Here’s the deal.
When I began writing this post, I didn’t know what animal eats begonias…
…but I did know that “what animal eats begonias” is a barely-searched term that nobody has exact-match text for. I’m running a little experiment to prove that I can rank this page by simply using the phrase in simply structured copy that has all the elements of optimization in place.
And don’t worry; I won’t leave you hanging if you really came here to find the answer to your question. (Just scroll down to find out what animals eat begonias–and which ones don’t.)
What Animal Eats Begonias?
Maybe a better question is what animal doesn’t eat begonias?
It turns out that deer don’t really like begonias. At least, they don’t have a penchant for nibbling on wax begonia, which is an annual flower. Who knew?
It’s also important for you to know that while the University of Florida doesn’t have any data on whether key deer will eat begonias, they can tell us that iguanas typically ignore them.
Whew. That’s two down!
Don’t get too excited if you’re planting begonias, though. You may be sending your cat to his or her doom.
Cats eat begonias, and they’re toxic to felines, according to the University of Florida.
What Animal Bugs Eat Begonias?
You may not need to worry about four-legged animals demolishing your beautiful garden-variety begonias, though; slugs can power-eat their way through a whole patch before you know it.
Snails can do the same. Sure, they look harmless… but they eat a lot faster than they move. They can feed all night, leaving you with a flower-garden catastrophe on your hands.
(If you want to find out whether slugs and snails are snacking on your annuals, it’s a good idea to create a Black Ops scenario that involves camouflage and a flashlight in the darkest hour of night. You can skip the camouflage–I’m not sure that snails and slugs have great night vision–but the flashlight is a must when you sneak up on your plants to stop the all-night buffet).
Aphids might be the problem, too. If something’s eating your begonias and leaving behind a sticky, slimy substance or something that looks like black soot, you can consider it an aphid’s calling card.
Caterpillars and earwigs munch little, round holes in begonia leaves, so that’s your tip-off if either of those pests are wreaking havoc in your garden.
Other nasty pests that snack on begonias include:
- Fungus gnats
- Mealybugs
- Shore flies
- Spider mites
- Thrips
- Whiteflies
Gross, huh?
Did You Figure Out What Animal Eats Begonias in Your Garden?
Hopefully you’ve been able to pinpoint the rascally varmint that’s been eating your begonias.
If not, it may be a good idea to set up an audio/visual system that alerts you when an animal is eating your begonias.
Disclaimer: I am neither a garden expert nor an animal expert, but I’ve provided you with links in the text above where you can go for more information on what animal eats begonias. I’m only doing this as an experiment for optimizing pages so my clients can see that what I’m explaining works.
I do hope you figure out what’s plaguing your garden, though. For real!