaten my sweetcorn.
Today somebody on the allotments said it was not badgers but foxes.
He had not seen them but thought that the signs he had seen indicated
foxes.
Do foxes eat sweetcorn? I thought they are carnivores. We've had the
same thing happen before with sweetcorn. This year and last the
carrots were also eaten. Carrots and sweetcorn, on most allotments.
Badgers or foxes?

More likely to be Rats and Mice especially if the cobs are eaten whilst
still on the plants.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
just W. of London

On Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:41:57 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 2009-09-17 18:11:47 +0100, Pam Moore said:

A couple of weeks ago I reported that badgers had eaten my sweetcorn.
Today somebody on the allotments said it was not badgers but foxes.
He had not seen them but thought that the signs he had seen indicated
foxes.
Do foxes eat sweetcorn? I thought they are carnivores. We've had the
same thing happen before with sweetcorn. This year and last the
carrots were also eaten. Carrots and sweetcorn, on most allotments.
Badgers or foxes?

Pam in Bristol

Could be a combination of critters, Pam. Could deer be around there
going for the corn?

Thanks for suggestions!
No deer or wild boar on the site. Not rats, mice, rabbits, or
squirrels. The plants were pulled down and mangled, the empty cobs
left lying.
We've had badgers before and I'd put my money on those. Just curious
to know if foxes would do it.


Pam in Bristol

On Thu, 17 Sep 2009, Pam Moore wrote
A couple of weeks ago I reported that badgers had eaten my sweetcorn.
Today somebody on the allotments said it was not badgers but foxes.
He had not seen them but thought that the signs he had seen indicated
foxes.
Do foxes eat sweetcorn? I thought they are carnivores. We've had the
same thing happen before with sweetcorn. This year and last the
carrots were also eaten. Carrots and sweetcorn, on most allotments.
Badgers or foxes?

In my bit of south-west France it's wild boar - they even surround the
fields with low-level electric fences to keep them off. I've heard
there are wild boar in the west of England.... how likely is that for
you?



--
Kate B

PS 'elvira' is spamtrapped - please reply to 'elviraspam' at cockaigne dot org dot uk if you
want to reply personally

On 2009-09-17 23:09:34 +0100, Kate Brown said:

On Thu, 17 Sep 2009, Pam Moore wrote
A couple of weeks ago I reported that badgers had eaten my sweetcorn.
Today somebody on the allotments said it was not badgers but foxes.
He had not seen them but thought that the signs he had seen indicated
foxes.
Do foxes eat sweetcorn? I thought they are carnivores. We've had the
same thing happen before with sweetcorn. This year and last the
carrots were also eaten. Carrots and sweetcorn, on most allotments.
Badgers or foxes?

In my bit of south-west France it's wild boar - they even surround the
fields with low-level electric fences to keep them off. I've heard
there are wild boar in the west of England.... how likely is that for
you?

Haven't seen them but they're now living in wild colonies here and
there on Dartmoor.
--
Sacha

"Pam Moore" wrote in message
...
A couple of weeks ago I reported that badgers had eaten my sweetcorn.
Today somebody on the allotments said it was not badgers but foxes.
He had not seen them but thought that the signs he had seen indicated
foxes.
Do foxes eat sweetcorn? I thought they are carnivores. We've had the
same thing happen before with sweetcorn. This year and last the
carrots were also eaten. Carrots and sweetcorn, on most allotments.
Badgers or foxes?

Pam in Bristol

Check the evidence. Pics of Badger paw shaping at
http://www.badgers.org.uk/badgerpage...badger-29.html

and nice comparison at

http://www.iwight.com/living_here/pl.../Badgers01.jpg


Foxes eat all sorts, at this time of year purple fox poo is evident from
Damsons and berries as well.
Badgers will happily co-exist in a larger area with others if there is
little threat to them, but are primarily a secretive creature avoiding
others and conflict where they can preferring their own "world" and peace.
Unfortunately they don't co exist with cars, as the one outside our house
yesterday morning found out. :-(
If it is Badgers then be honoured that they are around and watch them very
quietly (If you can find them) from a distance.

In article ,
Pam Moore wrote:

No deer or wild boar on the site. Not rats, mice, rabbits, or
squirrels. The plants were pulled down and mangled, the empty cobs
left lying.

Don't bet on it not being deer. Unless the site is completely
surrounded by deer-proof fencing, they get to the most surprising
places. They also travel fair distances to feed. Note that I am
referring to muntjac and roe, primarily, as those are the ones that
are most usually missed.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Sep 17, 10:37*pm, Pam Moore wrote:

Thanks for suggestions!
No deer or wild boar on the site. *Not rats, mice, rabbits, or
squirrels. *The plants were pulled down and mangled, the empty cobs
left lying.
We've had badgers before and I'd put my money on those. Just curious
to know if foxes would do it.

Nobody's suggested the possibility of the jolly green giant yet!

I would say that your sweet corn has been eaten by Badgers,we have the same trouble on our site and although we put strong wire mesh around the corn the Badgers always seem to break it down,something a Fox would not be able to do owing to the strength of the mesh. Billit