Growing vegetables or fruits at your place could be a pleasant and lovely experience for anyone. As in this way you can get fresh vegetables as you want. But at the same time, having vegetables in your yard can attract wildlife in the area. However, not all plants can attract wildlife as there are many plants that act as wildlife repellent. And the plant lemon is one such plant. However, if there are animals like raccoons that can eat whatever they get, can they eat lemons? So let’s explore about do raccoons eat lemons?
And if you are curious to know about it, then navigate this article. As this article will serve you all the necessary information about the lemon’s eating habits of raccoons.
However, raccoons don’t eat lemons, as lemon is a citrus fruit that raccoons don’t like. And this is the only reason due to which raccoons don’t like to eat them and also don’t see lemons as their food. However, there are many other animals that can eat lemons, like squirrels.
Do Raccoons Eat Lemons?
Raccoons are omnivore animals and can eat both animal and plant base matter. However, the raccoon’s diet is not only limited to plants and animal flesh. As they can eat food from your trash bin as well. Moreover, raccoons are intelligent enough that they know that your trash bin can have food for them.
And this is also a reason because of which raccoons can raid your yard and create a mess there. Moreover, they can eat human base food and marine life as well. As raccoons love to live near the water.
As raccoons can eat a large variety of food, that’s why there are few foods that raccoons don’t like to eat, or they don’t have to eat them. However, lemon is that food for raccoons which they don’t like to eat due to the citrus nature of lemon.
Moreover, not only lemons but raccoons avoid eating the other fruits with citrus nature, for example, oranges, grapefruit, etc.
However, raccoons have a good sense of smell for food, and this sense helps them identify between citrus food and sweet food. And because of the citrus smell of lemons, raccoons stay away from the lemon tree.
Furthermore, raccoons are pretty attracted to sweet foods, and that’s why they avoid all citrus fruits, including lemons.
Read also: Can Chickens Eat Jackfruit?
What Animals Eat Lemons?
As raccoons don’t like to eat lemons, and avoid them due to their citrus nature. But there are several animals that attract to the lemon tree. So let’s dig all such animals.
Rats:
These critters are opportunistic rodents and can eat whatever they get. However, rats are omnivores and not only do they eat lemons, but they like to eat other citrus fruits as well.
However, the reason is that rats are not picky eaters and also want to get extra nutrients and vitamins from the citrus plants. Moreover, not only a citrus tree is a good source of food for rats, but it also provides a good shelter to them.
Squirrels:
However, squirrels are also those rodents that can eat lemons. Moreover, not only lemons but can eat other citrus fruits as well. And squirrels will enjoy the citrus fruit even it is ripe or not. Not only this, but they can eat any kind of fruit, including citrus fruit like lemons.
Possums And Other Animals:
However, possums are also one of those animals that can eat lemons. Moreover, they eat lemons even when they are on the tree. And possums can also leave the remaining’s of lemons on the tree after eating it.
However, not only possums but there are also several other animals that can eat lemons and attract towards your garden if you have a lemon tree. For example, the goats, coyotes, pigs, etc.
Birds:
As we already discussed, all the animals that can eat lemons but now let’s look at all the birds that can also eat lemons. However, like raccoons, it is possible that birds don’t like to eat lemons, but they can harm the lemon tree in several ways.
For example, they can damage the plant leaves, flowers, fruits, and newly sprouted shoots.
What Bugs Are Attracted to Lemons?
Lemon is a citrus fruit, and due to its citrus and bitter nature, it can use as an animal and bug repellent. But as we already have a detailed look at what animals like to eat lemons and what not.
Now let’s have a look at the bugs that can eat lemons.
Snails And Slugs:
These bugs are sensitive to salty foods as salt can be fatal to them. But you might wonder to know that these critters are attracted towards the citrus fruit and tree, including lemon.
However, they can eat lemon, but they can also eat the twigs, leaves, and other parts of the lemon tree. Furthermore, they can ringbark the twigs of the plant, which can be fatal for the plant.
Citrus Cutworms:
These bugs not only eat lemons, but they are habitual to eat different lemons of the same tree, and this can cause serious damage to the lemon crop as well. In addition, however, these bugs are used to lay eggs on the leaves of the lemon tree.
Hungry Or Mediterranean Fruit Flies:
Like several other bugs, these flies are also feeding on lemons. And similar to citrus cutworms, these flies lay eggs under the rind of a lemon. So, even their larvae feed on lemon fruit and leave the fruit for us, which is not suitable to eat.
Other Bugs:
Moreover, several other bugs can eat lemons as well. For example, the bugs like earwigs, caterpillars, spines, citrus bugs, bronze-orange, etc.
However, these bugs not only feed on insects but they harm the lemon fruit in several other different ways. For example, many bugs like spined citrus let the lemon fruit fall early on the ground. At the same time, the other bugs like katydids cause scarring on the surface of the lemons.
A Final Thought:
However, raccoons can eat almost everything which they get. But this article explores that do raccoons eat lemons? As lemon is a citrus fruit and offers a bitter taste to raccoons, that’s why they avoid eating lemons.
Not only lemon but raccoons avoid eating any other citrus fruit, and their sense of smell help them in this matter.
However, several other animals and bugs like lemons. For example, squirrels, rats, goats, coyotes, pigs, etc.
And the bugs like hungry flies, earwigs, katydids, spines citrus also feed on lemon fruit while causing other severe damage to the lemon’s crop.