It’s definitely an unpleasant surprise to head out to admire
the nuts on your garden pecan tree only to find that many of the pecans are
gone. Your first question is likely, “What’s eating my pecans?” While it could
be neighborhood kids climbing your fence to pinch ripe
pecan nuts, there are also many animals that eat pecans. Bugs might be the
culprits as well if your pecans are being eaten. Read on for ideas on different
pests that eat pecans.
What’s Eating My Pecans?
Pecan
trees produce edible nuts that have a rich, buttery flavor. Sweet and
delicious, they are used extensively in cake, candy, cookies, and even ice
cream. Most people who plant pecans do so with the nut harvest in mind.
If your pecan tree is at long last producing a heavy crop of nuts, it’s time to celebrate. Keep an eye out; however, for pests that eat pecans. It happens this way; one day your tree is hanging heavy with pecans, then day by day the quantity decreases. More and more pecans are gone. Your pecans are being eaten. Who should go on the suspect list?
Animals That Eat Pecans
Many animals like to eat tree nuts just as much as you do, so that’s probably a good place to start. Squirrels are perhaps your best suspects. They don’t wait until the nuts are ripe but start gathering them as they develop. They can easily damage or take off with half a pound (227 g.) of pecans per day.
You may not think of birds as pecan eaters since the nuts are so big. However, birds, like crows, can damage your crop as well. Birds don’t attack the nuts until the shucks split. Once that happens, look out! A flock of crows can devastate the crop, each one eating up to one pound (0.5 kg.) of pecans per day. Blue jays also like pecans but eat less than crows.
Birds and squirrels are not the only animals that eat
pecans. If your pecans are being eaten, it might also be other nut-loving pests
such as raccoons,
possums,
mice,
hogs, and even cows.
Other Pests That Eat Pecans
There is an abundance of insect
pests that might damage the nuts as well. The pecan weevil is one of them.
The female adult weevil punctures the nuts in summer and lays eggs inside. The
larvae develop inside the pecan, using the nut as their food.
Other insect pests damaging pecans include the pecan nut
casebearer, with larvae that feed on the developing nuts in the spring. Hickory
shuckworm larvae tunnel into the shuck, cutting off the flow of nutrients and
water.
Other bugs have piercing and sucking mouthparts and use them
to feed on the developing kernel. These include brown and green stinkbugs
and leaf-footed
bugs.
It’s definitely an unpleasant surprise to head out to admire
the nuts on your garden pecan tree only to find that many of the pecans are
gone. Your first question is likely, “What’s eating my pecans?” While it could
be neighborhood kids climbing your fence to pinch ripe
pecan nuts, there are also many animals that eat pecans. Bugs might be the
culprits as well if your pecans are being eaten. Read on for ideas on different
pests that eat pecans.
What’s Eating My Pecans?
Pecan
trees produce edible nuts that have a rich, buttery flavor. Sweet and
delicious, they are used extensively in cake, candy, cookies, and even ice
cream. Most people who plant pecans do so with the nut harvest in mind.
If your pecan tree is at long last producing a heavy crop of nuts, it’s time to celebrate. Keep an eye out; however, for pests that eat pecans. It happens this way; one day your tree is hanging heavy with pecans, then day by day the quantity decreases. More and more pecans are gone. Your pecans are being eaten. Who should go on the suspect list?
Animals That Eat Pecans
Many animals like to eat tree nuts just as much as you do, so that’s probably a good place to start. Squirrels are perhaps your best suspects. They don’t wait until the nuts are ripe but start gathering them as they develop. They can easily damage or take off with half a pound (227 g.) of pecans per day.
You may not think of birds as pecan eaters since the nuts are so big. However, birds, like crows, can damage your crop as well. Birds don’t attack the nuts until the shucks split. Once that happens, look out! A flock of crows can devastate the crop, each one eating up to one pound (0.5 kg.) of pecans per day. Blue jays also like pecans but eat less than crows.
Birds and squirrels are not the only animals that eat
pecans. If your pecans are being eaten, it might also be other nut-loving pests
such as raccoons,
possums,
mice,
hogs, and even cows.
Other Pests That Eat Pecans
There is an abundance of insect
pests that might damage the nuts as well. The pecan weevil is one of them.
The female adult weevil punctures the nuts in summer and lays eggs inside. The
larvae develop inside the pecan, using the nut as their food.
Other insect pests damaging pecans include the pecan nut
casebearer, with larvae that feed on the developing nuts in the spring. Hickory
shuckworm larvae tunnel into the shuck, cutting off the flow of nutrients and
water.
Other bugs have piercing and sucking mouthparts and use them
to feed on the developing kernel. These include brown and green stinkbugs
and leaf-footed
bugs.