Missing peaches

[grahamhobbs]

Before I went on holiday there must have been literally a hundred small peaches on one of our trees, when I came back a week later, I had trouble finding one. I've heard of June drop but this is ridiculous and anyway I couldn't find any on the ground. Where did they disappear to? Are the squirrels now eating them when they are no bigger than a 50p? Perhaps they have discovered the nut inside. Or perhaps it was just revenge for us picking (to freeze) all the remaining broad beans, their diet until then, before we went away. Oh and they probably took all the cherries (netted against the birds) as well.

[fran]

I had just one strawberry on my plants this year. I have been saving it until it was ripe and had even (very generously I think) offered to share it with OH. Today I looked to see if it was ripe and half of it has disappeared! I am sure it was hubby getting down on the floor and taking a bite, just to make sure he got his share

Or perhaps there are alien forces at work!

[MKG]

I think you may already have been hinting about it, Graham, but have you considered that your squirrels may be of the human kind?

Mike

[Millymollymandy]

Mike unless they were being nasty there'd be no point in humans picking tiny unripe peaches. I can't see why squirrels would want them at this stage either but I have no experience of gardening with grey squirrels.

My peaches and plums are dropping like the clappers at the moment but there is evidence all over the place.

It's a mystery.

[grahamhobbs]

MMM, your right they would have been inedble to humans, but I assumed that the squirrel would go for the nut forming inside. Over the years the squirrels have been getting worse and worse, enlarging their appitite every year. At first just the cherries, then the pears and sweetcorn, then strawberries, broad beans, peas, and now these unripe peaches. The grey squirrel is definitely the worst pest - it is just so cunning, fearless and intelligent, no barrier seems to stop it, it will find its way through anything.

[Millymollymandy]

Have you tried giving them some fat balls, peanuts and bird seed? That sounds pretty awful - we only have the cute red squirrels here and it's bad enough when they nick all your walnuts but most years there's enough for everyone. To lose all your fruit like that dunno about where you are but we're always combatting diseases and the weather and insects which are bad enough so to see another pest come along and take them all before they even have a chance must be