something is eating the buds and leaves of my roses. rats?

I live in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles next to a large wild park (Griffith Park for those who know LA). For the last few years i have not been able to grow roses, geraniums, sweet peas, vegetables; in fact anything with tender leaves or shoots! Curiously, whatever is eating my Double Delight roses does not touch the bush roses, Tamara, growing right alongside them!

The damage always happens at night. It is not deer as they cannot get into the yard. But we have a lot of squirrels, coyotes, racoons, possums and rats that come from the park. I suspect rats. I have seen and heard huge ones scurrying around at night.

Has anyone had a similar experience and discovered the cause of and solution for the problem? I have tried all the non-toxic sprays that are supposed to repel all critters. None of them helped.

Help!

Could be any or all of the critters you mentioned. I get raccoons here that seem to like everything. I've heard deer can leap a 10' wall, so ........

Any way you can light up your yard to some degree to ward off whatever it is that's doing the damage ? A neighbor of mine uses those blinking Xmas lights and has had very good luck with them.

rick, are there any landscaped areas in the park? I haven't been up there in many years, but you might be able to catch a gardener and ask them what they do about it. Or, you could get a big dog (bigger and meaner than the coyotes)LOL!

There ya go !!!

I have good luck trapping ground squirrels in a wire trap using crunchy peanut butter. Cut pieces of cardboard to fit the floor of the trap and lay little dots of PB leading forward to the trigger. They stand on their hind legs if necessary, to reach the food, and can climb inside 5 gallon Nursery containers.