Bart, thats what squirrels did to most of my peaches this year, so that would be my first guess. A pack of squirrels can eat a lot more a lot faster than you would ever imagine.

Scott

yep, squirrels. That's why I've gone to summer fruiting Apples & Pears. Less time to try to keep them away. I have a couple of multi-grafted pears with 12 summer varieties. Only allowed a couple this year (picked the last this weekend).

Interesting.

Is it possible that it's something other than squirrels? Could the trees have purged the fruit because of lack of water or lack of pruning?

The reason I ask is because I rarely see squirrels where my trees are planted. My, ahem, "orchard" is not where I live in suburbia. It's out in the Blue Ridge, adjacent to a huge wildlife management area (forest). At my home in suburbia, with bird feeders in every other yard and lots of food around, I can't look out the window without seeing a handfull of squirrels, but out in the "woods" I can go weeks without seeing them. Now I should add that I'm only out there on the weekends so there's a lot that I don't see, but when I do see squirrels, they stay very close to the edge of the woods and don't stray too far into the lawn. My trees are quite a distance from the edge of the woods and I've never seen a squirrel venture that far. But then again, I haven't really spent that much time looking for squirrels.

So after all of that, could it be a tree/pruning/drought/etc problem or does it still sound like a squirrel problem?

Thanks!
Bart

Bart:

Even if drought or lack of pruning could make pears fall, which is unlikely, these factors cannot make them disappear. When fruit disappears, squirrels are a prime suspect, but there are other fruit-eating animals that may live in your forest, including arboreal groundhogs, raccoons, and opossums. I think your problem is an animal; it's just a matter of figuring out which one, and how to deal with it. If you had broken branches, even black bears could be suspects.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

I think what happened to your pears was the same thing that happened to my Liberty apple that produced two apples this year. The fruit is missing, so I will never know. If you don't see them in action, it may be hard to know for certain who ate them. Like me, I think you have neighbors that like fruit! LOL

Thanks everyone.

I have broken branches on some trees too. And I have bears. And raccoons. And groundhogs which have been eating well on my tomatoes and melons.

How do you protect fruit trees from those types of pests? The mammal type!

Yep, the same keeps happening to my pears and apples: yesterday there are plenty of fruit hanging, and today - not a single one left! So frustrating... I guess there are two possible solutions to this problem: first - trap the animals; second - collect the fruit early, don't wait till it ripens. Fortunately, pears ripen very well on the countertop. I wish I collected all my beautiful pears the day before yesterday. Anyway, good luck to all of us! :-)

I’m thinking a guard dog might be an excellent investment, long term. I don’t want to kill any wildlife (actually, I do), but I want them to stay away. My 11 year-old Newfoundland wouldn’t tolerate being left outside at night. So, I might need to look at another dog.

Our dog is also mostly inside, but I think next season we would try to take down the harvest early, before the squirrels decide it's time for them to stock up for the winter :-) Also, I think it would be wise to trap some squirrels and relocate them to a wooded area away from our orchard. Perhaps, it could help to save us more fruit.