Growing blueberries offers a rewarding experience. However, this joy can quickly turn to frustration when wildlife discovers your ripening berries. Many animals find blueberry bushes and their fruit tempting, often leading to significant damage and reduced harvests. Understanding which animals are the culprits is the first step toward protecting your plants and securing your yield.
Mammals That Eat Blueberry Bushes
Various mammals consume different parts of blueberry bushes, from foliage to ripe berries. Deer frequently browse on plants, eating leaves, young shoots, and fruit. Their feeding can stunt plant growth and reduce fruit production, with damage often appearing as ragged tears on stems and leaves. Rabbits also target blueberry bushes by gnawing on lower stems and stripping bark, which can girdle and kill the plant. They often leave clean, angled cuts on cane tips.
Raccoons are highly attracted to ripe blueberries, often consuming entire sections of a bush in a single night. They are adept at plucking ripe fruit, leaving little behind. Smaller rodents such as squirrels, chipmunks, mice, and voles also pose a threat. Squirrels and chipmunks climb bushes to eat berries, while mice and voles may girdle the base of canes. Bears also eat blueberry fruit and foliage.
Birds That Eat Blueberry Bushes
Birds frequently eat blueberry fruit, posing a threat to harvests. Species like American robins, European starlings, blue jays, and cedar waxwings are attracted to blueberries. Starlings can arrive in large flocks and rapidly strip bushes of their ripe fruit. They may swallow berries whole or puncture them with their claws, leading to yield losses.
Robins and smaller songbirds tend to feed individually or in small groups, often targeting berries on the lower portions of the bushes. Birds typically leave visual evidence such as peck marks on partially eaten berries or completely missing fruit. They can also knock ripe and unripe berries off the bush while foraging.
Identifying Animal Damage
Determining which animal is damaging your blueberry bushes involves observing specific clues. Deer damage is characterized by torn or ragged edges on stems and leaves. Look for deer tracks and droppings nearby, and note that damage occurs higher on the plant. In contrast, rabbit damage appears as clean, angled cuts on stems or gnawed bark. Small, round droppings are another indicator of rabbit presence.
For fruit damage, birds usually leave peck marks on berries or cause entire berries to disappear, often leaving stems intact. If berries are missing entirely without plant damage, birds are likely suspects. Squirrels and chipmunks may leave partially eaten berries on the ground, and their small tracks might be visible around the base of the bush. Raccoon activity often results in large quantities of missing berries overnight and disturbed foliage.
Protecting Your Blueberry Bushes
Protecting blueberry bushes from wildlife requires a multi-faceted approach. Physical barriers are effective, with netting being a primary method to exclude birds from ripening fruit. Netting should cover the entire bush and be secured to the ground, preventing birds from accessing berries or becoming entangled. For larger mammals like deer and rabbits, sturdy fencing is essential; a fence at least 6 to 8 feet high can deter deer, while a buried or outward-angled lower section can prevent digging by rabbits. Individual plants can also be protected with wire mesh cages.
Various deterrents can supplement physical barriers. Reflective objects like reflective tape hung near bushes can scare birds with flashes of light and movement. Noise deterrents such as wind chimes or motion-activated sound devices can also startle animals. Scent and taste repellents, applied to plants, work by making berries unappealing to animals, though these often require reapplication after rain. Regularly moving scare devices or changing deterrents can prevent animals from becoming accustomed to them.