I have heard anecdotally that birds show less interest in green/white figs vs dark figs. I have had more bird damage this year with my blueberries, rasberries and strawberries. My fig varieties are still quite young and I don't yet know whether my green/white variety will get hit less than the dark varieties. I was wondering what others experience has been - do the birds really get fooled by green/white figs? If so I will probably take this into account when choosing varieties to focus on.

Thanks,
Steve

They do in my area.  If the birds see ants on a green fig, they will peck the fig to see what's inside.  Netting is the best deterent.

We net our vineyard, and I'm thinking we may do the same for the fig trees.  I've seen bird repellant foil tied to trees in various colors, but it really looks tacky!

Suzi

Dennis, just to clarify, you mean that green figs fool the birds in your area, right?

Suzi, you are probably right that I will need to net the trees (assuming they are small enough) anyway but the less the birds are interested, the better.

I get less bird damage on light colored figs, than dark, but once they zero in it doesn't make a whole lot of difference.

Birds here dont bother my figs but enjoy the water fountain right in the middle of a bunch of my fig trees.

I've had horrific damage to my blueberries this year. My guess is over the entire season birds have eaten or damaged about a third of the crop. I've tried netting, but that was a pain here - complicating factors are where the berries are planted, winds, and the occasional live snake that gets tangled in it. (I've had to cut out two large gopher snakes -both unharmed- and they were not happy at all.. neither was I.)  Not to mention difficulty picking the crop. I hate that stuff. Jsut not worth it for blueberries.

What worked the best with deterring birds from the berries was flashing tape. I got stuff that was about 3/4 inch wide with silver on one side, red on the other. In the breeze it's rather festive. :)  It is quite effective... till they get used to it. Effectiveness lasts about 5-6 weeks. I lost so many this year, that next year will definitely use it again. It also was very easy to use.

Perhaps with figs one could tie a small length near the ripening figs, and then re-use it.

Gina, thanks for the tip regarding the flashing tape.  I'll definitely give it a try.  Hopefully between that and my outdoor cat I can keep the damage down.

Lighter colored figs aren't noticed as easily by the birds BUT..... once they get a taste of them then it's "No holds barred" in the fig arena.

Don't know other people's birds, but mine can find ANY fig, ANY where, ANY time. Period.

It is funny, for years the birds completely ignores my mother-in-law's figs (an unknown Italian white). They love to nest in it, but completely ignored the figs. Then suddenly a couple of years ago they discovered them. It seems like it must only be a few of them though, because they only peck at a dozen or so each year.

Hi Everyone my name is Paul and i am new to this forum,i have a two year old fig tree with about 20 figs on it, its a black mission  one,so far the fig are still green and  did not ripen yet.wondering how long before they ripen

Paul, welcome to the forum!  Just to make sure we are on the same page - I was speaking of green figs that are green (or "white") when they are ripe as opposed to figs such as BM that turn dark when they become ripe.  I'm sure they are many growers who have experience with BM but you might get more visibility if you pose your question in a new thread.  Good luck with your figs.

Steve

One of the reasons I decided to grow most of my figs in a hedge, is that, on one side of that hedge is my newly completed 4 ft tall chain link fence.  My plan is to attach 14 ' wide netting on one side and along the top of that fence, then over the top of the hedge and anchor at ground level in the yard.

That is my plan.    My concern is that I do not want to injure birds in the process.  I've never used netting before.  Any tricks or considerations I should be aware of?

I have two words for you, Noss.

"Twelve Guage."

Seems like if the birds take one third of your crop the easiest solution is to plant 1/3 more. That may be easier than trying to deny many hungry birds access.

My problem is that I don't have any additional space to plant more and there is no guarantee that if more figs and other goodies were planted that more birds from the area would show up and feast.

At least in my area, the birds don't tend to eat a certain amount and leave the rest untouched. If they took a third of the crop, they'd do it by taking a third of each ripe fig and leave me with the dried-up, tattered remnants. In most situations I've heard about or experienced, a physical barrier is the only solution. Either enclose the whole tree (or several together) or enclose each individual fruit you hope to actually eat--or forget it.