Strawberry sap beetle (SSB) is primarily a pest on strawberry although the adults and larvae have been reported on many fruit crop residues. It is hypothesized that staggered ripening times associated with a high diversity of fruit crops on a farm provide the sap beetle population with an opportunity to feed and reproduce until early fall. The influence of alternate host crop presence on population levels of SSB was investigated by sampling fruit residues at strawberry farms in New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania and a no-choice laboratory evaluation of SSB reproduction on strawberry, blueberry, apple, raspberry, cherry, and corn. The amount of crop residue and number of SSB adults per square meter was quantified and used as a basis for estimating a maximum possible SSB population size in alternate host crops grown near strawberry fields. Crop residues were then compared for greatest potential to impact SSB populations in strawberry the following year. In the laboratory study, highest reproduction was obtained on the small fruits. Presence of large amounts of alternate host crop residue in close proximity to strawberry fields creates an environment in which the beetle population can increase in size prior to overwintering, potentially increasing the sap beetle population in strawberry the following year.