I keep hearing about members losing their figs to critters , so I am posting what has been working for me for the last couple years .
 

That is a really cool device. Thank you for letting us know about it.

I could only use that on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays thanks to the new water restrictions

Great idea.  I saw a video of a guy using it on his trespassing neighbor.  haha

One year I almost gave up on figs because a family of raccoons discovered my fig trees .
They would climb the trees and break branches because of their weight and completely destroy them .
Other trees they would knock down and take the fruit .
It was a battle I was losing in a big way , I put all the effort into growing the trees and they would 
eat them a couple days before they were near ready , and on top of it destroy the trees .
The day I started using the water sprinklers no more raccoons or squirrels .
I find that if you put out the sprinklers before any fruit is near ripening you cause the animals to 
choose another route and they avoid the area completely and don't realise that the food even exists .
They just know this is an area to avoid .
I use 3 of these units pointing south , west , and east in the centre of my yard to where i have the figs
around the edges .
This way I can eat properly ripe figs without worrying a critter is going to steal it on me and end up 
picking it too early .

Ants and wasps on the other hand are another problem I posted about using sachets a few years ago for
that issue here :

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/bees-and-wasps-fix-5500275?pid=1274845624#post1274845624

You can use tanglefoot on the tree trunk smeared on a piece of inside out tape too .

John

I had a couple of them at one time and they do work.  It is hilarious when it would nail a deer, they  would fall over backwards to get away and after that would avoid the area.  Problem is as I added more and more plants I would have needed 100 of them to be effective.  In the end I fenced the entire property to exclude the deer and used "other methods"  to control the coon population. 

Birds would love it. Figs and a bird bath!

.22 short works nicely as well  :)

Does that definetly pick up squirrels? That is the only problem other then birds.

What a great and environmentally friendly idea!

Will set something like this up for next year.  I have an abundance of squirrels.  They have lots of walnuts to keep them busy but when they run out of nuts I'll be ready for them..LOL

Now how to get rid of mice without poisoning my cat..hmmnm

Pino for squirrels use Kania 2000, made in Canada!
:-)

71GTO ( seen your posts many times but no name at end ) yes it definitely picks up squirrels .
I havent a solution for birds though , this was the first year they were a pain for me .
Often though if a bird is on the ground it will pick them up too.

John

For us the birds were only around when there were figs soft enough for them to peck into
If I kept an eye on the plants and picked them before they were very soft sagging we did not have an issue and the birds left to find some other place for food

Thanks! I'll have to try this. My figs were decimated this year by squirrels. This was a first. In NJ from what I can tell the only legal solution is pay a professional to remove them. Although I'm hoping by next summer to be be in a new house maybe it will take some time for them to find me. Sorry, I forget to sign off.... :-)

Marcus

Hey Marcus ,
I haven't had issues with squirrels at all since installing the sprayers , they also keep my father-in-law and nosey neighbours away too :)

John

I'm going to give it a shot next year. I can't deal with another year of them stealing everything.

Marcus are you referring to the squirrels or family and neighbours ?

John

John, thanks for this idea.  How big is the area that you protect by the three sprinklers?

Hi Steve ,

I live on a city lot of 50 x 135 .
My yard is 50 x 60 or so with trees around the perimeter .

John

I assume your units are feet, correct?  Or meters?

feet