Strawberry bed Protection

[mcdood]

I have a couple of beds of strawberries on my allotment and have netted with debris netting to stop the birds nicking them all before I can pick. This year it seems that what I can only think are mice,rats (likely suspect) or squirrels are keen too and are actually chewing several holes through the net to get at the strawberries. I've lifted the net for now to repair and use elsewhere as it's obviously useless here and I'd sooner the blackbirds got them than the rats . One thought for next year is to maybe use some sort of wire mesh instead. Does anyone else have similar problems/solutions?

[nickdub]

I have a couple of beds of strawberries on my allotment and have netted with debris netting to stop the birds nicking them all before I can pick. This year it seems that what I can only think are mice,rats (likely suspect) or squirrels are keen too and are actually chewing several holes through the net to get at the strawberries. I've lifted the net for now to repair and use elsewhere as it's obviously useless here and I'd sooner the blackbirds got them than the rats . One thought for next year is to maybe use some sort of wire mesh instead. Does anyone else have similar problems/solutions?

Yes to the same problems - the only workable solution I've found is to grow the plants in containers and then suspend them high up off the ground in the Poly-tunnel as they ripen. bit of a PITA, but its usually only a few weeks when the fruit is attractive to the pests, so the rest of the time they can go outside on the ground somewhere.