Now you see them now you don't

**Fygmalion** · 08-18-2016, 01:18 PM

Squirrels were a major problem in my yard. They are first to the nut trees and tie the chipmunks for stealing apples from the trees (this year being a bad apple year, this is huge)... Only thing I can say about this is that squirrels are actually quite tasty....

Tony

**fitzski** · 08-18-2016, 01:40 PM

Sorry to hear that, Dave. I lost most of my brebas the same way.

Maybe they heard you bragging ...

**Mgorski** · 08-18-2016, 02:16 PM

That is disappointing Dave. I moved some potted plants to a table close to the house to get them away from the deer, but as I was out in the yard, I see one of my chickens jumping and flapping to reach figs. She got few before I got there. I had to move them to the deck, less sun, but less chance the hens will spot them.

**greenfig** · 08-18-2016, 04:20 PM

Dave,
Welcome to the club!!
That's my everyday battle, it starts with dealing with those @$$)( squirrels and ends with it.
I have a combination of the netting and poison that helps a little until they learn how to avoid the obstacles. I think I ate about 20% of the ripe figs this year.

**AdamD123** · 08-18-2016, 04:44 PM

Dave!!! Those darn critters! I'm learning that leaving figs on "one more day" to attain a perfectly ripe fig leads to no harvest at all.... I hope you're able to eradicate the vermin....

I recently bought a giant rat terrier puppy (and getting a second one) to deal with the ground squirrels here....hopefully I can train them well enough before next summer....

**m5allen** · 08-18-2016, 04:54 PM

Sounds like the fluffy tail devils to me (squirrels). I have really grown to hate them this year. Once they find out that they can eat your figs, they will decimate everything. If the little @@@@@@@s just ate 1 or 2, I could let them get away with it, but they will eat every last ripe fig. And they even ate one of my pineapples this year, I had no idea they were even capable of messing with a pineapple.

I do kind of feel bad after shooting them, but they would literally leave me with absolutely nothing to eat.

**COGardener** · 08-18-2016, 05:05 PM

I have a strict no squirrel policy ay my place. If I am home and one has the audacity to cross the fence line, that is its last mistake.

**Blackfoot12** · 08-18-2016, 08:31 PM

Dave I have been a victim of the squirrel peach scenario myself. Except, maybe my squirrels are demented or just mean, but they would take the peaches off the tree and eat maybe 1/3 and leave it to rot in the sun. Then come back couple hours later and do the same thing.

But as Tony says they are tasty. Once you get a taste for them,.... they see the look in your eye. Then all of a sudden you don't see them around as much.

**Fygmalion** · 08-18-2016, 08:42 PM

By the way.... I thought squirrels were the only apple stealing culprits until one day I walked under my Granny Smith and heard a rustling in the leaves. Looking up, I saw a rather large ground hog helping himself to the apples. Bugger apparently was knocking them down and then running down and carrying off the apples.... Needless to say blunt force trauma delivered to the head by a bludgeon tipped arrow ended that feeding pattern. Unfortunately, although I have heard of folks that claim otherwise, I don't eat groundhogs....

**Zuny** · 08-18-2016, 09:12 PM

There are usually 6_10 squirrels in my yard every morning. My neighbor is a nice elderly woman and she feeds the squirrels everyday. I don't like that she does that because then they are always lingering around. I use netting on my figs and also bought my husband a bb gun but I think we are gonna start using pellets. Lost all my plums, peaches and cherries. They will eat them before they are even ripe. I got the netting but it was to late but I will save the figs.

Sorry for your loss. It is always hard to work so hard on your fruit trees and in the end lose most of the fruit or all of it to squirrels and critters.

**m5allen** · 08-18-2016, 09:54 PM

I have a high power 22 cal pellet rifle. If I am going to shoot them, I at least want to dispatch them humanely

**RegencyLass** · 08-20-2016, 04:36 PM

I've had squirrels do the same thing to my peach tree, just a couple of days before the peaches were ripe the wretched little tree rats would strip the tree, making off with a good bushel or more. When my son was a teen, he would open up his bedroom window and shoot them out of our tree using a compound bow, with judo tips on the arrows. The squirrels would drop like a stone right there in the backyard. It was silent and effective, which was a must as the house was located just a few blocks from a shopping centre.

**cjmach1973** · 08-20-2016, 08:05 PM

So after 5 years of growing a dessert type pear tree, it decided to produce-a lot. I went away for three days, and there are none left. Not even any scraps on the ground. They were not even going to be ripe for another month. We haven't had rain all summer, so maybe they are eating them as a moisture source also.

**Dave** · 08-20-2016, 10:18 PM

Well Thursday night I put out the 2 Hav-a-hearts hoping to wake up Friday with a big smile on my face when I checked the traps in the morning they were dragged half way across the yard and trigger mechanism on one of them was bent out of shape thats when I realized we were dealing with a much larger creature "raccoons" besides the traps being cleaned out there was more damage than the first assault green unripened figs all over the ground leaves everywhere broken limbs etc. this is just a little of the destruction I sustained other trees had bent limbs which were bent straight down to the ground luckily they did not break and I was able to tie them back up so Friday night I hunkered down and was ready for an all night battle well around 12:00 the assailants entered my compound and it was game on! well needless to say I was the victor in that battle sending 3 very large raccoons to there next life please understand I am an animal lover if they wanted to come in and enjoy a fig or two no problem but when you start destroying my property then it has to go to another level

**Fygmalion** · 08-20-2016, 10:38 PM

Dave! I agree completely! I have no issue with sharing some of the bounty; it's when they take all of it and bust things up that gets my goat. I am very fortunate that my 4 chestnuts (Italian and Dunstan) produce so many nuts that I rarely have issue with the squirrels and deer and assorted fauna helping themselves to as many as they want (although I do confess that it is a contest to get the best nuts) since most years I simply stop collecting after I have refrigerated 30 pounds or so. I can't say the same for my less productive fruit and nut trees....

T

**WillsC** · 08-21-2016, 09:22 AM

Dave,

I didn't want to say anything but I figured the coons or opossums wee the issue. The tree rats are a pain but if it happens over night then the rats are not the culprit.

**Dave** · 08-21-2016, 12:24 PM

Just when I thought it was over I got hit again last night broken limbs Italian Honey , Violet de bordeaux , JH Adiratic, Shippan unknown, plus they over turned pots there kin is taking revenge and I want to retract my statement that I am an animal lover

**greenfig** · 08-21-2016, 12:47 PM

It looks like you were visited by some huge beasts ! No mercy there!!

**Mgorski** · 08-21-2016, 05:33 PM

I'm starting to have night time visits to my trees moved to the deck for protection from the chickens. Tipped over plants and all figs eaten, fortunately no broken branches yet. I think now I need to move them inside overnight. I wonder if hot pepper powder will help with my inground plants?

**kingoceanos** · 08-21-2016, 08:42 PM

How do the professional farmers keep them away from their crops?

**ers8891** · 08-22-2016, 10:33 AM

My trees are being attacked by coons or possums at night now. I think I have picked 2 figs compared to about 10 they have stole. even with organza bags on the figs they will just chew them up a bit and leave the bag. very frustrating but the war is on now. time to break out the ol' 20 gauge. Has anyone tried tying a piece of worn clothing and spray it with some cologne to keep things away?

**growcrazie** · 08-22-2016, 11:08 AM

This has been a very bad year for critters getting my fruit, Crows got almost everything in my orchard, apples, pears, peaches. Chipmunks are my big fig nemesis. Crows, blue jays, woodpeckers and squirrels in the apple trees in my yard. Rabbits are getting the cantaloupes as they are ripening. I still have a few apples in my yard because of a nice pellet gun. Last year I put reflective tape around the trees and that helped a lot.

**jmaler** · 08-22-2016, 11:54 AM

After the varmits wiped out all the ripe or near ripe figs they started on figs that just started to swell, then they started to bit into green figs and would drop them on the ground. If that isn't bad enough they break off green figs on their quest for the ripe one. It just makes me want to pull my hair out by the roots.

**strudeldog** · 08-22-2016, 12:41 PM

Well I have more an issue for figs with the SWD and hornets/wasps , but at my Cabin you want critter damage My pear trees get pulled down and It's bigger than a racoon. this Pic from last fall. Thinking it was squirrels at my main residence however they pulled probably 400 Asian pears that were not ripe yet about a month ago

Now you see them now you don't

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