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I planted 6 lettuce plants and this morning 3 of them are completely nipped. Do you know if they will grow back as only a little bit of the leaves are left. Also how do I protect the rest? I also have cabbage and cauliflower in the same bed and they left most of them alone.

Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL
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Abhishek Misra
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    How is your rabbit population? Could be mice or rats as well. Can you see the teeth marks? Please send a picture. Are these on your patio in pots or are they in a garden? Could also be cut worm. I'd go out at night with a flash light. It only takes one cut worm to gobble up lettuce and that would be first before the brassicas with thick tougher leaves. Looks like a thick caterpillar and when it falls it will curl into a tight ball. Cut it in half, poor thing but very damaging to a vegey garden! You could purchase ROW CLOTH, a light, white cloth made for gardens that you could tuck... – stormy Mar 25 '17 at 02:17
  • ...into the soil. Your brassicas especially will need this stuff as they are vulnerable to a fly that lays its eggs at the roots and the larvae eat the roots. This row cloth tucked into the soil, weighted down by soil will stop the fly from laying its eggs at the roots. Cover the lettuce as well. – stormy Mar 25 '17 at 02:19
  • ...and yes, your lettuce should grow back. I'd go get more however and not rely on those growing back... – stormy Mar 25 '17 at 02:21
  • Thanks stormy! Will look tonight. I have seen rabbits in front yard so I am assuming these are rabbits eating. Are there any plants I can mix to avoid rabbits from eating my veggies? – Abhishek Misra Mar 25 '17 at 02:23
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    Hi AbhishekMisra! [This question](http://gardening.stackexchange.com/questions/14929/what-vegetable-fruits-plants-will-rabbits-not-eat) has some good recommendations for plants rabbits don't like. If that doesn't help, feel free to ask that as a separate question! – Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL Mar 25 '17 at 19:52

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There are many reasons why this may be happening. Rabbits, squirrels, mice/voles, cut worms, snails/slugs, etc. You will have to observe to see if there are foot marks in the soil or by going out at night with a flash light and looking under the leaves. As suggested by stormy, if you can cover these with a row cloth, the likelihood of damage from rabbits, squirrels, mice, cut worms, etc. goes away. Snails/Slugs will still be an issue. Good luck!

JStorage
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