Question
First off:  Many thanks for any help you can provide.

I live in north-central Massachusetts, in an area that is slightly-moderately
populated but is still "in the woods".  I live on 2.2 acres, of which only about
.7 acres are cleared for my home and yard.  The rest is unaltered, though
there are neighbors about 75 meters away on either side.  

I've planted some decorative perennials in the past few years, including
some in just the past few weeks, and for (almost) the first time see that
some of them are getting eaten.  A few years back I had some strawberries
that got eaten as soon as they ripened.  

It appeared at first that the culprit favored only some Black-Eyed Susans,
very clearly having avoided some daisies located just in between them.  It
looks to be caused by a large herbivore and not insects (Entire stems
chewed down, not just leaf damage.  My landscaper/gardeners agree.  They
seem very knowledgeable).  Now I have a newly planted perennial (not sure
of its name), which promptly got munched.  

I have many chipmunks living on my property, but have never seen this
before.  Also, I've seen deer here in the past, but none in the past two years,
though they may still be around (hopefully!).  Ten days ago I did see a
groundhog/woodchuck in my yard, as well as a large turtle.  I saw a rabbit
in my yard last year, but not since then.  

I've put moth-balls around the effected plants, on the advice of my
landscaper, but it's too soon to tell if they are an effective deterrent.  I'm
told (Is this true?) that they will not harm the plants.  And they don't look
very good, and are smelly.  

Do you have any recommendations for how I might best prevent my plants
from getting eaten?  I'm against killing any of the wildlife that lives on my
property, and just want to keep them from eating my decorative plants.  

Again, I'm thankful for any advice you may be able to provide.

Steven DiCastro, MD

Answer
Hi Steven,

If you saw a groundhog... that's the likely culprit. However deer are night foragers and would go unnoticed.  Look for their hoof prints. The best groundhog deterrent I know is mint. They hate it! You can plant it around, spread it around and you can also stuff it down their burrows to run them off. Any mint works but I find mountain mint the easiest to grow in dry areas. If it is deer, I make some fantastic electronic deterrents. Here is my web site.

http://www.freewebs.com/walnut_creek_enterprises/

Dan