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AIBU?

Who has been eating fruit from my garden?

108 replies

Jazz12 · 25/01/2023 16:14

Our garden is fully fenced. I left a small piece of apple in a little bowl the other day (leftovers from a baby niece) for the birds. No birds touched it all day. Next morning it was all gone! I put some fruit out last night, it’s again gone by morning! I haven’t seen any hedgehogs in my garden ever, only little mice that too in summer. Didn’t see the mice for months now. What/who is eating the fruit? I’d love to continue feeding if they won’t cause nuisance to my neighbours.

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DaveyJonesLocker · 25/01/2023 16:16

Fruit bat?

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Strugglingtodomybest · 25/01/2023 16:16

Rats probably.

Or do owls eat fruit???

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EmmaDilemma5 · 25/01/2023 16:16

Fox?

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WhineWhineWINE · 25/01/2023 16:17

Magpies hoover up anything and everything.

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Jazz12 · 25/01/2023 16:17

EmmaDilemma5 · 25/01/2023 16:16

Fox?

No way! It’s a fully fenced garden

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Jazz12 · 25/01/2023 16:18

At night!??

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Jazz12 · 25/01/2023 16:18

WhineWhineWINE · 25/01/2023 16:17

Magpies hoover up anything and everything.

At night?

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Swiftswatch · 25/01/2023 16:18

Jazz12 · 25/01/2023 16:17

No way! It’s a fully fenced garden

Yeah a fence doesn’t stop a fox, just like it doesn’t stop cats etc.

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Seeline · 25/01/2023 16:19

Foxes can easily jump fences.

Is the food on the ground or in a feeder or what?

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Muffinmctuffin · 25/01/2023 16:19

I'd say fox or rats/mice at night. Foxes can get in the most unexpected of places.

How high is your fence and are you rural? My parents had deer eating the fruit from their fruit trees.

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WhineWhineWINE · 25/01/2023 16:20

We have a fully fenced garden too but the badgers and foxes still climb over it. It's 4 foot high, agile little buggers.

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Facecream · 25/01/2023 16:21

Foxes have very light bones and can easily clear very high fences…
Could be a hedgehog but no idea if they eat fruit!

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NotDavidTennant · 25/01/2023 16:24

It's probably mice if you've seen them before, but could also be a rat or a fox. Hedgehogs would be hibernating this time of year and wouldn't usually eat fruit anyway.

If you're leaving food on the ground for birds it's a good idea to take it up at night as sooner or later rodents will find it and you'll end up with an infestation.

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FasterthanBolt · 25/01/2023 16:25

Foxes can easily jump over a 6ft fence, I bet it's that!

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FredaDrainedHerCocoaCup · 25/01/2023 16:26

Owls love fruit, so do rats or it could be a stoat/polecat type animal, you'll be surprised how much some animals can squash themselves through tiny holes and gaps.

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Ponderingwindow · 25/01/2023 16:27

I live in a different region so different animals.

my fully fenced garden regularly receives coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and raccoons. Also various birds of prey, rabbits, squirrels, and lizards, but those are less surprising. We have cameras so capture everything. Fences are only effective at keeping out deer.

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PeachDelany · 25/01/2023 16:27

Jazz12 · 25/01/2023 16:17

No way! It’s a fully fenced garden

My garden is fully fenced too, 6ft with a trellis on top. It's no barrier to foxes they jump over it whilst clawing a bit like a cat.

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MaverickGooseGoose · 25/01/2023 16:28

Foxes can jump, high.

Rats.

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Lessoftheold · 25/01/2023 16:28

Jazz12 · 25/01/2023 16:17

No way! It’s a fully fenced garden

Our garden has a six foot fence all around it and we have a visiting fox. They can climb!

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SirenSays · 25/01/2023 16:29

I'd guess rats too. They're everywhere and eat everything

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RichardOsmansXraySpecs · 25/01/2023 16:30

I saw a fox scale our 6 foot fence just the other day when I accidentally disturbed it. They’re agile, more like cats than a dog. I bet it’s that.

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CeeceeBloomingdale · 25/01/2023 16:30

Squirrels or rats

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ChilliBandit · 25/01/2023 16:33

Very likely a fox or even a cat, my cat has a weird obsession with apples, I have to hide mine in the fridge.

I would look into having a small gap made in your fence for hedgehogs. They are declining and this a small thing people can do to help. We have hedgehogs hibernating in the garden at the moment ☺️

hamworthyhedgehogrescue.org.uk/hedgehog-highways/

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Jazz12 · 25/01/2023 16:35

Muffinmctuffin · 25/01/2023 16:19

I'd say fox or rats/mice at night. Foxes can get in the most unexpected of places.

How high is your fence and are you rural? My parents had deer eating the fruit from their fruit trees.

Our fences are around 5ft high and we are not rural. It’s a busy town.

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ValerieDoonican · 25/01/2023 16:36

I also vote fox. They are enthusiastic fruit eaters.

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