The breba crop is starting to come in here in central AZ.  VdB and Desert King are starting to swell up brebas.  Other trees have brebas too but none are as far along yet.  My right hand is in a cast because I broke a bone a couple of weeks ago.  I have not been able to put up any netting or other bird deterrents.  So for now it looks like I'll have to share the figs.  Darn birds!

You might try placing a bowl of water for the birds in the yard away from your figs.They might be thirsty. I normally don't have problems with squirrels eating tomatoes unless there are drought conditions and they don't have a source of water.

That's tough to see, Joe.  I hope they leave the rest alone.

Thanks guys.  I have been thinking of putting out food and water for the birds.  But I'm not sure if that will distract them from the fruit or just draw more birds.  I have to do something about it or they will just keep poking holes in the figs as they ripen.  This is the 3rd growing season in this house.  1st season the birds weren't a problem.  2nd season they started becoming a problem.  This season they are a problem already.  In a few weeks when my hand is better I'll have to do something to protect the figs.  Hopefully I don't lose too many before then.

That hurts.

Can you hire some neighbor kids to put up the net under your supervision?

i'm ready to share with birds, as long as they leave me some. but what i end up is poked figs that's half eaten and others being finished off by wasps and hornets.. if the problem gets bigger, i'll have to invest in bird net.

I'm going to try some garland that I bought at Party City today.  It was 99 cents for 8 feet of garland.  I bought a few packs.  I will put some of this in the branches.  It is supposed to scare off the birds.  Hopefully it will help.

Joe,

I have tried it with my 200 blueberry plants and it helps a bit but ribbon mylar works much much better.  

Thanks for the tip Willis.  If the garland doesn't cut it I'll try some ribbon mylar.

Its amazing- the birds know how to choose the ripe ones.
today in the morning they ate one of my apricots. i almosted wanted to start smoking again.

and i tought it would be nice to hear ome humming birds in my place....

Eli,

So far the garland has been working.  The birds avoid it and do not eat the figs next to the garland.

Glad that works, Joe. I have to split aluminum soda cans, make a little cut out for the branch to go through and tape back together with duct tape over the figs. Allows you to eat 'dead ripe' figs without the birds pecking them. It's very attractive.

Scott

Scott,

Figs are beautiful trees, but it seems like protecting the figs always looks bad.  But it's definitely worth it.  Nothing like a tree ripened fig.

Joe, Scott, and Willis,
I am going to try each of these. Otherwise, I will be frustrated.

Scott,
Can you post a picture of the split aluminum cans? I am thinking that moisture, humidty, and lack of sunlight could be problematic here in FL. Given that you are in GA and it works for you, then it could work here.

Willis,
Ribbon mylar. How do you apply it, i.e., what density and where (close to or over the fig)? Does each fig get some ribbon? Does it work for the entire season?

JD,

The garland was effective at first, but now the birds are figuring it out.  The last few days they have been all over the Desert King brebas, even with the garland.  It worked for about a week, then they realized it was nothing to fear.

This should take care of the problem.  :)

Since the garland didn't work now I'm trying a different approach.  I stopped by a restaurant supply store and bought some clear plastic clamshell containers.  They had a big pack of 500 of them for $18.95!  I've seen posts on the forum before showing that other people have used containers like this with success.  I'll let you all know if it works good in my yard.  The quest to find an alternative to bird netting continues!

Joe, at the very top, your first photo, is it a VdB?
I bought a tree last year that looks exactly like that, with the sun wilting leaves, same shape, but didn't know what was that. I was told that it could be a black mission...

JD,

We hang the 18" pieces of  mylar ribbon above the blueberry bushes so it flutters and twists in the breeze.  The flash scares the birds.  You only need a few pieces to deter them.  Works quite well.

greenfig,

Yes in the first photo at the top of the page that is a VdB.  Yes hot summertime weather can cause the leaves to curl.  It doesn't seem to affect the health of the tree though.  I got a Black Mission tree this spring.  I have not noticed the leaves curling on it very much yet.

Thanks, Joe! So, I got the VdB :)  It was $10 for a 2-year old plant at a local farmer's market. The fruit/veggie prices there are totally out of this world (like on the most farmer's markets) but the plant prices were not bad.

Yeah the prices are always really high at the farmer's market.  Its always better to grow your own.  Enjoy your tree.  If it is a VdB you will be happy with it.  VdB is a very productive and tasty fig.

Soni good luck with that approach.  Let us know how that works out for you.

So far the plastic clamshells have worked great.