A few weeks ago we had some warm weather, which prompted last year's still buried lily bulbs to spring up. "Yay" we thought, spring is here! Finally! And then something came along and chomped off the top of the lilies, to which we say "Grrr..." So we set up the trusty trail cam to try to catch the culprit in the act. Below are some of the suspects and then a picture of who we believe is responsible. Let's get to it.

First up, we have a dark-eyed junco - sure, he's small, but this damage could have been done over days, bit by bit.

Next we have a squirrel - clearly large enough to do such damage and comes armed with teeth more than capable of snipping off the tops of the lilies.

Next, two innocent looking doves - maybe not so innocent if they're pairing up to commit such destructive acts.

And finally in our line-up of suspects - and, in my eyes, the prime suspect - we have the back end of a rabbit bolting away from the scene of the crime. I mean really, should we bother looking any further?

And so we get to the irrefutable evidence of the culprit in action. {slider=Click here to see who's responsible} Seriously, squirrel, get your face out of our lily!
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Now we have a couple of questions for you:

1. What should we do with the lilies that have been eaten? Our general philosophy, if you're going to grow in our garden, is that you need to bring your A-game, because there's going to be little help from us. So, leave them or chop them down?
2. How to prevent this from reoccurring? I've read that sprinkling some hot pepper on the plants can help - until it rains I guess.

Feel free to leave a comment below with any thoughts or ideas you might have. Just go easy on the "trip-wire hooked up to a crossbow" type of ideas...

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