Please help me identify what is eating my vegetable garden (lettuce,broccoli,...

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...etc) ...likely animal pest? I live in Los Angeles, in the hills - not on flat land or in the 'city' but surrounded by other houses. I decided this year to grow a vegetable garden on my roof (2 story house with 2 large flat areas...

I started with tomatoes and now I have about 100 plants going .... (all in containers) ... some going crazy. The Los Angeles weather is great for it.

BUT.

About 10 days ago I noticed that one of my lettuce plants was ... gone. Well, the base was there but the little emerging leaves were all gone. Within days every lettuce plant had been demolished overnight. The interesting thing is that what's eating it leaves ANY leaves that are larger than about 4x6inches .. anything smaller it works on. And those plants that have big leaves this predator has managed to eat the small ones growing in the center.

Now, 10 days later every lettuce plant is screwed up or gone completely -- and it/they moved on to Broccoli - ate my entire crop - 3 large plants (that hadnt even formed heads yet) .. the same MO - eating the middle (small emerging parts) first and then the rest. After the broccoli it became the cauliflower - and then the radishes. I had planted about 40 radishes around all of the tomato plants and I came out today and the radishes' leaves were all gone and little sticks were around every tomato plant.

This is driving me nuts. I can't overstate it - my house touches trees and so it's easy for squirrels to get there.. but I have never seen them - and there is NO digging anywhere. Once I saw a raccoon on my roof (years ago, giant) - but not since.

I can't find a single resource online that describes this problem. I have found many cutworms and aphids on some plants - even the broccoli that eventually was eaten only AFTER I got rid of the aphids... but I have always been able to deal with insects because I can see them.

Also this is an area for slugs but there are no tracks anywhere. ever.

Please help - my happiness and sanity and ability to eat vegetables when the apocalypse comes depends on you!!!

Thank you!
 
Can you identify anything that looks like tooth marks on leaves/stems? Also, look for tracks in the soil (you may even want to loosen some soil so it's better for making tracks in). That said, my first guesses would be rats, mice or opposums. And whatever it is is eating the the most tender parts - the easiest to chew and digest.
 
I know squirrels eat garden vegetation and they love tulip bulbs, but I'm not sure that a single squirrels would do that much damage. You might have several. I'm not sure if you have ground hogs in L.A., but the ones around here climb trees, and they love garden plants.

My son has a motion sensitive camera meant for hunting. You simply set it up and it takes a picture of anything that moves. It even has a flash for night pictures. He uses it to scout areas for deer. You can get them from Walmart. You would at least know what your dealing with.
 
I know squirrels eat garden vegetation and they love tulip bulbs, but I'm not sure that a single squirrels would do that much damage. You might have several. I'm not sure if you have ground hogs in L.A., but the ones around here climb trees, and they love garden plants.

My son has a motion sensitive camera meant for hunting. You simply set it up and it takes a picture of anything that moves. It even has a flash for night pictures. He uses it to scout areas for deer. You can get them from Walmart. You would at least know what your dealing with.
 
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