I tend to think rabbit is your most likely culprit, and it really is not unusual to never lay eyes on the little guys. It would be a very normal rabbit to know when you are out during the day. As prey animals they are very sensitive to changes in the environment around them and you make plenty of noises inside the house that they can hear... And they can tell when the house is silent. They are experts at freezing and blending into the background if humans suddenly appear. They also get quite well acquainted with our schedules and will grab a bite to eat when they know we are not usually outside. I once spent an extra half hour outside on a nice June evening at dusk and startled the heck out of two rabbits who frolicked their way up from the bottom of our property to end right by my feet at the clover patch right there. I was also surprised because I assumed they would have come from the much closer tree-farm off to the side. I could tell by their shocked expressions when they realized I was there that they were thinking "you're never out here at this time of day!" Anyway. I had one remaining chard plant in my garden that very slowly got grazed down to a nub, and then they gnawed on the stump of it. So I can attest that my rabbits like chard. A simple solution would be to get some bird netting and wrap it around a tomato cage and place that over the chard plant. Cheers!

UHM...........I am sorry I am not familiar with any of your posts and you call yourself 'gardenapprentice' so I'll ask and hopen not to offend you. By buds were you by chance referring to the red objects hanging on dogwoods now? If so, these are the berries and it won't impact your bloom next year. They will, however, also eat buds.......so which got 'et'? LOL

I hate squirrels! I cannot get them away with anything,,,, tried pepper, coffee grinds, powdered rodent away urine as a barrier, shiny things, fake snakes, pinwheels, netting,,,,,, and still, there is the one squirrel that figures it all out and will not eat one whole tomato, but proceed to take only one bite out of five tomatoes instead! I think that saying the squirrels are thirsty is a bunch of bunk too. Even though I live right on a fresh water lake, I still even put out several bowls of water by my garden and of course, that did not make a difference. Duh! I am surrounded by a body of fresh water! One time, I had this HUGE tomato I was babying, and watching so carefully, it was the largest tomato in my garden. It just started to ripen and I was tempted to pick it early, but I said, "just one more day". Well, wouldn't you know it that that darn squirrel picked it! Not only did he pick it, I saw him up in a tree with it! I started yelling at him, and he threw the tomato right at me and hit me in the face! SO that was the last straw! However, on a different note is anyone is interested, after buying many different supposive "squirrel proof" bird feeders and ALL of them failing to do so, I found that the "twirl a squirrel" really works. When the squirrel jumps on the feeder, it spins very fast a makes the squirrel dizzy and get off the feeder. A little off topic, but might help someone. I wish you luck! Christy

Hey Vladimir..Everyone I know, my friends here at work and my family use a certain company..The best product I have ever used..Not one thing has dug in my yard since I first used the granules and not one squirrel since I used the spray..Safe too.. You can call them and they will be very helpful. I n fact I have to order more stuff come to think of it! http://www.imustgarden.com/ http://www.imustgarden.com/repellents/animal-repellents/squirrel-repellent Let me know how you do)