Peaches and Squirrels

[Tom Bates]

I don't really dislike squirrels so I sort of put up with them but last year our two dwarf Peach trees had a motherload of fruit. But it all got done in by the squirrels. The question is can I get a net to go over the trees to keep the hungry things out? Would I be better off overfeeding them on trays of sunflower seeds? Or maybe a couple of fake Owl's in /near the trees?

[paghat]

Nets work fine for birds but squirrels would probably figure out how to get in one, though it's worth a try, & feeding them fatty seeds MIGHT cause them to lose interest in large fruits. Here's a list of things to do keep squirrels from harvesting fruits before you can:

the ratgirl

[dr-solo]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at

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[Sterling]

I have done a lot of research on this problem as I have two dwarf peach trees and I WANT that fruit, too..

There are hundreds of people on the net complaining about the squirrel problems with fruit trees. Here is what I have learned:

1. You can shoot two hundred squirrels a day and the one you miss will strip your tree.

1. You can leave barrels of corn out and the squirrels will still want to "see about those peaches".

2. Pepper, wolf urine, mothballs all work for a few minutes.

1. There are people out there who have chopped down their fruit trees because it they can't have any, the d&$%m squirrels won't get any either.

2. Everyone suffers from the squirrels biting into and then pitching small, green, unripe peaches - one after another until the tree is bare. Everybody is very angry at this stupidity of the bandits.

1. Bird netting is NOT effective for squirrels. They either eat through the nylon mesh or get through the holes (where the square piece of netting tries to cover a basically round tree top. Clothes pins to hold the edges don't work.) Plus as the tree grows, it grows THROUGH the net, making the net the very devil to get off.

2. Baffles and metal bands around the tree base will not work on dwarf trees.

1. There are a few very smug, self-satisfied people who say "plant one for the squirrels and one for yourself. Learn to share". The squirrels will NOT understand which is THEIR tree but will strip all you have. What I think of these people is not worth printing.

2. Last but not least, some smug, self-satisfied people claim they actually DO get plenty of fruit. I cannot comment.

I have two dwarf peach trees about 4 years old that are fully stripped every year and I am thinking about a cage for the trees. An "outdoor sunning cage for an iguana" looks like it might be re-designed as a "peach tree cage".

with PVC with wood

you need to go down at least 12" (with a little L bend) to prevent digging under plus I think this will stabilize it. This may not work but before you say how this can't be done, I'll leave you with a expression my boss likes:

"Do something even if it's wrong - lot of people out there doing nothing really well."

If you have any better ideas, I would LOVE to hear them.

We had a massive hail storm about two/three weeks ago that tore over half of my peaches off the trees.

[e-mail] wrote:

[escape]

I think perhaps your pissy attitude has more to do with why your trees are stripped yearly and my one tree produced 15 bushels of fruit last year, not counting the tons the squirrels ate, what they took a bit of and threw on the floor and what fell off in a self-aborted situation.

Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for yourself or a friend?

[Sterling]

OK - fair enough.

Question: do you think the squirrels noted, in their little squirrel brains: "Sterling has such a pissy attitude. We'll destroy ALL her peaches, but that 'escape' is such a sweety that we'll go hungry rather than taking all his/her fruit!" ?? And somehow that went out on the squirrel telegraph?

Just curious...

Also, is yours a full size tree or a dwarf? A full size tree would produce a lot more peaches.

And you are say> I think perhaps your pissy attitude has more to do with why your trees are

[escape]

What I'm saying is that possibly if you approach the situation using more of your mind and having a different attitude toward the wildlife who have a right to eat things growing outside in their house, you may generate a bit of virtue enough to create conditions for your squirrels to leave some peaches. I base this on a very ancient system called Karma, cause and effect.

Squirrels do not know I'm a sweetie, though I certainly am a sweetie. The part of the Universe which does know is karma and the seeds of that karma you planted in this and other lifetimes. It is ripening now. You must have been a peach eating squirrel at one time, that's all I'm saying.

And yes, you do have a pissy attitude you may want to check up on. My name is not 'escape' and you know it. But I do escape rapidly from people who are like you, of that I'm certain.

I have one tree which is about ten feet tall and 20 feet wide. Not a dwarf. I had every intention of supplying birds, and mammals with peaches. I use no deterrents what so ever. All squirrels are welcome to partake. I could never eat the amount of peaches which I grow on that one tree. I still have some frozen in the freezer and about 25 jars of jams and preserves left from last year. Be kind, think kindly and experiment with what I'm telling you before you snap a nasty answer back.

The other thing you can do is build a cage around each of your dwarf peaches using cheap one by two lumber and some 1/2 inch hardware cloth.

Victoria

Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for yourself or a friend?

[Sterling]

I do not know that - you are coming into giganews with the sender name 'escape'. That is the information my server shows.

As for the rest - all I can say is 'good for you'. Your kind attitude certainly reflects a strong spiritual light. We could all learn from it.

[Travis]

Can't you read? "escape" signs her posts with "Victoria". I don't know why she has "escape" as her from name. Maybe she doesn't know how to change it.

[escape]

My husband does that name, not me. He has his reasons, I guess! We used to have our domain name of "animaux," but he changes it. There was someone stalking for a while and threatening. The usual Usenet asshole thing. So, he was escaping from that. We never changed it back.

Victoria