Figs Eaten on Tree Could be Rats!

Q. Your advice has helped me get a couple of dozen figs off my relatively young trees this year.  However, the attached photos show where there were two figs a few days ago and now they are entirely eaten.  I have a net over them so I don’t think it’s birds and I cannot see bugs anywhere on the plant.

Figs eaten, possibly rats

A. Any animal that is an omnivore will eat figs. Birds usually peck at the fruit and it is obvious the remaining fruit was pecked apart by a bird. Birds get under netting unless it is tightly pinned to the ground. You can visualize where the bird landed on the branch and did its damage.

            June beetles are flying now and they will also devour figs. They seem to prefer yellow or white figs. However, the bird netting should keep them out. These insects will be gone in a couple of weeks and your tree will continue to produce fruit.

Pomegranate fruit definitely by rat

            Other critters, like rats, eat them ripe or unripe and leave exactly what you are seeing; the fruit entirely gone except it’s stem still attached to the tree. Look at where the fruit was eaten and ask yourself the question, “Is the branch strong enough to support the weight of a rat?” If the answer is yes, you know rats are in the area, it looks like a rat ate it then it probably did.

            Other possibilities include ground squirrels. They like to steal grapes when they are ripe and can climb trees as easily as rats. Ground squirrels will completely clean out almond trees overnight.