I have a riverfront garden in coastalVirginia, zone 7b. After gardening successfully for 6 years, suddenly this year all the flower and vegetable seeds I plant are being eaten.
I never had slugs. I did have iris borers but that was treated.
I can't figure out what is eating the seeds. I like to direct sow whenever possible.
I finally had to order more seeds and start things in trays, even zinnias.
Any ideas?
Thank you very much
Susan

Is it happening overnight? Perhaps it's birds or mice. Even squirrels. Fire ants can also eat seeds.
If you suspect ants, sprinkle a little Sevin.
If you suspect mice, spritz peppermint/cinnamon based mouse repellant around. Such as Rodent Sheriff.
As for squirrels...use a gun.
For birds, try tying balloons or another type of scarecrow out.

I hope you can figure what's going on. Pests in the garden is such a pain.

In my garden it's always pill bugs that eat any vegie seeds that I direct sow. I didn't realize it until I had planted a row of peas for the 3rd time. Twice nothing came up at all and when I saw the tiniest little bit of green sprouting on my 3rd try, I gently wiped a bit of dirt away and saw that the pill bugs 'underground' had already eaten most of it.

I also have problems with rodents and insects eating my seeds. The best method I have found is to lay pieces of row cover directly on the ground over the rows of seeds. Once the seeds have sprouted and develop true leaves I remove the row cover. I use pieces of wood and/or rocks to hold the edges of the row cover down. Row cover is available at many garden stores and on the internet.

And please, please don't use Sevin. Sevin is an indiscriminate killer of bees and other pollinators. There are other products to control pests that don't kill bees. No bees, no food.