Apparently raccoon is misspelled multiple times above and now I can't fix it. :-(

I detest squirrels! On the other hand, I like snakes.

As for the pond poacher, maybe you need to aim the cam there to catch a thief!

We will probably try that eventually. The fish poaching is very seldom. So far only twice this year that we know of. The tell is some gold scales next to the pond in the morning. The pond is fairly deep and has a metal fence cover so it seems to catch a fish the fish has to come to the surface in the middle of the night and someone has to have a long reach. Seems like it isn't possible to me but yet it is since it happens. I suspect it is a raccoon lifting up the metal cover.

No visitors to the strawberries on the critter cam, yet a suspicious strawberry top on my anti critter matts from Amazon. Unfortunately the reviews say they are no good for squirrels.

Nothing defeats the squirrel. There's an interesting youtube video where someone does an experiment with seven different anti-squirrel products. The only one that works is ammonia-soaked rags. But really not practical. If anyone finds something they don't like, that person could be very rich. They are chewing on wood on my deck. I'm planning to try some Tanglefoot to see if they dislike that. But I doubt it. They will probably just consider it a condiment.

As for the moonlight fishing, you are probably right about raccoon. They are very clever.

Yep. We were pretty bummed it was a squirrel. I do see that a red strawberry survived the night. We will have to check critter cam to see if we defeated the squirrel or if he/she didn't show up. Unfortunately making the bed squirrel proof also makes it people proof. A bit of deconstruction effort needed to get to the strawberry. There may be more in there that aren't visible from the edge.

As an aside my Pinata rose had very slow growth. Just one inch of new growth. That got eaten yesterday inside the rose cage. Could have been insects as it wouldn't have taken much to dispose of the three leaves on the 1" stem. This may kill it. I have to decide if I want to try again with that rose or get something that grows faster.

We've had a couple of tall garden phlox stems chewed down and some short phlox chewed off. Our dogs and us practically trip over the rabbits in the yard. I think we need a dog with higher prey drive. Ours just don't bother with the bunnies.

So at 6 a.m. there was a red strawberry visible on the edge. When I went out to get it and look for others at 8 a.m. it was eaten! Checked the critter cam and the squirrel came at 7 a.m. and got every thing. My husband is now tasked to buy fresh strawberries at the grocery store as a consolation prize.

We have a strawberry patch also, and between the squirrels and birds (at least I'm assuming they're the culprits) they're always gone before we can enjoy them.

I have to admit I'm a sucker for squirrels though. I had a couple I used to feed when I was a kid, and we have a "pet" squirrel in our yard now. She started coming around about 4 years ago when she was about to have a litter, and now she's just spoiled. The adolescent squirrels do cause trouble sometimes, gnawing on our patio trellis and tree bark and occasionally chewing through the irrigation hoses. We had to add a thicker layer of mulch in some areas to try and keep them away from the hoses.

For my birthday a couple of weeks ago, my father in law made me this squirrel picnic table. This is "Charlotte" enjoying a snack at her new table.

eastautumn, I'm actually partial to squirrels also. This guy is a hoot. This morning he spent 17 min. circling the strawberry bed before finding a way in. Then he munched all the strawberries, climbed our bird netting and went out at the seam between the top and the sidewall. It is 7 ft high and was overlapped but not sewn shut.

Thanks for the video. It was very enjoyable and laugh out loud funny.

I think we are fighting a losing battle. My husband now wants to buy strawberries for the squirrel in hopes that he gets sick of them.