What can be the culprit cutting off my 3-feet tall corn plant at the base?

Question

Help. Mine wasn't cut at the top. This morning I found 2 of my 10 stalks got cut at the base, near the roots. One stalk was almost 3 feet tall :-(

What could it be? Only culprits I can think of are squirrels and birds. Will a slug cut through a 3 foot tall, with its thickness at the stem?

Answer 1

Sorry about your corn.  I tend to lose corn to high winds, but can save 50% of them by "staking" them with rocks and soil around them.

Three feet tall is too big for a cut worm to cut corn, but I'm thinking if perhaps you had raccoons come by and tear up some corn?  They do like that stuff and have no scruples about tearing gardens open looking for roots and root-burrowing insects.

Answer 2

It doesn't sound like a cutworm or slug on a plant this tall.A good possibility is a gopher rat.It is not common, but they will do it occasionally.I lost dozens of ponsettias one year in a greenhouse before realizing who the culprit could be.Several large traps with peanut butter on the trip device for a few nights showed my assumption was correct, and stopped the problem.

Answer 3

Do you know if there is deer in your area? I also grew corn this year, and most of the plants are getting eat up by them because I don't have a fence around them.

Putting up a shiny object such as a pan on a stick by your corn, or a bright color plastic bag may deter them from coming.

Answer 4

A Weedwacker...

Answer 5

Do you have racoons in your area?

That would be my first guess, then birds.  I don't think a slug could get all the way through the stalk without you noticing the damage first.....