I am growing various melons and doing pretty good but started getting melons with a single large hole and it’s hollowed out inside. These are not ripe melons but half grown green melons. I am placing in mesh net bags, but if too tight they just eat through the mesh. I am in suburb community with 1/4 acre lots with squirrels, I have seen an opossum, and I have caught a few rats. There are no raccoons, no deer, no coyotes, no skunks. I am going to put out a trap again in case it’s a rat.
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Mice, rats, any number of small rodents. Some people put small melons on pots or diy stands to keep them off the ground.
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They are after the moisture it appears. Turtles are notorious for doing that but getting through netting takes work. We always lose a few cantaloupe to turtles. When it is turtles there will be large cuts on the sides of the melons like a knife where the claws dugs in. Look for a hole like that in the center but scratches on each side of the hole. Rats are a real possibility.
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I’ve also had some small melons eaten like this…but as mentioned they aren’t really eaten as much as used for their water content.
If you’re area goes through a dry spell, animals (for me rodents like squirrels) will seek them for water.
I’ve been told if you put out an accessible water source they will have no reason to try the melons out.
If mosquitoes are a concern for your water tub or whatever way you are providing water, the big box stores sell an animal safe dissolvable product to keep mosquitoes from using it to multiply.
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