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drivewayfarmer

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 
I have some figs growing very low to the ground and a few almost ripe ones have been eaten leaving just the stem attached with a little of the skin.
Found this under ripe fig today with this damage shown in the pics ,( blurry, I know)
Looks like teeth marks to me , but I can't really tell.
Characteristic of anything you know ?
Thanks for any help.

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Kerry Zone 5 NH
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JoAnn749

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
Since it was low, could it be a rabbit?
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Jo-Ann DFW TX, Zone 7b-8a Wish List: Black Madeira,, Kathleen's Black, Malta Black, Marseille VS Black, White Paradisio, LSU Scott's Black, Conadria, White Trianna, Marttineca Rimada, Excel, Peter's Honey, Bebera Preta (Abebereira), Strawberry Verte
drivewayfarmer

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
Jo-Ann ,
I guess it is possible, I've never seen a rabbit around here but that doesn't mean they are not around.
If it is teeth marks, they look like a lot of sharp teeth !
I am in the middle of town , but we have chipmuncks , squirrels,racoons, possum , skunks. With all of those ,I've never had any damage until now. These are on my only in ground fig and they are almost touching the ground or less than 6 inches off the ground.
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Kerry Zone 5 NH
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landscapewitch

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
It looks like possum dentition more than any other. Rabbits and squirrels have serious front incisors. These figs in your photos were presumably very unripe and inedible?
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Alexis
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drivewayfarmer

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
Yes Alexis ,
They are unripe , I think they were just testing them and decided to wait.
Funny because the others they ate were only eaten very close to full ripeness.
Hoping they got a mouthful of itchy sap to discourage them.
So possum have a mouthful of small sharp teeth ?
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Kerry Zone 5 NH
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go4broek

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Does it match the shape of any of your pets' mouth? The second pic looks like a bite from something with dull teeth (canine).
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Ruben
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landscapewitch

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
Say good evening to one some time and take a good look when she smiles back at you ;)
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Alexis
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DesertDance

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
OMG!  Possum's have bad memories to me.  Long ago in another house, I kept fruit on a plate in the kitchen.  Woke up to find bites in most of it.  Did laundry, walked into the garage... POSSUM in the rafters!!  You heard me scream over there in NH, right?

Possum's love fruit and they can climb.  Doesn't have to be low for them.  Coon's or rabbits might be the culprits.  But Possums can also go low for food, so we can't rule them out.  You need a night cam triggered by movement!

Suzi
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rcantor

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Posted Reply with quote  #9 
I think it might be slugs or snails working all night.  I'd expect possums to have bigger teeth. 
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Herman2

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
If they are close to ground it is field mouse,eating them.
Womack

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Posted Reply with quote  #11 
The most likely explanation to me is a mouse or chipmunk. Opossum are not particular enough to taste much of anything and turn it down. With so many types of wildlife that will eat ripe figs, the critter that ate the ripe figs may not be the same one that tasted the green ones.
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Womack
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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
https://mustlovefiction.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/possum.jpg
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Alexis
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drivewayfarmer

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Posted Reply with quote  #13 
Ruben , we do have a cat and I did wonder if it could be her. She has never shown any interest in the figs except to sleep under them.
The 2 pictures are the same fig just showing both sides.
Alexis , I have conversed with one last year while it was digging in the compost bucket. Scary smile for sure.
DesertDance , I'll see if my nephew will lend me his night cam. Not likely.
I think I did hear your scream in NH or it could have been me.
Bob , thanks for the idea , but it isn't like any slug/snail damage I've ever seen.
Herman , I had forgotten about the possibility of field mice.
As womack says one thing could have eaten the ripe ones and another could have tried  the unripe one.
Thanks for the nightmare photo Alexis. Does look like the right size of dentition.
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Kerry Zone 5 NH
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pitangadiego

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Posted Reply with quote  #14 
Coyote.
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Chivas

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Posted Reply with quote  #15 
Do you have a dog or cat?
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drivewayfarmer

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Posted Reply with quote  #16 
Jon ,
Never thought about a coyote , but they are in the area.
Chivas , yes we do have a cat , has word gotten around that she is a bad cat ? Its true.
Whatever it is leaves the fig attached to the plant and eats it where it is.
Stem is left hanging on the plant , even on the ripe ones that were eaten.
This is my in ground Florea which two arms trained very close to the soil surface. No problem last year. 
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Kerry Zone 5 NH
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DesertDance

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Posted Reply with quote  #17 
OK, here is what you do.  Prune the lower branches off into cuttings, and either sell them on Ebay or gift them for trades.  Let that tree grow as tall as the bottom branch at waist high.  Buy a ladder for the rest.

Suzi
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drivewayfarmer

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Posted Reply with quote  #18 
Sounds like a plan Suzi.
Am I sending those cuttings to you ?
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Kerry Zone 5 NH
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pitangadiego

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Posted Reply with quote  #19 
I have seen those bite makrs. I took samples to the Ag Extension office and they had no idea. Basically my choices were skunk, possum, rabbit, coyote or some king of bird.

Rabbits couldn't reach and have different teeth. Possums have wicked teeth, so din;t think that was it. Skunk couldn't reach, and that is not how birds eat figs, so I am pretty sure that it is coyote. Sometimes they just bite them, and other time the whole thing is just ripped off the tree. Only see the bite marks on lower branches (at Coyote height) and not higher (which also said "not birds"). I did not think coyotes ate such things but apparently they are omnivores - preferring meat, but eating most anything.
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Figfinatic

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Posted Reply with quote  #20 
Could it be a rat? I let out a blood curdling scream too one night when I saw one near my cucumbers. Saw their teeth and foot tracks on them. Not growing those this year.
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mgginva

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Posted Reply with quote  #21 
The first picture, at least, looks like slug damage to me.
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gorgi

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Posted Reply with quote  #22 
woodlouse/sow bug/pill bug?
[last year, I did witness such similar damage by 1/2 sized young bugs]

slug/snail are also possible.

[think scraping/rasping rather than biting]
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lukeott

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Posted Reply with quote  #23 
Stink bug.

luke
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Posted Reply with quote  #24 
i don't know about your damage but i have small crickets eating the skin on my potted ripe figs for the first time ever!
DesertDance

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Posted Reply with quote  #25 
Kerry, sure, you can send some cuttings to me! :-)) 

I had my baby figs in containers all lined up in the shade of the grapevine canopy against a wall for protection from our extreme heat.  There were some lower bunches of very ripe grapes on the Tempranillo that barely cleared the tops of the 1-3 gallon nursery pots. 

We didn't harvest those grapes because they were infected with powdery mildew.  The odd thing was, I'd walk out in the morning and a few of my figs would be knocked over.  Grapes were being eaten by something big enough to do damage.  Those containers are relatively heavy, and I was surprised that they tipped so easily.  A little dirt mix spilled out, but easily replaced and figs are fine.

Now that Jon has mentioned the dreaded coyote word, I bet that's what did it!!  All the top bunches are still there, and people with pets here keep them inside because of the coyotes.

Suzi
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landscapewitch

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Posted Reply with quote  #26 
Coyote or maybe fox. Jon is right, possums teeth are too sharp. It looked like the chips wasps take out but for the symmetry that identifies it as teeth.
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Alexis
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drivewayfarmer

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Posted Reply with quote  #27 
The matching marks on both sides of the fig, which I can't seem to photograph clearly, do indicate an animals teeth .
Maybe these pics are clearer.
Seems like an animal would just take it away. Perhaps the others eaten in place , not removed from the bush, were slugs etc.

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Kerry Zone 5 NH
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drivewayfarmer

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Posted Reply with quote  #28 
Forgot to mention the widest part of the bite mark measures about .75"
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Kerry Zone 5 NH
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landscapewitch

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Posted Reply with quote  #29 
Oh! well, that's a baby Chupacabra then...
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Alexis
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DesertDance

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Posted Reply with quote  #30 
It was really puzzling me, so I did a web search.  No self respecting opportunistic coyote on this earth would NOT eat the whole thing! They eat ANYTHING from rodents to vegetables to fruits.  I doubt they would leave a trace.   A 3/4" tooth mark means something big.  

I was thinking Bats, but it has to be something much bigger.  Even my teeth aren't that big!  What could it be?  I don't think slugs have teeth.

Suzi
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drivewayfarmer

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Posted Reply with quote  #31 
Suzi , I meant to say 3/4" width of bite mark. So something sort of little I think.
Alexis , perhaps the Chupacabra family is summering in the NH lakes region and the baby came along ? I thought they hunted in PR for the most part , but maybe they rode north on some Javelinas.
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Kerry Zone 5 NH
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landscapewitch

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Posted Reply with quote  #32 
Yep. Global warming.
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Alexis
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lukeott

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Posted Reply with quote  #33 
bug marks, stick to that. If it was an animal, and the teeth marks are that big, it would have swallowed it whole. I don't know if bugs have teeth, but this is bug damage.

luke
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Posted Reply with quote  #34 
I had some "damage" to my brown turkey,,,, it started on friday,,, holes pecked all through it,,,, a few more were almostttttt ripe so I left them. He got another one yesterday morning,,,, this morning I went out and there was the last one ,,,, all chewed up, grrrr. This time though he left a calling card,,, a bright red feather sitting on one of the branches,,,,, It's a cardinal  judging from the feather,,,, I USED to like cardinals,,, now I'm at war with the bastid!  Hitting home depot in a few minutes to get some netting, ugh.
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Peg919

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Posted Reply with quote  #35 
Kerry, have you noticed any bees around your figs?  I've had similar damage by both yellow and Black bees. The black bees did a job likke I've never seen before. At first glance the dark figs looked like they were covered with black ants that wouldn't brush off. Closer observation I watched black bees eating. The puckered up the skin and ate the insides. The yellow bees ate holes similar to what your picture shows.

Just a thought, good luck in finding an answer,

Peg, zone 6, CT
drivewayfarmer

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Posted Reply with quote  #36 
Haven't seen any bees or wasps, etc. around any of my figs , but I am sure I could have missed some.
I would like to think it is insects rather than animals, but the almost identical marks on opposing sides of the fig look like a perfect picture of an unfinished bite. But I will keep my eyes peeled for bugs as well.
I am stumped at this point.
Time to pull out the clam shell package I saved
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Kerry Zone 5 NH
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gorgi

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Posted Reply with quote  #37 
Once I did witness a few young (1/2 sized) pillbugs feasting on some semi-ripe fig skins.
It was in the early wee hours of one damp morning.
The skin 'scars' left were very similar...
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