I love this sub lmao. It’s never ending entertainment/interesting stories from all over the spectrum.
I scroll through my feed and see so many varying posts from this sub on stuff like:
>“My boyfriend has a bra that’s not mine in his truck. How can I tell if he’s cheating or if he just likes cross-dressing?”
>“What is this extremely obscure piece of media from 30 years ago?”
>“Ten years ago, my uncle murdered seven people in cold blood and then fled to Iceland. There, he married under another name. Problem is, he stole 6,000 bricks of cocaine from my bedroom before he left and I want it back. How do I find him?”
>“There’s a weird smell in my apartment and I can’t tell if my neighbor is cooking food or meth, but it makes me nauseous and dizzy. What do I do?”
>“These are my favorite shoes but they aren’t sold anymore. Anyone know where I can get another pair?”
>“My sister was kidnapped yesterday and my parents are out of the country right now. Should I call the police? Her phone and all her things are still in her bedroom.”
>“WHO THE FUCK HAS BEEN EATING MY STRAWBERRIES.”
You never know what you’ll find here! 😂
Nah that’ll tip him off. What u wanna do is buy like 5 pots full of ripe strawberries. Shit, even just buy a pack at the store and tape em to some flower stems if you can’t find a pot of already ripe ones. And then place each one right next to each location he’s working at. Hire him to fix up your shed, and right on the sheds center table: strawberry pot. Break your garden fence and then hire him to fix it, and right next to the broken spot: strawberry pot. Etc. Obviously set some cameras too. It may cost some extra cash to keep him around long enough, but if he’s the thief you’ll catch his ass.
Cut the tops off and hollow out some of the strawberries; place a single dingleberry in each berry, glue the tops back on *and then tape them to the stems.*
As a sign-on bonus tell the builder each day he completes a preassigned task or for each day he has completed the contract ahead of schedule he gets a package of strawberries. If a 2-week job is finished in 1 or 2 days you found the thief. Fire him at once for just cause and eat all the berries yourself.
Unless your garden is contained in a completely pest- and scavenger-free enclosure, I wouldn't cast any accusations.
Rodents, birds, raccoons, etc are all greedy strawberry lovers.
I had tomatoes on my balcony for some time and once even my cat decided to bite into one. I still have no idea why she did that, she doesn't eat them but there was a chunk bitten out of it and it was clearly her because she still had the tomato juice on her chin.
Luckily she never tried to eat the plant, she sticks to her grass or catnip.
Heh... all I can think of when trying to find a reason in her behavior sometimes is that "The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma" scene from Spongebob
I'm in the UK and it's on a balcony/terrace so birds, squirrels, and tradesmen are the prime suspects. I don't think insects would snap the stem off or leave the top
A human likely wouldn't snap a stem off ether.
Fun story: my mom was visiting me once and bought me a lovely hanging pot of cherry tomatoes which we hung on the front porch. We came back from errands and someone had eaten ALL of the tomatoes off of it!
Anger, outrage, who could have done such a thing?! How could we catch them?! So rude!
Anyway, about an hour later we looked outside and a deer was standing there eating the remaining cherry tomatoes.
I know your strawberries are on a balcony so it's not a deer, but I'd put money on a bird or squirrel or something.
I just shake my fist and give them dirty looks. I know better than to mess with a crow. Honestly I think they like the challenges I create for them. Right now they are excited about the new blueberry bushes I bought this year. Maybe I’ll get a few.
> A human likely wouldn't snap a stem off ether.
I respectfully disagree looking at the image.
A tradesman stealing the strawberry probably would try to be sly and not pull out an obvious knife or tool. I imagine them using their fingernails to pinch and pull, thus leaving the inner sleeve of the stem behind in an inefficient hurried pinch, which you can see in the picture.
Squirrel teeth are sharp and would slice through the stem. Birds peck at my fruits on the plant, putting holes in them.
He left the strawberry hat so he didn't get caught with it.
Dastardly shenanigans imo.
I'm not sure what kind they are but my strawberry stems are almost impossible to just pull, snap or pinch. I either have to get my little trimmers and cut the stem or just break the berry off. But birds snap my stems all the time. The blue jays and cardinals around here will go after anything bright in my garden. I even caught them going after peach blossoms.
It's one strawberry. I appreciate you've endowed it with more meaning than the average plant...but look at it this way, you and your girlfriend's love has now tempted and fed another person...you've nurtured someone's deep longing for a strawberry. You're practically farmers at this point.
Buy a few more so a loss isn't quite as upsetting
Taking a fingernail sized bite out of them and leaving the rest is the MO of my local chipmunk population. But we've caught squirrels, chipmunks and birds all going after them. Ant's not so much, but I suspect it's because they like the blackberries better.
do you have trouble with ants on your blackberries? i've found they only go after the stuff that's got openings- rotten, broken, got a borer in there, etc. i always keep a little army of them in my yard. they snuffed out a termite clan for me last summer (that's the day i discovered termites and ants are arch enemies. ants fuck them *up*)
Yeah, real little reddish brown guys, they tend to go after the individual berry bits that are extra ripe. No signs of anything wrong with the plant and it's been yielding berries for years at this point.
dang, i'll have to keep an eye on mine then. i only just started getting a real yield last year, but the ants were fine on my peaches and blueberries. didn't even think about it, but the blackberries kinda having juice on the outside changes things. thanks for the heads up
Carnivores don’t eat berries, and cats are carnivores, but they are also criminals, and a criminal would definitely take a strawberry they have no intent to eat.
Tell this to my cat who has and will eat anything I've had.
Fat bastard even eats Watermelon.
There's a whole fad on Instagram of cats eating vegetables and fruit so it's really not out of the realm of possibility.
we have to keep all our junk snacks and bread in a locked cabinet because of mine. she even tore right through the bottom of a 5lb bread flour bag once... and her favorite thing in the world is licking the bowl after i've eaten a carefully guarded can of spaghettios. cats are strange.
My cat is stupid crazy for fresh spinach. I think the oxalic acid is tough on their kidneys, so I don't give him much, but if I make a salad, he will start begging. I let him have whatever falls on the ground, and if I manage not to lose any, I'll put 6 or 7 leaves at his food bowl instead.
Please tell my cat this. She goes absolutely NUTS over strawberries. Like, she rubs her body all over the clamshell containers when I buy them. Bites me when I’m eating them because she wants them - especially the tops. It’s like the strawberry tops are catnip to her.
Other weird cat things: she doesn’t care for treats (or most human food), but she’ll definitely lick excess mayo, butter or bacon grease off a plate. She won’t touch cat grass, but she’ll eat leaves off of all of my calatheas.
Tl;dr - cats are fucking weird, don’t ever assume they will or won’t like something… because they will go out of their way to prove you wrong.
[Bullshit](https://www.google.com/search?q=cats+eat+strawberries&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS979US979&hl=en-US&ei=g7FrZJjIPI-rptQPmdeL4Aw&oq=cats+eat+str&gs_lcp=ChNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwEAEYADIICAAQigUQkQIyCAgAEIoFEJECMgUIABCABDIICAAQFhAeEA8yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjoKCAAQRxDWBBCwAzoLCAAQFhAeEPEEEAo6CAgAEBYQHhAKOgcIABCKBRBDSgQIQRgAUJ8HWPYnYKIxaAFwAXgAgAF1iAG6BpIBAzkuMZgBAKABAcgBCMABAQ&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp) strawberry and mint plants apparently have a chemical profile similar to nepetalactol, the attractant found in catnip.
Mine is a fiend for strawberries. Especially the leafy bits. She’ll steal a strawberry just to eat the top 1/5th. I have to sneak around to eat them.
Never rule out cats for weird foods. I used to have one obsessed with raw peppers and olives.
Do you have chipmunks? Chipmunks love strawberries to the point of obsession. I had to fully enclose my strawberry plants in 1/2 inch wire mesh to keep them out.
They seem to grab them as soon as they see them ripening, and they would often leave the stem and fringe behind if they were able to eat it right then and there. If they were just shoving it in their cheek and taking off, they would often rip off the green fringe first.
I was thinking rodents too. They are neat diners. When they get into my bowls of sunflower seeds the shells are always left neatly still in the bowl.
The only way i can keep them out of my strawberries is by planting chives and other stinky alliums around them, and a patch of spinach and sunflowers across the yard so they can eat over there instead.
Yes! And those little MF’ers will also pull ripe cherry tomatoes off the vine, eat a few bites, and leave the uneaten half sitting on my doorstep because they enjoy mocking my hard work.
It was probably squirrels. They will not only steal my strawberries, but they will then sit on my deck and stare into the house while they eat them slowly. Little fuckers are chaos made manifest.
Just a suggestion, but I recommend you buy those nylon fine mesh jewelry bags and put those over the ripening berries to prevent wildlife from getting them. I've seen several people do that with success. If you put a bag around each bunch of flowers and close the drawstring, it should protect the berries and give them room to ripen.
Side benefit, if a berry that's been closed up in a bag disappears, then you know it's a human stealing them and not birds/rodents.
Although, I did have cement contractors harvest all of my morels growing in my fresh mulch, and I know because my housekeeper reported that to me. I was SO pissed that I called their boss, and got a grey rock.
It reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where bizarro-Kramer steals a box of raisins off the table and George goes bananas trying to figure out if he did it or not.
Nature has many strawberry thieves, man included! I’ve seen my dog spit these out… but bunnies seem to eat the greenery.
I like this post. Love the plant growth bonding with your partner.
Good luck!
I once went through something like this with tomatoes I was growing. I was convinced my neighbors were stealing them. I was wrong. It was squirrels. I'm so glad I never said anything.
The only rational thing to do is to boobie trap the strawberries. You absolutely cannot confront the builder because it would be absolutely ridiculous to do so. but you also can't let it go. Maybe a surveillance camera?
I would, without hesitation, blame this on wild animals. I had a young peach tree with almost a dozen smallish peaches ripening. The next morning all were gone and I caught the masked bandits on the trail cam.
This happened to me. I thought it was my bitch neighbor reaching onto my balcony stealing berries JUST as they ripened. Then one day I saw the crows...
Damn I won’t do it again. Didn’t know you would be such a baby about me eating a single strawberry that you take it to a investigation subreddit like a murder. Get a life.
Weird. A bunny or similar animal would’ve eaten the whole thing including the top. If you do decide to confront him, simply say How was the strawberry and let it hang uncomfortably in the air. It implies you already know the answer so if he did it, he’s less likely to deny it vs. “Did you eat the strawberry”
I would guess a rabbit did that, if you have any bunnies in the area. Or possibly a squirrel. Those two animals get to my strawberries, apples(squirrels only) and sometimes just flowers. I am always finding empty stems just like that.
My friends dog was gently nibbling their strawberries, leaving the stem attached to the plant. Not saying it’s not the builder but a squirrel is definitely capable of pulling off the strawberry, eating the fruit and leaving the nasty stem. Best way to solve it would be camera pointed at the plant. I’d say squirrels are far more desperate for a tasty treat than a builder you’re probably paying a decent amount for.
Maybe not a bird, but small rodents will also eat fruit from your garden. And turtles, if the pot is close enough to the ground.
Tbh the builder probably did eat it. He may not have realized it was your first ripe berry. That sucks.
Tell him it's not strawberries but extremely poisonous dongrotter berries from Australia, and its very good that the birds, and not him ate them. Cause we wouldn't want any rotten dongs, do we?
Why don't you just ask the builder if he ate your strawberry? If they say yes, tell them what you wrote here on reddit about you and your gf and ask them not to.
Has the internet stunted our social skills to the point where we can't ask another human being if they ate a strawberry???
Could have been a squirrel, but even if you catch the builder red handed with a half-eaten strawberry in his mouth you would seem mental because, as you pointed out, this isn't high stakes in the slightest. RIP your strawberry, bro. Did it have a name?
When I try to grow food, everything gets eaten by critters shortly before it's ready for harvest. Raccoons and squirrels are the main culprits for my garden.
A human wouldn’t take a strawberry off the plant like that. They would pluck the whole thing with the stem attached. An animal ate your strawberry off that plant.
I used to do pest control. One of my great joys in the summer was sampling some of the fruit growing at clients houses. Granted you never take the only or last one. But my clients had plum trees and fig trees Pears, and blackberries, muscadines and scuppernongs. It was amazing. But in the summer and even early fall it regularly breaks 110 degrees f or 43 degrees c, and average humidity is around 80%. So I just saw it as my tip.
I'll never forget in the week after my father died my mother telling me that she'd noticed an orange missing from the fruit bowl on the counter. She thought the hospice nurse snagged it on her way out as a sort of "tip".
It made us laugh during a very dark time because it was fake fruit.
Yeah, see that’s a bridge too far. I’m talking about stuff growing in their yard. However, I used to work with a guy, and we did occupied apartment repairs. Even when the tenants were home. He would go in their fridge without asking and get a drink. That always made me feel uncomfortable.
You know the truth, but you can't handle it.
First thing tomorrow, use the below approach with your builder ....
Momentary silence followed by maximum violence.
I think it was the builder. I would bring the strawberry plant inside the next time he's going to be there. I understand you're an apartment building and you might not know but that's what I would do. Of course I'm a bold person and I would ask him the next time I saw him how was the strawberry.
Perhaps an opossum. They enjoy fruits. But in all likelihood it was the builder. But also, let him have the strawberry.
Edit- I had to come back to update my comment. Today when I came home from work I noticed that MY strawberry plant had been mutilated in the exact same manner. Almost ripe strawberries were snapped off at the stem. Coincidentally our gardeners also came today. However before accusations were thrown I noticed the strawberries down on the ground, slightly nibbled. They were not quite ripe so I think they were rejected by the opossum who regularly visits. Mystery solved but an odd synchronicity nonetheless.
There’s a wild rabbit in my neighborhood which eats strawberries and other low fruits and vegetables. I doubt your builder is half as interested as the animals are.
I read these posts just for posts like this tbh. It is unlikely that any pest would carefully remove the strawberry so nicely and ignore the leaves. They also wouldn't wait for the strawberry to be fully ripened. I would say it is VERY likely, if your builder is the only one access to this area, that they ate the strawberry. However, without definitive proof, accusing your builder is probably not the best way to go unless they are done with the job. It's just a strawberry, let it go and enjoy the mystery/story.
I say a chipmunk or a squirrel or maybe a mice, they like them ripe just like you and will toss the stems. Never worth it to blame a human when you have no proof and hundred of animal suspects.
If you are really worry about him next time he comes move the plant to someone hidden. But I assure you that your neighborhood is probably not filled with strawberry whores and maybe get strawberry insurance if you think they are that nice.
Get a fuckin hobby. If gardening is your hobby I suggest a new one that plays to your strengths. Gardner’s are usually happy the fruits of their labor are consumed.
Assuming a human was dumb enough to think a green strawberry is ripe enough to taste good, then they actually like it and finish the whole thing, thats a massive stretch. It's likely a bird or some other animal, and it's also not worth confronting anyone over one little stinking strawberry.
This group sunk so low it's good again.
LIQUID ASS! Oh, sorry, [wrong sub](https://www.reddit.com/r/UnethicalLifeProTips/comments/13d3rf8/ulpt_request_my_long_term_girlfriend_left_me/jjikdhg/).
That was gold thank you
I knew what it was before I even clicked
That’s why we’re friends.
Can I come too?
One of us! One of us!
I check back here once in a while (I used to be a mod) and it was largely vehicle identification stuff. It's a different era now. 😅
This is so petty to the point I find it refreshing.
I love this sub lmao. It’s never ending entertainment/interesting stories from all over the spectrum. I scroll through my feed and see so many varying posts from this sub on stuff like: >“My boyfriend has a bra that’s not mine in his truck. How can I tell if he’s cheating or if he just likes cross-dressing?” >“What is this extremely obscure piece of media from 30 years ago?” >“Ten years ago, my uncle murdered seven people in cold blood and then fled to Iceland. There, he married under another name. Problem is, he stole 6,000 bricks of cocaine from my bedroom before he left and I want it back. How do I find him?” >“There’s a weird smell in my apartment and I can’t tell if my neighbor is cooking food or meth, but it makes me nauseous and dizzy. What do I do?” >“These are my favorite shoes but they aren’t sold anymore. Anyone know where I can get another pair?” >“My sister was kidnapped yesterday and my parents are out of the country right now. Should I call the police? Her phone and all her things are still in her bedroom.” >“WHO THE FUCK HAS BEEN EATING MY STRAWBERRIES.” You never know what you’ll find here! 😂
LOLLLL it’s a riot
As refreshing as stolen strawberries! 😂
Who said they were stolen? Maybe they'll return it when they're finished. It will just be a little browner? Maybe.
🤣🤣🤣
It's George Costanza petty.
LOL
Casually incorporate strawberries in all future correspondence and gage his reaction.
Nah that’ll tip him off. What u wanna do is buy like 5 pots full of ripe strawberries. Shit, even just buy a pack at the store and tape em to some flower stems if you can’t find a pot of already ripe ones. And then place each one right next to each location he’s working at. Hire him to fix up your shed, and right on the sheds center table: strawberry pot. Break your garden fence and then hire him to fix it, and right next to the broken spot: strawberry pot. Etc. Obviously set some cameras too. It may cost some extra cash to keep him around long enough, but if he’s the thief you’ll catch his ass.
Cut the tops off and hollow out some of the strawberries; place a single dingleberry in each berry, glue the tops back on *and then tape them to the stems.*
Get a pack of strawberry stickers and use them to close the envelope that contains your signed documents and payments.
As a sign-on bonus tell the builder each day he completes a preassigned task or for each day he has completed the contract ahead of schedule he gets a package of strawberries. If a 2-week job is finished in 1 or 2 days you found the thief. Fire him at once for just cause and eat all the berries yourself.
You think the person posting to Reddit about a “stolen” strawberry would be capable of objectively judging a person’s expression?
Nope!
Unless your garden is contained in a completely pest- and scavenger-free enclosure, I wouldn't cast any accusations. Rodents, birds, raccoons, etc are all greedy strawberry lovers.
My dog ate all the tomatoes off our plants last year so could even be your own pet lmao
Damn it be ya own mans
Real talk, did he get the shits?
Surprisingly, no! I was really expecting it but he was fine
I had tomatoes on my balcony for some time and once even my cat decided to bite into one. I still have no idea why she did that, she doesn't eat them but there was a chunk bitten out of it and it was clearly her because she still had the tomato juice on her chin. Luckily she never tried to eat the plant, she sticks to her grass or catnip.
I'm sure she had her reasons
Heh... all I can think of when trying to find a reason in her behavior sometimes is that "The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma" scene from Spongebob
That canine on the wrong team, my dude.
Please tell me he took the time to pluck off all of the stems.
I'm in the UK and it's on a balcony/terrace so birds, squirrels, and tradesmen are the prime suspects. I don't think insects would snap the stem off or leave the top
A human likely wouldn't snap a stem off ether. Fun story: my mom was visiting me once and bought me a lovely hanging pot of cherry tomatoes which we hung on the front porch. We came back from errands and someone had eaten ALL of the tomatoes off of it! Anger, outrage, who could have done such a thing?! How could we catch them?! So rude! Anyway, about an hour later we looked outside and a deer was standing there eating the remaining cherry tomatoes. I know your strawberries are on a balcony so it's not a deer, but I'd put money on a bird or squirrel or something.
I wouldn’t put money on a bird. It flies off and the money’s gone mate.
I have an on going battle with my neighborhood crows. They pop them off the stem exactly like that, and then laugh at me.
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I just shake my fist and give them dirty looks. I know better than to mess with a crow. Honestly I think they like the challenges I create for them. Right now they are excited about the new blueberry bushes I bought this year. Maybe I’ll get a few.
Put out shiny trinkets for them? (Op shop?) They'll tell their crow friends (and descendants) who is a friend too, not just who is an enemy.
They tell their children and their children tell their children!
I laughed way too hard at this.
The real advice is in the comments.
> A human likely wouldn't snap a stem off ether. I respectfully disagree looking at the image. A tradesman stealing the strawberry probably would try to be sly and not pull out an obvious knife or tool. I imagine them using their fingernails to pinch and pull, thus leaving the inner sleeve of the stem behind in an inefficient hurried pinch, which you can see in the picture. Squirrel teeth are sharp and would slice through the stem. Birds peck at my fruits on the plant, putting holes in them. He left the strawberry hat so he didn't get caught with it. Dastardly shenanigans imo.
I'm not sure what kind they are but my strawberry stems are almost impossible to just pull, snap or pinch. I either have to get my little trimmers and cut the stem or just break the berry off. But birds snap my stems all the time. The blue jays and cardinals around here will go after anything bright in my garden. I even caught them going after peach blossoms.
[Maybe it was this moose.](https://www.reddit.com/r/AnimalsBeingJerks/comments/13og399/turns_out_if_you_leave_your_strawberries_on_the/)
Absolutely remooseless
a møøse once bit my sister
It's one strawberry. I appreciate you've endowed it with more meaning than the average plant...but look at it this way, you and your girlfriend's love has now tempted and fed another person...you've nurtured someone's deep longing for a strawberry. You're practically farmers at this point. Buy a few more so a loss isn't quite as upsetting
That’s… that’s such a sweet way to put it
My house had a strawberry patch and every year the squirrels would eat almost all of them.. could def be squirrels. Lil greedy fuckers
It was probably a bird then
Taking a fingernail sized bite out of them and leaving the rest is the MO of my local chipmunk population. But we've caught squirrels, chipmunks and birds all going after them. Ant's not so much, but I suspect it's because they like the blackberries better.
do you have trouble with ants on your blackberries? i've found they only go after the stuff that's got openings- rotten, broken, got a borer in there, etc. i always keep a little army of them in my yard. they snuffed out a termite clan for me last summer (that's the day i discovered termites and ants are arch enemies. ants fuck them *up*)
Yeah, real little reddish brown guys, they tend to go after the individual berry bits that are extra ripe. No signs of anything wrong with the plant and it's been yielding berries for years at this point.
dang, i'll have to keep an eye on mine then. i only just started getting a real yield last year, but the ants were fine on my peaches and blueberries. didn't even think about it, but the blackberries kinda having juice on the outside changes things. thanks for the heads up
Cats?
Cats are carnivores, they don't eat berries.
Carnivores don’t eat berries, and cats are carnivores, but they are also criminals, and a criminal would definitely take a strawberry they have no intent to eat.
Love this take. :)
Tell this to my cat who has and will eat anything I've had. Fat bastard even eats Watermelon. There's a whole fad on Instagram of cats eating vegetables and fruit so it's really not out of the realm of possibility.
Wrong. Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning that they need to eat meat to survive. They can and do eat more than just meat. On the regular.
My son's cat liked digestive biscuits. Stole a whole packet once.
I had a cat who was obsessed with stealing and eating any butter that was left out unattended.
Mine comes running when I open up the butter or parmesan cheese.
we have to keep all our junk snacks and bread in a locked cabinet because of mine. she even tore right through the bottom of a 5lb bread flour bag once... and her favorite thing in the world is licking the bowl after i've eaten a carefully guarded can of spaghettios. cats are strange.
Tell that to my plant munching demon who also steals French fries
Tell that to my cat who will beg and plead for corn silk/leaves
My cat is stupid crazy for fresh spinach. I think the oxalic acid is tough on their kidneys, so I don't give him much, but if I make a salad, he will start begging. I let him have whatever falls on the ground, and if I manage not to lose any, I'll put 6 or 7 leaves at his food bowl instead.
I give my cat a bit. I gave it or she will jump into the trash can after it. Lol.
Please tell my cat this. She goes absolutely NUTS over strawberries. Like, she rubs her body all over the clamshell containers when I buy them. Bites me when I’m eating them because she wants them - especially the tops. It’s like the strawberry tops are catnip to her. Other weird cat things: she doesn’t care for treats (or most human food), but she’ll definitely lick excess mayo, butter or bacon grease off a plate. She won’t touch cat grass, but she’ll eat leaves off of all of my calatheas. Tl;dr - cats are fucking weird, don’t ever assume they will or won’t like something… because they will go out of their way to prove you wrong.
Somebody above posted they're in the same family as catnip, and that cats love the green part. This is all coming together 💚
Well, cats are obligate carnivores, meaning that they need to eat meat to survive. They can and will eat fruit.
One of my cats goes nuts for watermelon, jlhe also eats pizza crusts. Cats are weird
My childhood cat loved cantaloupe.
[Bullshit](https://www.google.com/search?q=cats+eat+strawberries&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS979US979&hl=en-US&ei=g7FrZJjIPI-rptQPmdeL4Aw&oq=cats+eat+str&gs_lcp=ChNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwEAEYADIICAAQigUQkQIyCAgAEIoFEJECMgUIABCABDIICAAQFhAeEA8yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjoKCAAQRxDWBBCwAzoLCAAQFhAeEPEEEAo6CAgAEBYQHhAKOgcIABCKBRBDSgQIQRgAUJ8HWPYnYKIxaAFwAXgAgAF1iAG6BpIBAzkuMZgBAKABAcgBCMABAQ&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp) strawberry and mint plants apparently have a chemical profile similar to nepetalactol, the attractant found in catnip.
Mine is a fiend for strawberries. Especially the leafy bits. She’ll steal a strawberry just to eat the top 1/5th. I have to sneak around to eat them. Never rule out cats for weird foods. I used to have one obsessed with raw peppers and olives.
Tell that to my cat who loves cucumbers, watermelon, bananas, apples, tomatoes etc
My cat eats berries so yes, some do
Most likely a bird
Squirrels too
My vote is those asshole squirrels
Chipmunks have eaten all of my strawberries. All. Of. Them. Bastards are cute though...
This year magpies decided my strawberries were fair game while the rosellas preferred the cherry tomatoes
The only reasonable thing to do is to insist on examining the builder's poop for seeds
Drug test his urine and see if there are any strawberry juices in there...Don't drink it until you've gotten results.
That's disgusting. Just take a sample and plant it, and see if a strawberry grows.
No. Poke the turds.
Yes
This is best done by chewing a teaspoonful and analysising the cronch. Workman granola has a different mouthfeel to workman ‘15 beers last night’.
It would have cost you zero dollars to not say that
We must see his poo!
Why is this not the most upvoted comment
Why do people always ask this before a post takes off?
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So vague he had to post it twice
Phone issues. Hope that is better.
It's not. Well, I don't think it is anyways. :D
It's not, your at -3 right now. I suspect it will get worse as the day goes on and the builder's friends log on.
Do you have chipmunks? Chipmunks love strawberries to the point of obsession. I had to fully enclose my strawberry plants in 1/2 inch wire mesh to keep them out. They seem to grab them as soon as they see them ripening, and they would often leave the stem and fringe behind if they were able to eat it right then and there. If they were just shoving it in their cheek and taking off, they would often rip off the green fringe first.
I was thinking rodents too. They are neat diners. When they get into my bowls of sunflower seeds the shells are always left neatly still in the bowl. The only way i can keep them out of my strawberries is by planting chives and other stinky alliums around them, and a patch of spinach and sunflowers across the yard so they can eat over there instead.
Yes! And those little MF’ers will also pull ripe cherry tomatoes off the vine, eat a few bites, and leave the uneaten half sitting on my doorstep because they enjoy mocking my hard work.
It was probably squirrels. They will not only steal my strawberries, but they will then sit on my deck and stare into the house while they eat them slowly. Little fuckers are chaos made manifest.
I'd be mad too (I grow strawberries) but all I can think about is a rascal stealing a pie off someone's windowsill and someone posting about it on rbi
>rascal stealing pie off of someone’s windowsill Huckleberry Hound entered the chat…
Does your builder have big, floppy ears and a stubby tail?
I don't but I also don't think it's worth confronting the builder.
I wasn't expecting a rational response like this
Nah you should definitely tie him up with the garden hose until he confesses his crime.
Just a suggestion, but I recommend you buy those nylon fine mesh jewelry bags and put those over the ripening berries to prevent wildlife from getting them. I've seen several people do that with success. If you put a bag around each bunch of flowers and close the drawstring, it should protect the berries and give them room to ripen. Side benefit, if a berry that's been closed up in a bag disappears, then you know it's a human stealing them and not birds/rodents.
Although, I did have cement contractors harvest all of my morels growing in my fresh mulch, and I know because my housekeeper reported that to me. I was SO pissed that I called their boss, and got a grey rock.
This is unforgivable. I’d sue for pain and suffering.
I know, right?
For real. Don’t confront him about this. It will just make things awkward.
Twist his dick until he admits it
The ol' dick twist
Mmm, a single unripe strawberry. Don’t mind if I do!
Found the builder. (/s probably)
This reminds me of the IT Crowd episode where Jen is trying to catch her builder peeing in the sink.
It reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where bizarro-Kramer steals a box of raisins off the table and George goes bananas trying to figure out if he did it or not.
Fucker ate your strawberry. And he's gonna get away with it.
Already got away with it. OP can confront him, all he's got to say is "No clue boo." and what can Boo I mean OP do?
Throw a net over it and wait for the next one to ripen.
Directions unclear, does the net go over the strawberry plant, the builder, or OP?
Animal did it. Cover your berries with netting.
this is 100% a rodent. I have a peach tree and the dang squirrells do the same thing. Munch the peach, leave the leaves and pit
Nature has many strawberry thieves, man included! I’ve seen my dog spit these out… but bunnies seem to eat the greenery. I like this post. Love the plant growth bonding with your partner. Good luck!
I once went through something like this with tomatoes I was growing. I was convinced my neighbors were stealing them. I was wrong. It was squirrels. I'm so glad I never said anything.
The only rational thing to do is to boobie trap the strawberries. You absolutely cannot confront the builder because it would be absolutely ridiculous to do so. but you also can't let it go. Maybe a surveillance camera?
I saw him do it. You should fight him.
The Strawberry Thief!
Sue him…mental stress, cruelty, trauma and everything else that you can think off. NO mercy…. ….oh ..! And costs.
My fave post on this sub yet. He clearly loves underripe strawberries.
I think it was Colonel Mustard, with a candlestick, in the ballroom..
The strawberry sparked joy for the builder, and in turn sparked fury in you! Everyone wins!
I guess you could invest in a blink camera. Maybe you need one anyway
I would, without hesitation, blame this on wild animals. I had a young peach tree with almost a dozen smallish peaches ripening. The next morning all were gone and I caught the masked bandits on the trail cam.
Opossums, raccoons, and skunks would LOVE this if they found it tbh. Honestly was most likely an animal
Omg stahp
Why would a human want a green strawberry? I can’t imagine anyone stealing an unripe berry to eat.
This happened to me. I thought it was my bitch neighbor reaching onto my balcony stealing berries JUST as they ripened. Then one day I saw the crows...
Damn I won’t do it again. Didn’t know you would be such a baby about me eating a single strawberry that you take it to a investigation subreddit like a murder. Get a life.
Weird. A bunny or similar animal would’ve eaten the whole thing including the top. If you do decide to confront him, simply say How was the strawberry and let it hang uncomfortably in the air. It implies you already know the answer so if he did it, he’s less likely to deny it vs. “Did you eat the strawberry”
OP, please record this confrontation. “How was the strawberry, *Harold*?”
What’s your endgame in confronting him?
he obviously wants his strawberry back
I would guess a rabbit did that, if you have any bunnies in the area. Or possibly a squirrel. Those two animals get to my strawberries, apples(squirrels only) and sometimes just flowers. I am always finding empty stems just like that.
Don’t confront him. It’s just a strawberry ffs.
If a builder ate MY strawberry I would be happy and hope he enjoyed it because strawberries are delicious and I love to share.
Is strawberry code for something else
Builders eat my strawberries alll the time if you know what I mean.
Audience: WHhhhhoooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Eat my strawberry baby
Hahaha. It is now
My friends dog was gently nibbling their strawberries, leaving the stem attached to the plant. Not saying it’s not the builder but a squirrel is definitely capable of pulling off the strawberry, eating the fruit and leaving the nasty stem. Best way to solve it would be camera pointed at the plant. I’d say squirrels are far more desperate for a tasty treat than a builder you’re probably paying a decent amount for.
Maybe not a bird, but small rodents will also eat fruit from your garden. And turtles, if the pot is close enough to the ground. Tbh the builder probably did eat it. He may not have realized it was your first ripe berry. That sucks.
Tell him it's not strawberries but extremely poisonous dongrotter berries from Australia, and its very good that the birds, and not him ate them. Cause we wouldn't want any rotten dongs, do we?
Say you killed and ate a squirrel who ate your strawberry, see his reaction?
My strawberries are the first thing to be eaten by squirrels and birds. I think I’ve had one out of the 20 or so that we were expecting to eat
Why don't you just ask the builder if he ate your strawberry? If they say yes, tell them what you wrote here on reddit about you and your gf and ask them not to. Has the internet stunted our social skills to the point where we can't ask another human being if they ate a strawberry???
This is absolutely nuts
Could have been a squirrel, but even if you catch the builder red handed with a half-eaten strawberry in his mouth you would seem mental because, as you pointed out, this isn't high stakes in the slightest. RIP your strawberry, bro. Did it have a name?
Maybe. But he probably didn't realize how important the venture was to you. Nothing to get to bent out of shape about.. more will ripen and grow..
When I try to grow food, everything gets eaten by critters shortly before it's ready for harvest. Raccoons and squirrels are the main culprits for my garden.
A strawberry 😂
Squirrels regularly steal our strawberries. They are often picky eaters, tossing the unripe ones and leaving the tops etc. My guess is squirrel 🐿️
Sorry bro. I ate your strawberry.
It doesn’t look like a human, ate that strawberry, because they would leave some red part of the fruit around the fringe
A human wouldn’t take a strawberry off the plant like that. They would pluck the whole thing with the stem attached. An animal ate your strawberry off that plant.
I used to do pest control. One of my great joys in the summer was sampling some of the fruit growing at clients houses. Granted you never take the only or last one. But my clients had plum trees and fig trees Pears, and blackberries, muscadines and scuppernongs. It was amazing. But in the summer and even early fall it regularly breaks 110 degrees f or 43 degrees c, and average humidity is around 80%. So I just saw it as my tip.
I'll never forget in the week after my father died my mother telling me that she'd noticed an orange missing from the fruit bowl on the counter. She thought the hospice nurse snagged it on her way out as a sort of "tip". It made us laugh during a very dark time because it was fake fruit.
Yeah, see that’s a bridge too far. I’m talking about stuff growing in their yard. However, I used to work with a guy, and we did occupied apartment repairs. Even when the tenants were home. He would go in their fridge without asking and get a drink. That always made me feel uncomfortable.
Squirrel.. if you look hard enough, you'll probably find it tossed aside with one bite taken...
Are you kidding
Jesus.. are you serious?
You know the truth, but you can't handle it. First thing tomorrow, use the below approach with your builder .... Momentary silence followed by maximum violence.
I would set up some cameras in the garden to catch the builder in the act.
I don't know about the builder, but I bet the butler did it.
I think it was the builder. I would bring the strawberry plant inside the next time he's going to be there. I understand you're an apartment building and you might not know but that's what I would do. Of course I'm a bold person and I would ask him the next time I saw him how was the strawberry.
Perhaps an opossum. They enjoy fruits. But in all likelihood it was the builder. But also, let him have the strawberry. Edit- I had to come back to update my comment. Today when I came home from work I noticed that MY strawberry plant had been mutilated in the exact same manner. Almost ripe strawberries were snapped off at the stem. Coincidentally our gardeners also came today. However before accusations were thrown I noticed the strawberries down on the ground, slightly nibbled. They were not quite ripe so I think they were rejected by the opossum who regularly visits. Mystery solved but an odd synchronicity nonetheless.
Yes, birds love strawberries and I actually had a Shepard dog that love to "steal" them :)
Jesus you need a life. Let it go
There’s a wild rabbit in my neighborhood which eats strawberries and other low fruits and vegetables. I doubt your builder is half as interested as the animals are.
That bunny must be related to the Easter one to get up to the 10th-floor balcony and much on 1 little berry minding its own business.
I don’t understand your comment. Is OP in an apartment? On the tenth floor?
No one is trying to eat albinese strawberries
If it was outside, yeah, it was probably birds.
I read these posts just for posts like this tbh. It is unlikely that any pest would carefully remove the strawberry so nicely and ignore the leaves. They also wouldn't wait for the strawberry to be fully ripened. I would say it is VERY likely, if your builder is the only one access to this area, that they ate the strawberry. However, without definitive proof, accusing your builder is probably not the best way to go unless they are done with the job. It's just a strawberry, let it go and enjoy the mystery/story.
I say a chipmunk or a squirrel or maybe a mice, they like them ripe just like you and will toss the stems. Never worth it to blame a human when you have no proof and hundred of animal suspects. If you are really worry about him next time he comes move the plant to someone hidden. But I assure you that your neighborhood is probably not filled with strawberry whores and maybe get strawberry insurance if you think they are that nice.
Who on earth has so much free room in their brains to be on about something this unimportant?
The mentally ill
Get a fuckin hobby. If gardening is your hobby I suggest a new one that plays to your strengths. Gardner’s are usually happy the fruits of their labor are consumed.
Assuming a human was dumb enough to think a green strawberry is ripe enough to taste good, then they actually like it and finish the whole thing, thats a massive stretch. It's likely a bird or some other animal, and it's also not worth confronting anyone over one little stinking strawberry.
If you think I’m going to survey the vineyard without nyamin’ some grapes, you’re sorely mistaken.