Question
I have flower boxes on my deck planted with pansies. Every night some animal is digging into these boxes and uprooting the plants.
The plants aren't eaten, just dug up.
I live in the foothills of NC. How can I stop this?

Answer
Before you can even consider how to stop it, you have to identify the culprit.  There is precious little to go on, so here are your options,

armadillo, skunk, raccoon, squirrel, rat.

You can try to simply fence the plants. Don't waste your time with repellens unless you like spending money. Exclusion is the way to go. I suspect the problem will decline as spring comes into blossom. Further details are at http://icwdm.org