Roses are beautiful, sweet-scented flowers that look good in any garden. Their big beautiful flowers attract a variety of animals and insects.

If you’re noticing that there is something eating your roses your first guess may be raccoons, but do raccoons even eat roses? This article looks into it

Raccoons do eat roses, these animals will eat almost any food that they can get their hands on, this includes roses. Raccoons enjoy roses because they don’t need to be caught as live prey do 

Do raccoons eat roses?

There is a good chance that raccoons are destroying your garden. Raccoons are omnivores, this means that they can eat both plant and animal matter.

These small creatures can eat anything from fruits, vegetables, small animals, insects, plants, grubs, fish as well as flowers, like roses, in your garden 

Roses are not only beautiful to humans, but they are also a source of food for raccoons.

Why raccoons like eating roses:

These furry animals do not see this plant as a decorative flower, only as food, and to raccoons, food is food.

Raccoons are especially attracted to the lovely smell that roses give off. This lovely smell is both a blessing and a curse to roses as it attracts animals that feed on them and humans that pick them.

Raccoons are eating machines, they will eat roses regardless of how thorny they are. These animals may even eat the buds off of your roses before the flowers get the opportunity to bloom 

Roses are enjoyed by raccoons because they are an easy source of food. If there are raccoons living in your neighborhood they will look for food any way they can, this usually involves finding food in your gardens whether it’s pet food, garbage, or plants 

Plants such as roses are preferred over foods like insects and small animals because roses do not need to be chased, hunted, or caught. 

Raccoons making a meal out of roses simply means sneaking into your garden, grabbing some roses, and then heading back to their burrows, hollow trees, abandoned buildings, or anywhere else they’ve decided to make a home.

What animal is eating my roses at night?

Raccoons aren’t the only animals that are attracted to roses, a variety of other animals also eat roses, these include: 

Squirrels:

These animals love eating roses, if you have squirrels in your garden, they are likely eating some of your roses. Signs of squirrels eating your roses include partially eaten flowers as well as shallow digging around the plant beds 

Deer:

If you have deer in your neighborhood these animals may very well be eating your roses, signs of deer eating your roses include deer droppings or deer tracks 

Caterpillars:

Budworms are a type of caterpillar that will eat at and chew through your rose petals and even your rosebuds. This chewing can damage your roses before they have had the opportunity to bloom 

Other animals:

Other animals, and insects, that eat roses include aphids, spittlebugs, snails, spider mites, Japanese beetles, leaf butter bees, rose chasers, rosebud borers, and slugs 

How do I keep raccoons from eating my roses? 

Ammonia:

One of the reasons raccoons frequently eat your roses is because they are attracted to the lovely smell. To combat this, make the flowers smell bad.

Raccoons hate the smell of ammonia, use this to your advantage and leave a saucer filled with ammonia close to your roses. You can also leave an ammonia-soaked rag on the saucer 

Predator urine:

This is another way of keeping raccoons away from your roses through the use of smell. You can find predator urine in your local pet store or online.

Sprinkle this around your roses or, pour some in a saucer and place it close to your roses to keep raccoons away. You can also leave a predator urine soaked rag on the saucer 

Sounds and noises:

Raccoons aren’t fond of strange noises or light. To combat them with sound, place a small radio near your roses and leave it on all day and night.

To keep them away using light, strategically place a lit flashlight near your roses at night. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, yes raccoons do eat roses, these animals will eat anything they can get their hands on, roses included.

Raccoons are attracted to roses because of their lovely smell, they eat roses because they are easy to find and don’t need to be hunted and caught.

Keep this animal away from your roses by using ammonia or predator urine close to your flowers.

You can also use a flashlight or small radio to keep these animals away

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