So I came home yesterday to a pleasant surprise, I had about 4 potted fig trees that had several nearly ripe figs. Yes!

Mind you, some of which I've never had the pleasure of sampling. So my search begins on all 40+ pots for any ready for picking, during my search I found one on the ground half eaten and another still hanging and half eaten. I managed to pick about a half dozen, 3 Sal's and the other 3 unknown cuz my label disappeared. All six were of decent size probably due to all the rain we've had this week. Two other ones were just barely opened up by some unknown critter so I took them down also. Due to a huge dark cloud followed by thunder storms during my search I had to stop and couldnt practice some of unripen fig saving techniques observed on the forum here so I had to wait til this morning. Mind you, I was wondering half the night on what's eating MY figs.

This morning I look out my kitchen window and I see a freaking chipmunk climbing up one of my potted trees. Gotcha!

So now Im thinking it's war time against all those little fig eating chipmunks, only to find 20 min later a grey bird in another potted fig that I KNEW had two almost ready figs cuz I moved it closer to the house before the storm, so I go out to scare it away and low and behold the two figs that were probably a day away from being perfect were 1/4-1/2 eaten.

I NEED to go by some netting today. But have to ask, do any of you know if chipmunks even eat figs? Cuz at this point, I'm 99% certain all along it's been that damned grey bird. The lil bastard doesn't even eat the entire thing, just pecks here n there.

If that wasn't enough, I had two LSU figs that probably needed 2-3 more days, both ripped open, ruined, not even close to being ripe. I've never eaten a LSU I was so looking forward to sampling them.

........I feel your pain. Those critters love figs too. Sometimes it takes a war for you to even get a share of your own fgs. I still do not know what was eating my Smith figs this year.....so, I still don't even know who or what to decare my war on.....

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

Birds do most of the damage for  me. squirrels too, but this year the birds are getting the largest part of the harvest. Hard to net 40 trees though so I live with it. 

Here, take your pick please.



Just brings them back when you're done

Funny Rafed, I actually also have a ground hog problem and took out my anger on that lil guy using my Gamo this monring. I've trapped and relocated nearly a dozen in two months, I got fed up with it and took this one out. I never realized how many I had living on my property close to my home they're tunneling everywhere and having an a/g pool nearby, I'm not having it any longer.

This is not bragging, but I have ground hogs ( wood chucks), squirrels, rabbits, deer, chipmunks, and mice. The worst thing has been a couple holes dug in the pots for burying acorns. So far I am lucky.

I feel your pain,

I don't have much of a bird problem but I have a big problem with squirrels.
Worse yet, No one in my family want me to shoot them.

Tried to take aim a couple times the last time I was home and my mom and daughter made all kind of racket. LOL

I guess I will have to start trapping them and relocating them too.

Good luck with your problem.

brocolli is the bait of choice for groundhogs, works like a charm, it must taste like candy to them. 

Have you tried the silver/red tape for fruit trees? you hang them in the tree and it usually scares away the birds.

chivas,

I noticed the silver and red tape while passing through the Cherry farms in Washington state a couple times. Each tree would have about twenty or thirty of those. The tape is shiny BTW.

Someone else had mention this here about a year or two ago.

I think anything is worth a try.

Rafed I'll take the krinkov!!!!!

Will,

It's yours,no need to return it.
I'll hold on to the STEYR AUG.

ha ha cool bro the steyr aug is a nice piece too!! You have good taste in figs and firearms!!!

Red and silver tape??? What is it and where do I get it? 

Seems like most of us have some sort of fig bandits in our different areas. I have mocking bird problems and have thwarted their assault by using netting for the most part and thinning out the flock. I don't mind sharing a few but when it comes to new varieties on trees that only have one or two figs on it, it becomes very personal.

Lately I found some missing or eaten figs on my LSU Tiger tree and figured it was the birds again. The thing I found funny was with birds, they will peck it to see if it's ripe and then move on only to come back to that fig in a couple of days. The evidence is a partially eaten fig with most of the insides gone. The evidence left behind the last couple of days was different. First the fig had been wrapped in paper or foil which usually stops birds, but the paper and foil was ripped off. The second clue was the figs were eaten all the way down to the stem leaving only a small portion of the skin attached to the stem. Third clue was my son saw a large rat run across the fence next door one evening. Off to the store to buy a rat trap. I baited it with peanut butter and this morning the trap was snap but no sign of the rat. I will set it up again tonight using a fig for bait. Hopefully I will get him.
"gene"

We have little ground squirrels that look very much like chipmunks--they love to eat barrel cactus fruit, which tastes about like moistened Styrofoam packing peanuts. If they ever tasted a ripe fig, I imagine the little critters would think they'd died and gone to heaven. Maybe your gray bird is getting a little competition from below.

That grey bird sounds like a mockingbird. They plague me too. Bird netting is the only good answer for those buggers. Make sure it extends to the ground or they will go under it. Good luck!

It is mostly Cat bird in my garden.
This bird is looking for seeds inside the fig fruit,so it makes more damage than any other bird.
Mockingbird eat fruits that it can swallow,whole.

You can hang anything you want in your tree: Cds, aluminum foil, shiny strips, rubber snakes, plastic owls, and anything else you can think of. They all work --------- for about 2-3 days, and then it is back to business as usual. Period. Get a net.

Broccoli for Groundhogs as bait. Interesting!

LOL, just a fresh piece of broccoli in the trap should do, works better than anything else I have tried. They decimated my broccoli plants until I got the message and used it against them. 

I have an owl with the moving head.
Works great!,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,As far as the head moving with the wind.

Always getting bombed by the birds if you know what I mean.

Save your money!!!

I would like a real owl, how do I get one of those?? lol

I know what will work!

You know those air operated bb/pellet rifles at the carnival?
F.A.P.R.  Full Auto Pellet Rifle.

Does anyone has Ants as their Number One Enemy? I am looking for solution......Anyone share? Thanks!