So this is my third year growing strawberries in Zone 5b. Last year, the animals got to a lot of them, but I’m growing a 25 foot row of them, so we still have a lot. I expect I’ll have similar mileage this year, but I have read about placing decoy strawberries around made of rocks to make the birds think your strawberries are rock hard and thus ignore them. I bought some glossy red pebbles online, so we’ll see how it works.
So I’m asking, has anyone attempted decoy strawberries? How does it work? How about bird netting? Does bird netting work against squirrels, chipmunks?
What have you attempted in protecting strawberries and how did it work?
it works on birds, but not squirrels or slugs. mine aren’t making any berries or blossoms though, most were just put in this year. the last time I grew them this did keep the birds away, I put out my rocks a week or two before the flowers opened.
I’ve tried painted red rocks and netting. The rocks don’t work. The robins around here are smart enough to know the difference, or either aren’t deterred by pecking a few rocks.
The netting worked fairly well, though it was a huge pain to set up as my strawberries are more of a ground cover around my orchard and not in rows. I’ll probably not bother with netting again, I’ve mostly given up trying to protect my strawberries. I end up getting maybe half the harvest if I’m lucky.
If y’all are interested in protecting your strawberries with deer netting, then try what the landscapers around here use (and I’ve adopted) to support it above the plants: precut drop ceiling wire.
A 50 count of galvanized wire 6 feet in length is $25.44 from my local big box home improvement store. If you want to take the shine off before you install it, spray it down with a degreaser, wash off the protective oil, allow it to dry and then douse it with distilled white vinegar. Allow several repeated treatments of vinegar and it will have a much more dull appearance. Stab one end of the wire into the ground and flex the wire into a gentle inverted U shape and plant the other end. Place a series of these running down your row, from one side to the other, and then unroll your 7 foot wide deer netting down the tunnel of wires. You can use small 3 to 4 inch long zip ties along the one long edge of the netting to attach it to the wires near the ground, leaving the other long edge free to be lifted for access and harvesting. This will make your life easier.
That same product can be easily cut into 4x lengths of 18 inches each using bolt cutters, then bent around the seatpost of a bicycle in order to form a nice, long and strong landscape staple, perfect for holding tomato cages made of remesh to the ground so they don’t topple over.
If you are looking for a wire product that you can cut to longer lengths to support deer or bird netting above a taller bush (like blueberries), and which is also stronger, try this: 171 feet of 9 gauge utility and brace wire for fences.
I installed bird netting because rabbits were eating the plants but they chewed through it, so I put up rabbit fencing. Then, the rabbits did not eat the plants but squirrels and chipmunks (and probably birds) ate the berries. I have a 3’ by 60’ plot of strawberries but end up with only a couple of handfuls of berries each year.
I plan on building an enclosure described here: Stop pests from eating your strawberries - no deer, birds, voles, chipmunks or even slugs - YouTube
I built something similar years ago that has worked really well. Shown in the 1st and 2nd pictures here. It’s hinged in the middle allowing one side to be opened at a time.
Bird netting is only effective against robins and crows, it’s useless against chipmunks, squirrels and raccoons. Decoys are unlikely to work against our vermins since they’re in the habit of taste testing fruits. They’d pick a fruit, take a bite, see that it’s no good, drop it, pick another fruit etc…
Slugs and some small beetles were eating mine. Believe it or not I started bagging individual berries with organza bags before they turn color. Granted I only have a ten by ten area to cover.
