Scott, I have the same problem with Mockingbirds and with Thrashers. They will peck at all my fruit - citrus, stone fruit, figs. I have had success with mylar strips. My yard looks ridiculous, but at least I'm keeping fruit from the birds. Squirrels, however, are a different issue. I have resorted to poison bait stations as no amount of shooting with a pellet gun or humane trapping (and we have to then dispatch with the squirrels, as it is illegal to trap and release them here in San Diego county), has not made a dent in our ridiculous ground and tree squirrel population. It is a battle every year for stone fruit. We cannot have cats outside here because of our high coyote population. The cat would be gone in a day. Even though we have a VERY high number of predators here - hawks, kites, falcons, eagles, Great Horned owls, Barn owls, foxes, weasels, bobcats, coyotes, roadrunners, snakes galore (at least 4 or 5 different kinds), we still have a huge squirrel and rat problem. I even have a Barn own house on my property (which I think was used this year, haven't taken it down to check, but have a resident Barn owl we see often in the evening). Actually, one of my three Aussies has become the official "squirrelinator", having gotten 3 of them over the last 3 months. He is really smart and REALLY quick. Patty S.

Thank you. I don't know if our conditions are conducive to self seeding, so maybe I will take a cutting or dig a small piece if it grows to bring inside to try to keep it alive. I'm not that good with inside plants, so hopefully it will have some good luck on it's side:) Thanks! Tracy

Might be a climbing cutworm. I've had a problem with them this season. I took some out with Bt, but I've been hand-picking them in the evening too.

I can't tell by the photo. Lemon Balm is in the mint family, so if you don't want it to spread, keep it in a pot. I have some in a large pot, and some in the ground, both in the shade. They come back every year, but when they have the little white flowers on, I remove that part of the plant and toss, or else there is lemon balm everywhere. Darlene