Whats eating my strawberries?

[Elizabeth C]

What kind of damage is this? Not birds, they’re well protected with netting and it doesn’t look like bird damage. I don’t see any slug or snail slime. It’s always at the base too, not at the tip. It’s not spittlebugs or any animal.
What kind of bug and how can I prevent it? For now, I just sprayed my berries with peppermint oil water because most bugs don’t like that.

 

[Eeilee]

Maybe slugs. Sprinkle some sluggo around the plants.

 

[YumYum]

I've had the same problem with my strawberries before. Never did find the culprit. Slugs were my best guess but I couldn't catch them in the act so still dont know.

 

[Susan BBPM]

We had that problem last year too. Hard to believe slugs as ours were in pots on a wooden bench. No trace of slug trails. I had assumed birds, but never saw birds near them. We never figured it out.

 

[YumYum]

I've had the same problem with my strawberries before. Never did find the culprit. Slugs were my best guess but I couldn't catch them in the act so still dont know.

On a side note those berries were in the ground. This year they are hanging in baskets and that hasn't happened anymore. Still get a little anthracnose rot though but not near as bad as in the ground.

 

[Flower]

I am not sure, perhaps mouse?

 

[Elizabeth C]

Thanks!