Bird Scaring Devices for Fruit Trees

Q. Can you recommend something that can be used to discourage birds from eating my figs and peaches?

*Birds can do a lot of damage to peaches when they are ripe. Let them signal you when to pick them!*

A. Peaches are a lot easier than figs. Figs must be picked when they are ripe. Peaches will ripen off the tree. As soon as you see bird pecks on firm peaches, harvest them. Don’t wait for them to get soft. The birds know when they are ripe enough to eat. A few days on the shelf at room temperature and they will be ripe enough to eat. If you are not sure whether to harvest the peaches or not, look at their “background color” or when they turn from green to either yellow or red with yellow, depending on the variety.

*Figs produce an early crop called the Briba crop and a main crop.*

If you are still not sure, mark your calendar. Do this in combination with bird pecks. If they are ready to harvest in early June, mark your calendar and start checking them in late

April for bird pecks. Start harvesting them the day you see bird pecks. Or harvest them when they turn color; when they are “firm” and no longer “hard”. At that stage, they are tree ripe! A couple of days out of the sun and at room temperature and they will be ready to eat.

*Birds cause a lot of damage for backyard growers of fruit trees. Pick peaches the day of, or the day after, you see bird damage while the fruit is still firm.* *Peaches are what is called a “climacteric” fruit; it will ripen after it is harvested if they are far enough along in their ripening.*

Peaches that ripen during hot weather are ready to harvest over a period of about two weeks and earlier peaches (April and May) are closer to three weeks. Harvest the ones that are ready first and then wait a few days and harvest more. Peaches will ripen first where they get the most heat. That means the south and west sides and top (in full sun) are first, then the more interior ones (where its shady and cooler) are ready in a few more days.

*Fig trees produce nonclimacteric fruit. Figs must be picked when the ripen from the tree. Bird damage will speed up the ripening of fruit.*

Figs are only harvested when they are tree ripened. That’s the difference between climacteric fruit (peaches, apricots, and others) and non-climacteric fruit (figs, grapes, cherries). The best thing I can tell you is to harvest the non-climacteric fruit early in the morning, as early as possible. Unless you want to spend lots of extra time and extra money. Harvesting figs are tough because they are non-climacteric. Peaches are easier if you harvest them a bit early, like I explained, and let them ripen off the tree. Sometimes “dumb” or inexperienced birds peck and ruin the hard, green fruit but that is rare.

*Birds like this boat tailed grackle can cause a lot of damage in any orchard unless there are lots of trees.*

We have had no luck with hanging tinsel, CDs, owls, etc. When the birds got used to them, they always had a field day with the fruit. Most of the odd ball things that scared birds, and hung in those trees within about two weeks of harvest, were effective. Longer than about two weeks and the birds started to get used to any scaring devices and devastated the fruit.

The University orchard in North Las Vegas was close to an RC runway and park. We used to joke about getting someone to “buzz” the University orchard, but we never did that. Might be a good excuse to buy an RC plane!

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