Pppllleeeaaasssee Help!!!!!!!!

[larabelle]

There is a pest which comes on my second floor balcony at night and vandalizes my swiss chard which is trying to grow in containers. The pest is digging and stomping all over my tender plants. It is extremely quiet what ever it is as I have slept in the bedroom which is right off this balcony and have not heard a thing...maybe I just sleep hard however... NO I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS....but I think it may be those two squirrels which live on the tree which over hangs my balcony or possibly a cat. The culprit leaves his/her prints in the pots and they look like a cat. I have not seen any cats around here but maybe it only comes out at night because it knows my dog would eat it alive if he saw it. I do not think it is a rabbit/deer because there is no way one of those could get up to the balcony. But anyway back to the issue at hand something is digging and stomping all over my chard. This is my first year trying to grow anything out there.

I am not sure what to do ....but I am not taking this laying down. I went to Lowe's today and built with chicken wire a cage around one of my planters.

Before I call the FBI and put them on the case do you all have any ideas what it may be and besides my sleeping out on the patio with my darling dog how to curb this pest. Any suggestions would be helpful!!! Thanks in advance.

[larabelle]

Oh by the way...no I can not cut the tree down or trim it as it is not mine to do so.

[Missy]

sounds like a raccoon perhaps. but it could be a cat.

I'd put cayenne pepper all over the dirt and maybe even on the plants them selves. a snout full or taste of that would keep me away. I bet it'll keep critter away too.

[justpeachy92]

I would plant some lavender, geraniums and other plants that have proven to be deterents to animals in the garden.

[Alaska]

mix the cayenne previoulsy mentinoed with water to make a spicy tea and spray it on your chard adn the soil and even the pots they are in...a few nights of that spicy stuff all over a snout will deter them. It will also get on their paws and later, in their eyes if they rub them. I'm sure they'll learn a lesson, and maybe let out a few sneezes so you can catch them in the act and finally see what it is your dealing with (I'm going with racoon also).

[larabelle]

Thanks to all of you!!! I had not even thought of a racoon!! But it does make sense. I will try the cayenne pepper.

[larabelle]

Well help and double help.... I mentioned that I built a chicken wire cage around one of the planters. I secured all sides as well as the bottom and top with the chicken wire.
Well..........guess what I awakened this morning and looked and something had dug into the soil in the planter which is secured by chicken wire. I am totally stumped now...it can not be a racoon becuase there is no way I would think that it could get thru the chicken wire....
Do you think maybe a small lizard?