Disappearing Cantaloupe

[so lucky]

I am growing Chantelle (sp?) cantaloupes on my garden fence. I was keeping my eye on the biggest one, about 5 1/2 inches in diameter, growing on the ground. I even stuffed some straw underneath it to provide a barrier to the wet ground. Well, yesterday I noticed it is gone! The vines look a little disheveled in the area, and the straw is gone too. I asked my DH if he nicked it with the weedeater (accidentally) and destroyed the evidence. He says no. We have no neighborhood kids that would do that, and I can't think of any garden pest big enough to carry away a cantaloupe. Any ideas?

 

[desertlady]

Oh!! that will upset me ! GRRRRR!!! anything will love that canteloupe, rabbits, coyotes, gophers , etc. Sorry for your loss

 

[hoodat]

That's a human and not necessarily a kid. If it was an animal it wouldn't have carried it off, but eaten it on the spot, in which case you would see bits and pieces of it around.

 

[Smart Red]

I suspect human intervention as well. If I had that problem, I'd try a spraying pest detector, wildlife cameras, or/and leave a few cans of chemicals around for the thieves to see. It may be that they've already tasted a great melon and wouldn't care about deterrents when going for more, but if they tend to prefer organic, that should solve the problem.

 

[vfem]

Oh, I bet it was a people... those people pests are thieving and tricky... they envy your hard work and simply take what they want. I wish we had people traps, or something I could spray to keep them away from stealing the bounty. Alas, even using some of the most dangerous poisons on the people food one could think of, turns out they sell those foods at the grocery store and the people pay for it. So far there is no record it finally killed those people pests... then again, maybe they're just not keeping records. Wish I had better advice!

 

[Smart Red]

I didn't suggest USING the chemicals on the garden or melons. Then I'd not want them myself. I would just leave some containers around the garden and near the melons to make them think you use they on your foods. For many people that would be a turn off. Of course, there are folks who don't know and don't care as long as the price is right - $0.

 

[lesa]

They have these sprayers that are on a sensor- or that come on at certain intervals. They are meant to frighten animals- they might not keep humans away, but at least they would get a surprise and hopefully be unhappy about it. That really stinks!

 

[so lucky]

You know, where I live, there's just not much chance of anybody coming into my yard and doing damage. And the cantaloupe wasn't even ripe. The vines weren't torn up enough for someone or thing to have yanked it off, I don't think. My DH is not sneaky, but it seems he is the logical one to blame. And he does make a lot of boo-boos. But he usually fesses up to his mistakes. Oh well. Guess it will remain a mystery. Not enough of a big deal to buy a game camera or motion sensor sprayer, etc. Unless, of course the rest of them start disappearing. Then we'll have to bring out the artillery!

 

[strantor]

If it was an animal it wouldn't have carried it off, but eaten it on the spot, in which case you would see bits and pieces of it around.

I suspect it was a human as well, but for the record...
My dog knows she isn't supposed to get into the cat food, but she does it anyway. I've caught her in the act a couple of times, so she figured out that eating it on the spot is a bust. She's started climbing up on the shelf where the cat food bowl is, grabbing the bowl in her mouth (keeping it upright) and climbing down ever so slowly and gracefully so as not to spill any. once she gets on the ground with the food, she makes a b-line for the back yard and takes it behind the garage to eat it. She will not eat it from the dish though; once she gets back there, she dumps it out in the grass and then eats it. She hasn't yet figured out that in order to seal the deal and cover her tracks, she needs to bring the dish back and put it where she got it.

 

[baymule]

If it was an animal it wouldn't have carried it off, but eaten it on the spot, in which case you would see bits and pieces of it around.

I suspect it was a human as well, but for the record...
My dog knows she isn't supposed to get into the cat food, but she does it anyway. I've caught her in the act a couple of times, so she figured out that eating it on the spot is a bust. She's started climbing up on the shelf where the cat food bowl is, grabbing the bowl in her mouth (keeping it upright) and climbing down ever so slowly and gracefully so as not to spill any. once she gets on the ground with the food, she makes a b-line for the back yard and takes it behind the garage to eat it. She will not eat it from the dish though; once she gets back there, she dumps it out in the grass and then eats it. She hasn't yet figured out that in order to seal the deal and cover her tracks, she needs to bring the dish back and put it where she got it.

Is there any way you could get that on video? You could win the $10,000 prize on funniest home videos!