Who has been eating fruit from my garden?

[Jazz12]

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.

Unfortunately I think you are probably feeding the local rats OP.

You know your fence? When they put it in, did they dig down and put wire at least a foot below the foundations? Otherwise, you can keep saying it is fully fenced and it means nothing. Rats, foxes, badgers can dig under a fence without too much effort.

You won't see a hedgehog unless you put a hedgehog hole in your fence. Badgers dug under our fence and took a chicken.

There are also flying foxes, but you would probably spot them because of their navigation lights! 😆

They also have a wingspan of 5 feet, so pretty hard to miss if it lands in the garden.

I’ve got a 6ft fully fenced garden. Two foxes come in every night to eat the left over apple from our apple tree. So could well be foxes.

How is this an AIBU?

Leave old fruit in your garden as you feel fit!!

Get a blink camera and you'll find out.

@Jazz12

itwill most likely be a fox, lots of them in urban areas now, this is a bad time of year for them, harsh winter, frozen ground and it’s mating season.

Rat or fox, but rats are good climbers so if it was high I’d definitely go with rat.

Squirrels.

I have a walled garden, the foxes come in at the back from the field, I can see claw marks on the wall as they seem to come over the same spot, they also leave fox poo!

I’ve gone around the garden looking for poop. No poop anywhere.

I left my slippers outside accidentally. They stayed there for weeks (soggy and wet) but not shredded. We left clothes on the airer several times in summer. No missing clothes or damages.
it just feels highly unlikely that there are foxes in my garden

Rats probably.

Foxes go through most urban gardens at some point, I don't know why you are so sure it's not? They travel miles every night looking for food. But in your case it's almost certainly rats or mice. We're never more than 3 feet from a rat apparently! (Or something like that)

Probably rats

Funnily enough the foxes that I have seen with my own eyes, in my own fenced in garden weren't interested in my slippers or washing either.

Foxes have been in my fully 6ft fenced garden on occasion.

I love the way most posters are suggesting nice, cute little animals, lovely hedgehogs or squirrels, when the overwhelming likelihood is that it’s rats.

Foxes are more likely in towns that in rural areas. London is overrun with them! They can easily jump 6ft fences, a 5ft is no problem for them.

You need to get a nature cam and catch the culprit!

Eh? Most people have suggested rats or foxes

@Jazz12 I have seen urban foxes clear 8 foot fences.

When I say "clear", I don't mean scaled or climbed. I mean jumped. From the ground.

I live in a busy town, I still see foxes on the ccrv crossing in front of the house in the middle of the night.

Eh? Why on earth would they be interested in your washing.

If you're that bothered, install a camera, I think you'll be surprised what's getting in your garden by the sounds of it.

Rats. They are everywhere and eat anything.