North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Mark or Helen Angermayer" <hangermayer@isp.com>]

Hi Richard

Last month there was a post  by Nathan Torgerson which listed a forum
discussing bagging fruit.
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/fruit/msg0501490712645.html?51

You can read about one lady who had a terrible time with tree rats.  Bagging
the fruit didn't help.  In fact she indicates the squirrels learned to
associate bags = food, and tore the bags apart to get to the fruit.  She
tried several  different bags with no success.

Alan Haigh wrote about a technique that sounds much more promising in the
last issue of Pomona.  He suggested wrapping the trunk of the tree with
aluminum flashing.  He staples it around the trunk of the tree and the
little bugers have nothing to grab onto to.  I don't know how  well this
would work for you if your tree it too close to the fence.  They could
obviously hop on a limb from the fence.  Perhaps if there were some way to
keep them off the fence?  One drawback of the aluminum flashing would be
that it may provide a place for borer attack.  I wonder if the flashing has
to be installed directly on the trunk?  Could the fruitier install a wire
cage around the tree, leaving plenty of distance between the trunk and the
cage, then attach the flashing to the cage?

Alan indicated to flash the tree the flashing must be 24" wide and start a
couple feet from the base.  If two pieces of flashing are needed, install
the bottom piece first so the squirrels don't have a "lip" to grab.

Mark Angermayer
Zone 5 Kansas


> I hope this is not a repeat post -- I think I messed up the first time!
>
> I have a large Greengage plum which this year (I planted it some 17 years
> ago) has set a reasonably heavy crop -- in the past few years the crop has
> been quite light, although the tree has flowered rather spectacularly for
> nearly 10 years. This is in Boston (rather than my usual fruit growing in
> Vermont) and there are many, many squirrels around. Unfortunately they
have
> learned to eat plums, or at least to try them and throw them on the ground
> after one bight, just before they are ripe. Has anyone got an idea of how
I
> might save at least a few for myself?  I don't begrude the squirrels a
> share, but last year I got exactly one, that was at the end of a long
> branch. Bagging occurs to me as a possibility, although I don't know
> whether the plums would survive (I suppose they would be likely to split
as
> I have had with pears) and more seriously whether it would be enough to
> discourage the tree-rats. Anyway, I will try to bag a few of the plums.
> Has anyone tried anything like this?
>
> As to other possibilities, there is not much point in trying to trap the
squirrels,
> since the reservoir seems to be essentially infinite and I cannot net the
tree -- 
> it is both too large and in a very difficult location (half over the fence
for one thing).
>
> Any suggestions welcome, or comments on plum-bagging; I do like stewed
> greengages! If I thought they were only eating plums I might try squirrel
> pie, but I fear they are not so picky and once-processed-garbage-pie
> doesn't seem so attractive.
>
> Richard
>
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