Birds, furry critters, several insects and some arthropods do that too. Always best to try and catch them in the act. Flour will reveal tracks.

Dan

I have had very tiny bugs eat holes in the bottom area of strawberries. They always eat only on the largest and ripest ones. Perhaps toads would help.

I'd guess at slugs. Do you have mulch around the plants to keep the fruit off of the soil?

In my garden it would be either slugs, roly polys, or earwigs, or all three.

@gjcore
Yes I have the strawberries on some spanish moss.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'll throw down some flour tonight. Not sure how to get any toads .. I did find two in my front yard maybe I'll get my husband to grab them next time and place them in the garden. Yea... I'm not touching them myself.

Your problem is ROBINS. These birds go from strawberry to strawberry poking a hole in each one. The strawberry than starts to turn black and another berry bites the dust. I started putting bird netting over the plants as soon as they start to turn white. This is the only thing that works, unless you like shooting birds. Good luck JOHN

Hi John,

I doubt the problem are robins because wouldn't I see some movement in the tulle I have covering the strawberries?

I had voles that did that. Do you see any paths about an inch and a half wide in nearby grass, or holes about that size?

Hello,

I have the same problem, so I went out with a light last night at midnight to try to catch the culprit. It only took a few seconds to spot slugs all over the strawberries. There were about a hundred of them in my raised strawberry bed, in a 12 square foot area...I couldn't believe how many there were. Based on my research, either slug bait or a strip of cppper around the bed will keep these slimy culprits off your strawberries. Hope this helps!

I have good results with a combination of things to protect our harvest:
-ammonia water spray (diluted 1:5 with more water than ammonia) in early evening or after a rain every few days
-lettuce leaves on soil & it attracts them then spray or skewer them after lifting leaf up daily if you can
-iron phosphate types of slug killer every 2 weeks or when no longer visible on top of straw mulch
-black plastic netting loosely laid over berry patch

I have learned that though I like the beauty of our 2 rows of strawberries along the length of the driveway border I have to live with the netting look if I want berries to eat.

Corrine

Slugs eat holes. Sap beetles eat holes. Strawberry weevils aren't supposed to eat the fruits, but I've seen a few digging holes into berries.

Birds scissor out beak-shaped slashes.

Not only is something eating my strawberries but I now find very fine cobwebs on the plants. These are plants that are in a large strawberry jug. Does anyone have any ideas as to what to do to prevent this?

Smileclick, thank you for the timelapse video of the cockroach, that is exactly what I suspected, but my husband did not take me seriously...now I have proof.

Is there anything that will steal the entire berry? Last year every time I had one close to being ready to be picked, it was taken.
I'm trying to come up with a new plan of attack this year. I live in a rural area with woods on 3 sides, so lots of critters. I feel like every year I have to come up with a battle plan so I can actually enjoy my fruits and veggies.
I'm thinking this year I'll do some of those hanging strawberry bags on my deck, and then drape them with netting. For the last two years I have attempted to grow strawberries and have yet to enjoy one single berry because of the nasty little thieves who keep stealing them all :( I do not plant them to share with the wildlife. The strawberries are the only thing I can't seem to get any of. Everything leaves my blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries alone, and since switching to trellises, stopped losing so many cucumbers and squashes to bugs.

I buried my strawberry plants right in the ground and what I thought were harmless grubs turned out to be strawberry eating pests! I also made the mistake of letting plants grow around it and although I will take care of that ASAP, I need to know what plants are attracted the moisture all the plants are creating. Then I can finally take forth in ridding my delicious straw berries of pests. Can somebody please tell me what pests I have probably attracted, and what I can do about it? I would like to use an organic insecticide and mabey other insects that are of help. (Note: I already know I have, strawberry sap beetles, roily ploys and possibly strawberry weevils.)
If anyone can help me out please do!
Thanks!

If your problem is slugs eggshells is a great fix. Crumble them up and put the all around your garden. They a FULL of calcium and nutrients that is great for your plants and soil. Also, slugs will not crawl over the egg she'll crumbles as they hurt there bottom side. It won't do anything for insects but its so easy to just toss them in there you might as well give it a try!

I have the same problem and can't not be birds, because I fenced with small holes chicken wire, is imposible for birds to go true the plants..

I think they are them little black bugs..I'm gonna try that "seven" to see if that does it..

I've read that used coffee grounds act as a deterrent for slugs and snails, even the little bit of caffeine left in them being toxic to them. It's a quick and cheap trick to try, anyway. I've also read that they are a deterrent to most rodents. I'm trying this for the first time this year, and it's early days yet, but so far no problems from either slugs and snails, the tree squirrels I see cavorting about, or the wood rats that stripped my lilies a few years ago. The coffee grounds are good for the plants and safe for kids and pets. I don't think it will help with insects or roaches, but who knows?

I did find a round hole like described in the opening post and I have to admit that after watching the video posted of the roach eating the strawberry, that looks like the most likely culprit. The question remains "What is an effective deterrent?" Who thinks of roaches as a garden pest? LOL!

If you have slug/snail problems - and where I am they will overrun you - the only effective treatment I've found is Sluggo or some generic equivalent. Copper, coffee grounds, beer traps, salt, ground egg shells, etc are generally a waste of time and eaten vegetables/plants. Ask me how I know.

My pest appears to be tiny flies. When I brush my hand through the foliage, they swarm up, then disappear again. The evidence of damage is little holes about 1/10 inch in diameter and a couple of tenths in depth. Always in the ripe end of ripening strawberries. I've tried a couple of sprays (Spinosad, Ortho elementals insecticidal soap), but they haven't reduced the number of holes or flies.

Anybody have good ideas about this problem?

Years ago I was able to purchase a few tons of shredded newspaper from our local recycling center at a reasonable price. Obviously there are litter issues for many gardeners to consider with shredded newspaper but it eliminated any concern of slugs.

Woodlouse's are eating mine they make the same small holes and always go for the ripe ones. I've started to pick the half ripe ones and put them in a bowl on the window to ripen.

strawberries will not ripen off the plant unfortunately, I use Sluggo plus