Pest Eating Zucchini Flower Buds

[Jennifer Roussin]

Nothing in two big rat/mice glue traps, and more holes chewed in zuc buds, but not as bad. I staked and pruned the zucchini plants, thinking at least if the buds are higher up it might help. Plus, now they are not suffocating the rest of my bed. I have limited space since I'm in an urban area and have a small yard. I also covered them in bird netting, making sure there are no gaps at the bottom. I have straw for mulch. Could this be the problem? Nothing was bothering them before I lay the mulch down.

I'm now thinking slugs/snails, as crazy conure says. Caterpillars? I saw none at all when I was pruning and staking yesterday. However I'm not seeing any slug trails. I'm stumpled. I need to get batteries for my flashlight and check it out. What is the best way to get rid of slugs?

 

[headfullofbees]

It looks like birds are another candidate, which may be a problem, as sticky traps don't work in the sky.

 

[Jennifer Roussin]

It looks like birds are another candidate, which may be a problem, as sticky traps don't work in the sky.

LOL!!

I have bird netting in place.

 

[Jennifer Roussin]

I eat zucchini blossoms, and drive humans crazy for a month before I finally get caught. I'm smart enough to crawl under an opening in bird netting at ground level.

 

[Chuck]

View attachment 13805 I eat zucchini blossoms, and drive humans crazy for a month before I finally get caught. I'm smart enough to crawl under an opening in bird netting at ground level.

I have literally dozens of cardinals and I have never seen one doing anything in the garden except eating bugs and sometimes freshly sown seeds

 

[Jennifer Roussin]

I have a very special female cardinal with epicurian tastes. One website on the internet (Fairfax County Public Schools) says "Northern Cardinals eat mostly fruits and seeds throughout the year, but will rely somewhat on insects during the summer. They also sometimes eat flowers and buds. Young cardinals are fed mostly insects by their parents."