How to Protect Strawberry Plants From Critters

Few birds or critters can turn down the opportunity to feast on ripe red strawberries. Keeping the pests out of the patch so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor requires foresight and planning. Small animals, including rodents, rabbits and squirrels, along with birds, pose the greatest danger to your berries. Exclusion methods work best to save the strawberries, since the animals won't be able to reach the berries but the plants still receive the light and water they need to produce.


Dig a 6-inch trench around the perimeter of the strawberry patch. Install a 30-inch-high fence, with the bottom buried in the trench to keep rabbits and other pests from jumping into the patch or burrowing beneath.


Install 4-foot tall stakes in the bed, spacing them about 3 feet apart. Tape a 3-foot length of shiny mylar bird tape to the top of each stake, using fiberglass strapping tape. The reflective tape blowing in the wind scares away birds and other animals.


Place 2-foot tall stakes down each strawberry row, spacing the stakes about 2 feet apart. Drape bird netting over the top of the stakes, holding the netting above the plants. Mound soil or rocks onto the edges of the netting to anchor it to the ground to exclude birds, squirrels and other animals from your strawberry patch.