It is frustrating  to start a new garden and have the plants destroyed. How do you know it is rats and/or mice eating your plants? Have you seen them or evidence of their presence? The reason I ask is though either rats and mice will nibble on leaves and blooms, they really prefer other types of food.

Some signs of rat habitations include rat droppings usually found around food sources such as pet food, remnants of rat nests which can look like piles of shredded material - paper, cloth, dry leaves, dead rat carcasses or live rats, signs of feeding on fruit or nuts and burrows among plants

There are generally 2 types of rats found in the US, roof rats and Norway rats. It is important to figure out which one you have as the control methods can be different. Norway rats eat a wide variety of foods but mostly prefer cereal grains, meats, fish, nuts, and some fruits. Roof rats eat a wide variety of foods, but their food preferences are primarily fruits, nuts, berries, slugs, and snails.

There are several species of mice which live in and around humans. They leave similar signs as those of rats if present. However, the signs are usually smaller. They prefer to feed on grains but will nibble at a wide variety of foods.

Rodent control is best achieved with and integrated approach. Sanitation, exclusion, traps and sometimes poison. Remove piles of vegetation, make sure garbage, stored seeds and pet food are sealed in containers, store lumber, firewood, boxes and gardening equipment off the ground.

Trapping is effective tool. Place the traps where the rats or mice are, bait them with tasty morsels securely tied or even glued to the trap. One good strategy is to place the bait on the trap without securing until it is regularly taken by the rodent and then secure it. This allows the rat or mouse to become familiar and at easy with the trap and increases capture rate significantly. A few attractive baits include bacon, cotton balls (looks like nesting material), raisin for roof rates, sardines for Norway rats and whole nuts.

There is a lot more to learn about rats and mice and their control. Two good resources for more in depth info are Rats from the Univ. of California IPM Online at www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7410... and Rat and Mouse Control from the Univ. of Florida at edis.ifas.ufl.edu/DH044

There are many other things which could be eating your petunia transplants. Likely culprits include rabbits, deer and the dreaded cutworm. Check our L2Gs article, Cutting Down Cutworms by Tom Weissling at www.learn2grow.com/problemsolvers/insect... and  Critter Control by Sarah Landicho at www.learn2grow.com/gardeningguides/tools... for more info about these pest.

Lets us know what you find and what works best for you