getting squirrely about squirrels
getting squirrely about squirrels (post #12712)
This year my semi-dwarf plum trees and cherries have lots of fruit forming. Everything is tiny now, and I'd like the people of the house to feast on the fruit when it ripens. Is there any defense against squirrels? Last year there was just a little fruit, but it all went to the furry ones. The trees are too large to net.
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(post #12712, reply #1 of 15)
This won't help, but even netting never stopped the squirrels on the cherry trees we had when I was a kid. They just chewed right through the threads. Grrr.
zone 6 gardening in the woods with 30,000 deer
zone 6 gardening in the woods with 30,000 deer
(post #12712, reply #2 of 15)
How about a cat? Or a dog? Or a hawk?
Seriously, though, what about an owl decoy AND putting out peanuts to try to divert them from the fruit. If something attractive is easier to get than the fruit, it'll help with the problem.
(post #12712, reply #3 of 15)
I have a dog, a husky with a strong prey instinct. If I let him off the leash he would be either in Montana or the neighbor's duck pond (don't ask).
www.vegetablegardener.com
(post #12712, reply #4 of 15)
I understand, trust me. Perhaps you could sink an anchor in the ground near the tree (with a kiddie pool nearby) so the squirrels will be put on alert. Then again, being a Husky, he might pull up the anchor (or tree, if tied to it). Invisible fences are pretty inexpensive these days. A loose dog makes squirrels much less bold. Again, being a Husky, the jolt of a shock may not deter him enough to stay in bounds.
(post #12712, reply #5 of 15)
Huskies must be like Malamutes. I have two of them. let them loose and they're gone for hours. Absolutely will not come when called. They love squirrels!
Marty
"The plants have been good to us." Lester Hawkins
Marty
"The plants have been good to us." Lester Hawkins
(post #12712, reply #6 of 15)
I've considered an invisible fence, but I don't think it would contain his exuberance. He'd chase a deer, fox, squirrel, raccoon, rabbit, or even bird right out of the property, and then even if it occurred to him to come back, the zap would deter him.
www.vegetablegardener.com
(post #12712, reply #7 of 15)
If the squirrels are going up the tree trunks you might try tanglefoot. I'm pretty sure that the squirrels will really object to getting that sticky gooey stuff on their paws. On the other hand, you are really going to object to getting that gooey sticky stuff on your paws when you apply it the the trunk and branches. But if it works it should last for a season.
BJ
(post #12712, reply #8 of 15)
Isn't there a risk of girdling the tree if you surround the trunk?
zone 6 gardening in the woods with 30,000 deer
zone 6 gardening in the woods with 30,000 deer
(post #12712, reply #11 of 15)
Tanglefoot is stuff that you smear onto the trunk. It doesn't girdle the bark.
BJ
Edited 5/22/2008 11:46 pm ET by BeeJay
(post #12712, reply #12 of 15)
I used TF on a trunk of a smooth-barked tree once. It really damaged the trunk. It's supposed to be fine on a mature rough-barked tree (though I realize figs have smooth bark), but the instructions say to put tape or paper around the tree/branch and put the TF on that instead of the bark.
I agree, that dude must've put sticky mouse-traps if he caught birds. Flypaper is tacky and annoying, but it would take a tiny bird hitting it in flight to really trap it.
(post #12712, reply #13 of 15)
It's been so long since I used TF that I didn't rememer all the instructions. Yeah, it really gunked up the smooth fig bark but I didn't notice any real damage. But I prolly wasn't looking.
BJ
(post #12712, reply #14 of 15)
Not that it makes a big difference in a fig. You can't kill 'em with a flame thrower. I'm thinking it was a tulip poplar that I used it on. Can't kill those either, but they're not nearly as attractive when they grow back as a bunch of sprouts.
TF isn't that easy to find anymore either. Maybe it's just not popular in my area. It's not popular with me because it's like trying to cut out limbs from ####pine-type tree. You just almost can't do it without getting sticky stuff on you that won't come off without turpentine. And I'm too lazy to be bothered with that. I don't even remember what I was trying to deter with TF. Caterpillars or ants, something like that.
(post #12712, reply #15 of 15)
I haven't bought TF in 40 years. I mean, the stuff doesn't go bad. It starts out bad. And I've only used it to keep the ants out of the figs. It's the only way the figs will ripen without spoiling. I've been having problems geting a fig started here. At least I've gotten one to survive last winter so maybe there's hope.
BJ
(post #12712, reply #9 of 15)
If the squirrels are going up the tree trunks you might try tanglefoot.
Gary Bogue: Flypaper also sticks to wild birds
Contra Costa Times
the bumblebee follows
the nodding primrose
— haiku by Jerry Ball, Walnut Creek
Dear Gary:
Please make your readers aware of the dangers of sticky fly traps (flypaper) and birds.
I watched in horror today as two small titmice were panic-stricken and struggling to get free from a sticky fly trap hanging on my back deck. I was able to release one bird and set it free.
The other was not so lucky. In trying to remove it from the trap, masses of its feathers were pulled out. I took it to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum hospital where its fate will be unknown for several days.
I am sickened by my lack of consideration for my sweet little feathered friends. I have been enjoying bird feeding for some years now. I recently developed a problem with flying bugs on my deck and didn't think twice when I hung up the deathly trap near my bird feeder. How could I be so lame?
I am going to ask the hardware store where I bought the dreaded death trap to put up a sign next to the product warning people of the potential dangers for other animals.
I would never dream of using a sticky mouse trap, yet thought nothing of the sticky fly trap. I feel so bad. Please let my mistake help someone else keep from unknowingly harming our little friends.
Chris C., Walnut Creek
“For me, patriotism is the love of one’s country, while nationalism is the hatred of other peoples.”–Dmitri Likhachev
http://regality3.livejournal.com/
http://regality3.livejournal.com/
(post #12712, reply #10 of 15)
Regality, I think we need some definitions here. I have never seen a flypaper that would stand up to out of doors or that had enough stick to pull the feathers off a titmouse. What the heck was this guy using and why trap flys out of doors? It kinda sounds like he had put up something equivalent to adhesive mouse traps.
Tanglefoot isn't glue. It is more like pitch from a conifer. I have used it to keep the ants from climbing my fig trees and fermenting the figs.