What can I do about this strawberry thief (detail inside)
My mom has a big garden in the balcony of our top floor. She plants various kinds of plants there, from flowers to edibles. Among them are two pots of strawberry trees, one on the ground and the other on a shelf.
So the strawberries became ripe recently. Yesterday afternoon my mom came upstairs to harvest the strawberries. That was when she realized some animal had eaten the riped strawberries. The strawberries were not eaten whole but were partly bitten. Another rather gross clue that the thief left behind was two big pieces of poop on the floor and on a leaf of another plant. Nothing else was disturbed. Last night when we were asleep the thief came back to finish the job and ate the last strawberry in the exact same manner. This time it didn’t leave any poop behind, and still nothing was disturbed.
I’m thinking it was a rat because of the way the strawberries were eaten. But then the poop was big and solid. It must have been a really giant rat to make that kind of poop. And why did nothing else apart from the strawberries was disturbed? One pot of strawberry tree was on a rather high self, and for a rat to get there it would have at least made some visible disturbance to other plants. And also there was a large cucumber next to the strawberries. It wasn’t touched one bit.
We aren’t sure what to do because we don’t even know what kind of animal we are dealing with in the first place. Right now the best thing we can do is to cover up the strawberries and put out mouse traps. But do you have any more suggestion?
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19 Answers
The size and shape of the “droppings” would be the best clue. Without a pic would be hard to tell. Not sure how big is big? Inches or cm? Could it also be a racoon or opossum?
Possibly (at night) a rat, a crow or raven, or a squirrel. Enclose the plants with fine (¼”) mesh screen.
@Dig_Dug we were so disgusted that we didn’t think of taking photos of the “crime scene”. And no, it definitely wasn’t raccoon or opossum because they don’t exist in my country.
@kritiper I’m not sure about crow or raven because I don’t see them in my neighborhood. We already considered the possibility of a bird but then the half-eaten strawberries were still intact to the tree, so I don’t really think a bird could have done that.
And no, squirrels don’t exist in my country.
There are other birds, smaller than crows and ravens that might be doing it. But I suspect a rat because they are everywhere.
I know that you live in a tropical country, and that you have lizards there. I think it was probably a lizard. Many of them like fruit.
For any berries the first thought and highest offenders are bird and bears.
Net the bushes. I do this with mine to keep both out.
We have to put nets over them here. Everything wants to eat them. Birds, squirrels, groundhogs…
The puzzle is that it occurs on the top floor. My strawberries were eaten by deer, but they can’t get up to the top of a building.
Rats leave small pellet like droppings. And they shit everywhere. Consider your berries may be eaten by a shrew or a bat.
I cannot tell a lie – it was me! I love strawberries. (Sorry about the poop.)
I can say that you might have a vole. Like mice but more fat. I suggest you get a live trap with a big opening and once the screw ball is in there; drown him. And if it is @janbb don’t go to bed and when @janbb comes you can catch the thief in the act.
^^ Aaaack! Drown it?? Might be more humane to get a trap that kills it quickly if you’re going to kill it!
I would spray something that tastes horrible, but can be washed off with no bad aftertaste.
One variable that is potentially helpful is that you have not seen the culprit. One could hypothesize that the guilty critter is very cautious about being exposed to potential threats. Perhaps something similar to a “scarecrow,” is worth a shot. A fake plastic owl, or cat, could be a deterrent. However. High intelligence creatures will figure out the threat is false, rather quickly.
Opportunistic creatures, are usually good problem solvers. They also are likely abundant, so killing them, wouldn’t be a solution. The “mesh” ideas seem like they would be most effective.
Another thing that I wouldn’t overlook is the possibility that the fecal matter is unrelated to the thief. Taking a VERY close look at the disturbed fruits, could reveal a very small insect. So small, that a mesh may not be effective.
Speaking of insects, some type of flying insect could be the guilty party.
Question. Are the strawberries a recent addition, or have they been there for a long time, and only now they are being eaten?
@MrGrimm888 a fake animal will only work for a little bit until the animal realizes that it is fake. However you might be able to fool the animal if you move the decoy around daily.
^Thought I pretty much said as much. Anyways. We are in agreement.
I am simply trying to cover all the bases….
@MrGrimm888 some time ago another strawberry was ripe, and it was eaten. But at that time it was ripped off the tree and not intact like this time.
Also long time no see (((((((hug))))))
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