I moved my strawberries this spring to the new raised bed so wasn't
expecting a bumper crop. However, I really wasn't impressed at sharing
any of the delectible berries with a creature that only eats part and
leaves the rest! I've been doing a clean pick each morning, then
checking in the afternoon, and troubleshooting. I kept checking in the
evening for slugs and set out a few traps to see if slugs had managed to
get into the beds. I finally found what was eating the ripe berries -
strawberry sap beetle. I caught the little creature right in the act!
I'm taking the organic approach and checking the bed several times
thoughout the day to pick any ripe berries. It seems to be working ok
with losing only a couple of berries a day.

I used to have a lot of half-eaten fruit, too. You might want to try mulching
around the plants with coffee grounds - I originally did it for slugs, but it
seems that a lot of critters do not like them. I've even had fruit that touches
the grounds/soil that survives being eaten, and that was always the end of any
fruit in the past. Just don't get the grounds on the strawberry leaves - they
will get black spots and eventually die.
-=epm=-

In matters of truth and justice,
there is no difference between large and small problems,
for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.
- Albert Einstein

"EvelynMcH" wrote in message
...
I used to have a lot of half-eaten fruit, too. You might want to try
mulching
around the plants with coffee grounds - I originally did it for slugs, but
it
seems that a lot of critters do not like them.

I use sharp sand, which keeps off the slugs and snails.

Birds and other critters are only stopped by netting over the strawberries
in my garden.
--
Brian
"What's the point in growing up if you can't behave like a kid when you want
to."