By Clementine
British Columbia,
Canada 
I have planted about 400 onion sets in my veg. garden and every day, some are pulled out and left on top of soil. Yesterday, after a day in town, I came home to find 35 lying on top of soil.
Has anyone experienced this? I am going to get my head around my Wildlife Camera today and set it up outside and hopefully find the culprit. I have gardened here for about forty years and never had this happen before.
I have neither neighbour or dogs, also, the veg. garden is deer fenced as is our three acre compound of our twenty acre lot. Deer roam the fields but not in the three acres.
25 Apr, 2014
Answers
Birds pull on the dry stalks as I think they think it is edible. If its during daylight it's more likely to be birds, if its dawn/dusk then more likely to be mice.
I've experienced and got round it by buying them 3/4 down and pressed the soil very firmly around them.
25 Apr, 2014
Thank you both so much for responding. I shall do as suggested, and shall add more soil and press it down firmly. I hadn't thought of the tops being interesting to birds until you mentioned it.
I still have one hundred to plant and another bag is coming by mail shortly.
Last year's onions lasted us until about two weeks ago but we only had 400. :)
I have set up the Wildlife Cam, camera which works on motion and see what shows up. If mice I don't suppose they will be visible. I will let you know. I am looking forward to what shows up on the camera card tomorrow as I set it up this afternoon, still in daylight.
Thanks again.
Clemie
26 Apr, 2014
It happened to mine when we lived in Staffordshire. Its either mice or birds, I was never sure which.
25 Apr, 2014