I've reached the end.  Waiting for them to ripen, and then they are almost ripe, I sleep thinking I'll harvest in the morning.  All gone with extreme destruction of our railroad ties.   

If I can't have them, they will die!  I will poison all the figs.  Sorry for the bird and racoon lovers here, but I'm done!  It's over!  I am going to paint poison on all my figs on one VDB because some destructive critter loves it.  DIE!

Suzi

Get the guillotine trap. Works awsome & a little sweet revenge. Or the eletric trap also a good choice

I need links figpig, and a guarantee!!  Have you ever watched I Claudius?  The evil Olivia poisoned the figs because that was all the paranoid king would eat.  Fresh figs.  As she left the room, she said to the doctor, "don't eat the figs."

I'm serious here.  I'll give up a year of figs to kill the critters!

Suzi

Man, I thought I had it bad. My neighbours call me at work saying people
are wondering about my place with bags of figs taken from my trees. Another
neighbour said this guy is there ALL the time when we are not around. I have
posted a sign requesting no one to pick my figs as well as rescinding all permissions
previously given.

Suzi, I can't poison, set traps, shoot or cut down my trees -- only option is to fence. I
am thankful my neighbours kept an eye on my house. Hang on in there. I have problems
with criters too, so far manageable.

paully I have a fence.  A big fence.  Critters can climb.  I'm willing to give up a year of figs to get rid of the critters.  I wait for them to ripen.  They are gone.  OK Critters, war!  YOU are gone.  I can't have my figs, YOU will have a bad tummy ache ending in death!

Suzi

I'm glad I'm not the only one that gets mad at the critters not that I wish that on you but my wife laughs at me and racoons I battle, she literally lol's! I can say that I haven't seen any coons since I used dennis ' s magic potion, I just wish it works on birds.

Suzi,
Welcome to my world! I hate those buggers dearly. This year I tasted only 6 figs and about 25 were eaten by the squirrels.
I am planning to build a large caged area and move my potted figs there right before ripening. That is the only way I can see to eat a perfectly ripe fig :(

Greenfig
I have thought the same thing. What is your plan, if you have gotten that far? I was thinking of either 1 or 1.5 inch pvc and build a rectangular box covered with bird netting. Or or may just do a rectangular ground frame, 6 inch sections of bigger pipe anchored to the frame, and bend thin pvc into a hoop house. Using brackets to connect the sides would allow it to be conpletely broken down for the winter and to move depending on the crop. Anyone have any pictures of something similar?

Suzi, extreme losses call for extreme measures.  The "magic" grape soda potion is very effective.  For birds you will need netting although for me organza bags work.  For rodents, live trapping works followed by relocation or ....

Paully, what about mounting cameras on your property?  Then alert the would-be thieves that they are bing filmed.  Perhaps you could get license plate numbers too.  I would hate the thought of doing that but it would be a deterrent, I think.

What do you think could be so big that it destroys railroad ties?  A bear?  We don't have those to my knowledge.  JD is fishing and hasn't seen that damage yet, but he will on Friday.  Dennis' potion will be out in full force

Birds don't usually eat an entire fig.  They leave peck marks, which is disturbing alone, and we do use netting.

Our problem is that most fig trees are in-ground and getting bigger daily, so it's hard to net them.  I doubt VDB will ever get big.  It's only 3' tall and 6' wide, so easy for critters to reach.

I feel really bad for Paully and his two legged thieves!  I'd put a sign on each tree.  "Beware!  SOME of these figs have been poisoned!"  Skull / crossbones.  Of course, none would be poisoned, but it might stop the thieves IF they can read.

Suzi

Suzi,
Traps like mentioned,
if you are serious about the other way. PM me

Paully,

http://www.trailcampro.com/browningstrikeforcesecuritypkg.aspx

couple of these, put out signs saying they are being photographed and you will prosecute.

Peanut butter and rat traps one trap at the base of each tree . Peanut butter is like crack for them you will kill everyone of your tree rats.

Suzi, please think about other measures besides poison. One of my kids' pets got into some poison I had put out for a bad rat problem, and I've never forgiven myself. Poison is a bullet shot into the air and you don't know where it's going to land. A cat was a much better solution to my rat problem. Have you thought of a big guard dog?
Sturdy wire cages aren't that hard to construct with the right tools. They can also be bought ready made at bird shows or even custom made.
I have a bird feeder with peanuts for the squirrels, little apples on the apple trees. The few squirrels we have here stuff themselves at the feeder, plant peanuts in my large pots and so far my new ripening figs are untouched. 
I have a raccoon after my koi in a koi pond every night, but a barking dog and putting heavy wire shelving over the top of the pond each night has saved them so far.  

Mara, have no fear.  Our property is fully fenced and gated.  People here with pets keep them inside.  Too many bobcats and coyotes roaming around.  We don't have pets because we like to take off on a whim for a day or nine. 

My grand kids lead busy lives in other cities and/or states and have no time for pets.

We have had many critters, including rats, evade the humane traps, or haul them off completely!  JD even took the advice of some here and hung rat poison by wires in the trees.  Wonder of wonders, the bait disappears and once, even the entire wire!  It's a losing battle, and we are tired of it.

Don't worry.  If there was a pet around (which there is not), we'd go another route, but they steal our traps!

Jarl, I don't know how they would get in here.  This is a gated private road, and everyone up here is fully fenced with locked gates.  I don't think it's human.  If so, I hope they enjoy my poisoned figs! 

The two trees closest to the house seem to be favorites.  Those elsewhere on the acreage aren't even touched, so if I poison a few figs, there are plenty more.  Whatever it us must be hiding under a deck? We did find one stiff dead possum under a deck after we used Dennis' potion, but they seem to be immune to it now.

Suzi

Suzi, the only thing that really works is a physical barrier. Even if you kill one pest, a new one will soon show up to fill the vacuum--probably the day before the next fig you're waiting for is fully ripe. The war never stops, which means it's never won.

I've posted in years past on the big walk-in bird-netting cage I built to protect my figs and other trees. It works great until we get high winds or the rare snowfall--then the netting rips. It got a 50' rip a few weeks ago, just as the figs were ripening, and I don't have time to mess with it. So, this year so the birds get it all.

If I can find a wholesale source (I need 72,000 square feet), I plan to redo the whole cage next year with 1/2" galvanized poultry wire. That should be a permanent solution, with the added benefit of (hopefully) being able to also keep chickens in it, which should eliminate most weeds and help reduce the beetle problem--which in my yard, are actually much worse than the birds.

Suzi, I can understand your frustration, but don't think that just because you poison the current offenders that others won't take their place. 

Maybe it's deer.  They can certainly hop a tall fence and would be big enough to damage a decaying railroad tie.  If you poison the deer, then whatever eats it will get poisoned, etc.  If there are any deer predators left, then when it eats your sick deer, it will probably die too.  And then next year you'll just have a different deer that will do the same thing to you. 

There are no deer here.  Trust me.  No deer.  Cougars, yes.  Bobcats, yes.  Coyotes, yes.  Deer, no.

Suzi have you tried the just one bite bars.  They are working wonders on the squirrel pop .   I saw my first squirrel in my yard today.   Been about three weeks since I saw one.   Put a bite bar in the orchid basket and hung in the the tree.  Power up you mangy climbing rat.   And   just the other day  walked out the back door and see Mama Deer who has jumped my fence getting ready to munch my avacado tree.  Outside the fence were two baby deer watching how to do it.   I ran out the Pool cage and flapped my arms and growled like crazy.  Plus Yorkie ran with me barking like a doberman.   Mom deer was stunned and made funny noise as she bounded off over the fence and flew down my neighbors back yard    Babys ran like mad into woods.  That was the same avacado she mowed last time and upon checking the mulberry    I found she had cropped it also.   Bass Pro opens July 29.   come to me pellet pistol with laser sight.     Do you have security camera    not   very expensive.     Joyce

Paully,  theft is theft.   Put up cameras please.   Once people learn no one will do anything about their theft, they will return again and again and grow bolder to removing anything they want from your yard and maybe then they break into your house.   At the very least have your neighbor call police.   We live in a gated community surround by walls.   A maid service that one of my neighbors used brought some unauthorized people in with them and they helped themselves to a neighbors UPS delivery.   Of course my other neighbor saw them   took cell phone picture    called police   Some people got to go to jail for that and the maid service is not allowed in the community.    We have new guard service now.    I hate too see your hard work abused.

Joyce, the critter is much bigger than a rat!  You saw the damage in the first photo.  Not something a rat can do.  But rats are adept at stealing bait, dragging off traps, etc.  YEP, we got serious critters here.  I'll be happy to try the one bite bars, but I have a huge bush.  I think the poison is ricin.  I'll dust my figs with that.  I know to stay away, but the critters will get them before me.  Actually that VDB is off limits.

Has anybody tried putting an electric fence around their fig trees.  This is something that I've been kicking around for awhile but haven't had a chance to get over to tractor supply to look at them.  

I don't have "critter" problems, but I've heard good things about this... A little pricey but it's non-toxic! :)