What is the best squirrel protection for a containerized fig?  i found my first partially chewed fig (about quarter sided) on the ground this morning.  Should i just carefully wrap bird netting up from the bottom until about half way? Hardware cloth cage with some type of lip?  If you wrap the bird netting, i would think it would do damage when removed because branches and leaves will get tangled in it.

As always, thanks for your help.

I use a 16'x16' bird netting.....just drape it over the top of the tree and gather it around the base or the trunk....sometimes I bungee the bottom around the trunk.....you can't hurt a fig tree with a little bit of netting!.....works great for catbirds on dark figs 

You won't damage the tree with standard black netting from garden stores, just wrap it and tie it up. You may want to use stakes to form a perimeter in the pot, but it is not necessary. For squirrel control you can't beat the Kania 2000.

the best squirrel protection is a young, very friendly hound dog in the back yard ;-) They don't let their little rodent feet get off the fence at my place. He is on them like stink on  you know what.

Rafelissimo- would love that trap but have a feeling it wouldnt be long before a neighbor calls ASPCA on me.  My "backyard" is a common driveway that is visible from the backs of many houses.  What part of queens are you in?

I will try to drape and tie.  I know that the squirrels have been reaching through the netting and grabbing lots of unripe blackberries, but their growth is different and closer to the netting.  thanks again for helping a newbie out.

You could always hide the trap or camoflauge it in some way to avoid those pesky neighbors' interference in your right to guard your figs!

Never fails


 



Also works for groundhogs, caught about 40 or so the last 10 years, haven't seen 1 yet this year


 

If that is a havahart, the squirrels figured out how to get the peanuts out of mine without getting trapped. So for me, it did fail. FiginQueens I will have some cuttings in November if you want to pick em up locally.

It is, I have several sizes. I've caught hundreds and hundreds. I use about a 1 1/2" square piece of white bread covered in peanut butter, deadly. I also made a cover out of chicken wire that eliminates tripping the trap from the outside do to their curiosity. Do you put the peanuts on the trip plate or after the trip plate? They must step on the trip plate.

I've tried many recommended baits for groundhogs. I've caught them only with broccoli. They like the tops much better than the stalks.  

For squirrels, 1. a dog, 2. Tabasco sauce (1-2 tbsp per 1 gal of water, sprayed over the leaves)

Hi KK, I have put the peanuts above, below, tied to string. I think the mechanism is prone to malfunction. I prefer havahart, but Kania is more effective

If your neighbors like squirrels send them squirrels.

I hear that there are several videos on using Conibear 110's for squirrels with good results
Amazon has a 6 pack of knock offs ( Duke) for like $25 Ive
read

We don't have squirrels in my area, but we do have rabbits and mockingbirds. While rabbits don't bother my figs as they're always busy munching on my grapes and some other goodies in my garden, mockingbirds; on the other hand, just love my figs, but this year, the darn mockingbirds ain't getting any of my figs anymore since I've built a cage w/ PVC pipes and covered it with bird netting and voila the mockingbird now can look, but can't touch and I am finally enjoying my figs intact for the 1st time ever.

Here's a pic of the cage in question and a pic of a couple of figs I picked just few hours ago:

Nice figs!

Nice PVC cage, is it portable, can it be broken down and stored when not needed?

super, will build me one....or two

This is the BEST squirrel protection I have found. Not one squirrel gets by him!

Good job Otman. I have a similar cage to keep out the birds.