Melon seedlings are just GONE!

Santa Cruz, CA(Zone 10a)

I just planted out about a dozen carefully and meticulously grown melon seedlings on Sat. Just checked them and 4 are gone! The stems are there right below soil level, but the entire top of the plant is missing. Is this cutworm damage? I didn't think they ate the entire plant tops... If so, how well and how soon does Bt spray work?

Could there be another culprit? We live on a well fenced urban lot with dogs, so I don't think it could possibly be deer, rabbits, or squirels... all our neighbors that we share a fenceline with have at least 2 dogs a piece so any critter would have to run a dangerous gauntlet to even get to our yard. Our dogs can't reach into the actual garden bed so I'm sure it wasn't them either...

Any thoughts, suggestions, or accusations????

Anne Arundel,, MD(Zone 7b)

I am sorry you've had no response. This must be kind of a quiet forum.
Any more losses?
Yes you would not think any critter could run that gauntlet to get just four seedlings. Cutworms can be treated with Bt. Apply often. Better tho may be Sevin, a more general bug treatment, since its hard to say what did it. I don't think cutworms eat all of it but I don't really know without googling.

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