Birds pecking fruit
Birds that peck at ripening soft fruit, taking bites or whole berries just as they are ready to pick.
Also known as: Bird damage, Fruit-eating birds
Symptoms and identification
Ripe fruit have holes and pecks, or are missing from the plant, often partly eaten and left hanging. Damaged fruit then attract wasps, flies and rots. Buds on fruit trees may be stripped in winter.
Causes
Birds target sweet, soft, colourful fruit as it ripens, especially berries and cherries. Damage is worst where there is little other food or in dry weather when fruit is a source of water.
Organic treatment
Hang shiny or moving scarers such as old CDs, and move them often because birds get used to them. Pick fruit as soon as it is ripe and keep a water source and other food elsewhere.
Prevention
Cover fruit bushes and small trees with netting supported on a frame, with the edges tied or buried so that birds cannot get under. Use fine mesh, since birds can become trapped in wide mesh.
Chemical treatment (use with care)
No chemical control is suitable, and most birds are protected. Netting is the only reliable method.