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Strawberry thieves
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to stop my strawberry thieves???
The local animals, squirrels and raccoons are continually taking my berries. I assume they are good because of how quickly they are taken when they start to ripen but I would like to enjoy a couple.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
The local animals, squirrels and raccoons are continually taking my berries. I assume they are good because of how quickly they are taken when they start to ripen but I would like to enjoy a couple.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Frank O'Leary on -
Sarah:
I have them in earthboxes and my place has poor sunlight so where they are is the only south facing location.
I was thinking of fencing...chicken wire, etc...but I think the rascals will be laughing at my feeble attempts to stop them.
Thanks for the reply
Sarah said:Strawberries are good in window boxes and containers. You could pot some and move them somewhere the animals can't reach them.
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Permalink Reply by Frank O'Leary on
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Sarah:
Great idea...thank you
Sarah said:Oh! Well, if that's the case, go to the hardware store and look for fine mesh wire. When I was worried about voles getting into my raised vegetable beds I stapled a fine mesh cage to the bottoms. The mesh was so small that I couldn't even get my tiny girly pinky through it! ;) You could build cages over the tops of the boxes that you remove when you want to pick some berries. Of course they will have to be secure so the raccoons don't break through.
Frank O'Leary said:Sarah:
I have them in earthboxes and my place has poor sunlight so where they are is the only south facing location.
I was thinking of fencing...chicken wire, etc...but I think the rascals will be laughing at my feeble attempts to stop them.
Thanks for the reply
Sarah said:Strawberries are good in window boxes and containers. You could pot some and move them somewhere the animals can't reach them.
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Permalink Reply by Rainforest Moon on -
2 homegrown and harmless solutions that worked for me with squirells - Have you tried sprinkling cayenne pepper in your garden? Or take a few rocks and smear them with Vicks Vaporub?
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Permalink Reply by Trell Johnson on -
I have been going with the "If you can't beat em, join em" method recently. I Mean, if the berry is good enough for the squirrel... Seriously though, the squirrels pick them at the same time you should. Allow the berry to sun-ripen in your kitchen, i assure you it will get red and tasty within a day or 2.
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Permalink Reply by Frank O'Leary on
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Trell:
Thanks for the advice.
I will pick them when I see "jumpy squirrel"(so named by my 3 yr old) around.
And will try the spce over the vicks.
Thanks again.
Trell Johnson said:I have been going with the "If you can't beat em, join em" method recently. I Mean, if the berry is good enough for the squirrel... Seriously though, the squirrels pick them at the same time you should. Allow the berry to sun-ripen in your kitchen, i assure you it will get red and tasty within a day or 2.
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Permalink Reply by Carrie Seal-Stahl on -
2 Words: Fox Urine. Available at your local hunting/sporting goods store. Critters (rabbit, squirrel, chipmunk etc) won't go near it, deer is another story...
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Permalink Reply by Farmer Ted on -
I have a 2 ft chicken wire fence around my patch (about 25 x 20 ft). I lined the bottom of the fence with medium sized stone (8-10" in diameter). I then have bird netting covering the patch, connected to the fence. Chipmunks get in on occassion, but I get 90% of my yield. The bird netting is key for me because we have a lot of deer on our property. I forgot to put the bird netting back one night, the next morning all 100 plus plants were down to only their stems.
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Today is Veterans Day and Farm Aid thanks all the veterans who have served our country. In honor of their service, I want to introduce you to a group of veterans who are beginning new careers as farmers and growers of the Good Food Movement. 
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