I need some advice about a strawberry problem?

Question

I have several healthy strawberry plants this year. But every time I walk out to check them, the berries that were almost ripe have bites taken out of them. The area is fenced in, so I know it's not rabbits. I am pretty sure that the damage is caused by squirrels. But I also have a lot of birds around my house as well; I'm not sure if they could be responsible or not. I just wanted to know what to do about the squirrels or birds if they could be causing the problem. Any advice will be helpful.

Thanks.

Answer 1

There is a mesh netting that is made for covering berries to keep out squirrels and birds. Try investing in some of that.

Answer 2

I had the same problem with my strawberries... it was indeed slugs doing the damage. They made the hole, ate what they wanted and then the sowbugs and ants would move right in. I put beer out for the slugs (not wanting to use chemicals) and it worked...sort of. Seems they would grab a bite to eat (strawberries) before heading off to the bar. lol. So while I got rid of a couple dozen slugs every night, they still enjoyed my strawberries more than I did. Diatemaceous (?sp) earth is supposed to work real well against slugs... Good luck.

Answer 3

,Slugs enjoy strawberries and will, given the chance, take large chunks out of the juiciest specimens. As well as beer traps you could also try spent coffee grounds, I assume that the smell confuses them, or broken up egg shells placed around the plants. If you are using straw to keep the fruits off the ground, replace with weed control fabric, slugs love to hide in the straw. You can also get bio-degradable organic slug pellets from Garden Organic, these are safe to all others in the garden,don't leave toxins in the ground and work by putting the slugs off their food, nematodes are also effective. Good luck.

Answer 4

It is probably birds. as stated, you can purchase netting for this. I use chicken wire with 1" holes.