Topic: Something is eating my ripe strawberries!!!!!

[BarbaraGood]

the little beggars!

They are not bear the surface of the netting and they look like big bites out them them  :-[  I now need to admit I am rodent phobic, can't even give them there names m**** and r** as it makes me feel sick. I know how ridiculous that will sound to many people but its me!

I am DREADING that someone will say its rodents eating them - but if it is likely to be , how do you deal with this? Poison? I felt nauseous just walking around my rather overgrown plot earlier in case there was a family of rodents in it and my stomach is in knots thinking about it  :( :'(

WWYD?? Its the very ripe ready to eat ones they are targetting too!! I was so excited to share them with my youngest til I saw what had happened  >:(

[emmy1978]

Sorry Barbara, don't know anything about R*** or M*** on the plottie! Don't worry, some one knowledgable will be here soon.  ;D
You would not like my cat. She is crazy for mice. I woke up the other night and she had brought one in and was tormenting it while it hid in smallest daughters lottie wellie. It's squeaking woke me up! OH was not impressed at being woken at 3am to deal with it.  ;D

[Georgie]

It's far more likely to be slugs and snails.  Choose your own method to deal with them but none is fool proof I'm afraid.  You have my sympathies.

G x

[Marymary]

Sounds like slug damage to me.  Have you put straw under the ripening fruit?

[Georgie]

Straw only provides a place for slugs to hide, it doesn't keep them off I'm afraid.   :(

G x

[manicscousers]

if it's like bird beak marks, are the ruddy black birds sitting on the net and nibblng through it, I swear that's waht they're doing to some of ours  :)
slugs seem to eat holes through and wood lice take up residence in them  :)

[BarbaraGood]

oh PHEW PHEW PHEW!!!! And no, Emmy I would NOT like your cat, ours just used to bring half dead, half eaten starlings in  ::) ruddy show off cos she was TEEEENY herself!

I have no straw down, I had no idea why anyone else had it down and they are never there to ask but if it doesnt help, what else do you do? Slug pellets? GAH the first produce we can eat (no, sorry we had rhubarb already) and its all going before my eyes! Could be starligns I suppose, better get some bird scaring devices - or go find my old cat ;)

YAY I do hope its no rodents but that thought has spurred me on the get rid of the waist high grass asap!!!!

Cheers all  ;D

[manicscousers]

never heard of rodents eating strawberries, barbara..bird eaks make a long, pointy mark, usually in the ripest part of the fruit..you know, the nicest, juciest bit ..BU**ER 'em  ;D

[Tee Gee]

they look like big bites

Are they roundish holes, deeper in the middle and are on the reddest part of the berry?

If so it is a nights work for a slug/snail

[Jeannine]

Slugs, I am certain

[theothermarg]

slugs we noticed woodchips put around them onanother plot going to try it next year
marg

[Georgie]

The straw is used to keep the fruits off the soil and therefore cleaner.  That's all.  There's lots of advice on the board already about slug control and every gardener has his/her preference. I wouldn't use pellets (even organic ones) because they attract slugs!  Beer traps are good; encourage natural predators like frogs, toad, hedgehogs and birds; go out at dusk and pick them off and dispose; and grow things they like bettter as sacrificial plants such as basil and french marigolds is my advice.

G x

[BarbaraGood]

Thanks again :) I have lots of ends of pop bottles, so will go "borrow" so on the husbands beer and try get down there for a couple of minutes this morning, but not looking hopeful  :-\

They are round openings with deeper centres and I DID get a tiny tiny about 1/4" slug like thing on my hand while I was delving earlier, so I guess thats a baby one  >:(

[RobinOfTheHood]

if it's like bird beak marks, are the ruddy black birds sitting on the net and nibblng through it, I swear that's waht they're doing to some of ours  :)
slugs seem to eat holes through and wood lice take up residence in them  :)

I watched one of them (blackbirds) do exactly this last year, got the whole blooming crop.  >:(

Made them a proper cage this year.   :)

[Georgie]

It's the smallest slugs that do the most damage to tender plants.   >:(  The huge ones are generally less trouble preferring decomposing material and some even eat other slugs.   ;D   Did you manage to get your beer traps set up?  Remember that they should stand just proud of the soil so that 'goodies' like ground beetles don't fall in and drown.

G x

[mc55]

my next door neighbour thinks a m**** has been nibbling his ... the offending fruit was taken from the plant, nibbled and left at the end of the bed .. and it had nibbly marks (vs pointy marks) when he looked at it.  Sorry

 ... mc gets coat

[southernsteve]

Some nice person has been nicking mine. I have got six plants in an old wheelbarrow, all had nice big juicy strawberry's on them just waiting to ripen. Came back from hols last weekend to find one plant with all the fruit gone. Two days later a second, then a couple of day later again, a third. Fruit had been clearly picked as the stalk was nipped and no evidence of fruit was left.

Think I may have had the last laugh though. Another holder at the top end of our lottie said he found something, or somebody had been sick all over his brussels. I did say the fruit was waiting to ripen. They were green. HA!!!

[quizzical1]

We have had several strawbs starting to be eaten just as they are ripening, and the wife says she found one of them with a hole in that was full of WOODLICE. I know all the fallen apples last year were riddled with woodlice when I picked them up, and they had only fallen overnight, so the little s**s are pretty quick to find a food source.