Fruit Injury from Vertebrate Pests

 

Rodent: Fresh chewing, with obvious teeth marks. Affected fruit are usually low enough to be chewed while standing on the ground, OR they are chewed on a spot where there is a convenient place to stand on a branch. Chipmunks, voles and woodchucks are common suspects. Squirrels don’t seem to participate, nor do lagomorphs (hares, rabbits). Occasionally fecal pellets are left on the fruit.

 

Porcupine: Porcupines usually leave enough evidence to distinguish their injury from other rodents. Teeth marks are quite large, and large chips of fruit litter the ground. Usually there are broken twigs and/or branches as well. Delicious is one of the favorite varieties for fruit feeding. The affected tree is often near the orchard edge, especially by woods or stone wall.

 

Bird Peck: Sometimes the two halves of the beak leave adjacent punctures, and other times a deep hole is excavated. This is always a fruit by a convenient perch. Blue jays, crows and ravens are most common suspects; wild turkeys (?) may sometimes participate.

 

Bird Poop: That’s right. Right on the fruit. You don’t need a photo, do you?