Thanks for all the help! I have never in 20 years had a problem with my impatients. 5 flower boxes full and all that is left is strangling stems. A couple of them do look like skeletons, but most of them are just flowereless, but the leaves remained. Can't be deer or rabbits because the deck is up too high. I have seen slugs and Japenese beetles this year on my deck. What's up with this summer any way? This is by far the worst year ever for all my flowers, the petunias didn't get real full, all my flowers did poorly and I always have had beautiful flowers.