Defending the peach tree!

[Winger Ed.]

We've got a big peach tree right off the patio deck.
I'm not a big peach eater, but its fun to grow and get a bushel or two off of it, that the neighbors really like.

As they get ripe, the birds come in.
They won't sit down and eat one, that'd be OK--- no, they take one bite out of a different one with each 'peck'.
I don't want to shoot 'em- they are jays, mocking birds, and song birds.
Last year, I'd shoo them off as best I could, and it helped. But I wasn't going to stay there and guard it.

This year, I put a couple pecked ones on the hand rail around the deck under the tree.
It's cool now. A bird will come up to one, eat its fill, and leave.
As long as there is one or two peaches on the hand rail-- they don't go after ones in the tree.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

A bowl of vanilla ice cream served with slices of a fresh peach is very tasty.

[seetrout]

Your lucky.
The squirrels find my peaches when they're about half developed every year.
Once they find them they clean off the tree in one day for the pits.

I, however, am not above shooting them. They get real smart real quick, but it doesn't stop em from gettin my peaches

[Winger Ed.]

A bowl of vanilla ice cream served with slices of a fresh peach is very tasty.

Even though I've never bought a peach--- That is my favorite, sometimes even without chocolate syrup.
I'm good with having 4-5 peaches a year off our own tree, and that's how I eat 'em.



There's 3 squirrels around the yard. They'll take one, carry it off a ways and eat it.
So far, they only get one each a day. I'll let them have that, at least until they get big enough to eat themselves.

[Bad Ass Wallace]

Same troubles here. I hang old CD's in the branches on a piece of fishing line, no more birds!

[tankgunner59]

My wife and I love peaches and we would be eating them like crazy. I also love tomato's, they're another of my favorites. Every year I grow from three to six tomato plants in our small garden. A few years ago we had a problem with whistle pigs, or groundhogs. That year I trapped 4, and if you could see how small our back yard is you'd understand how bad that number is. After awhile I noticed half eaten large green tomato's laying in the yard, one each day. I figured once I got rid of all of the groundhogs it would stop. But with my fence around the garden I couldn't find where they were getting into the garden. Then one day, my sister, who is disabled due to extreme COPD, called me into the kitchen to catch my tomato thief. It was a SQUIRREL! I couldn't believe it. It would leave one half eaten in the yard every day, but it would take a fresh one the next day. After the summer was over it stopped, and it hasn't happened again.
I use the CD trick in the garden for birds but it didn't work on the squirrel.

[Winger Ed.]

Every year I grow from three to six tomato plants in our small garden.

My Grandmother grew a fair amount of tomatoes.
She had fits with land turtles coming by and taking one bite out of each one they could reach, and it would ruin.

[bayjoe]

We have mule deer and bears that take their fare share.

[roadie]

Even though I've never bought a peach--- That is my favorite, sometimes even without chocolate syrup.
I'm good with having 4-5 peaches a year off our own tree, and that's how I eat 'em.



There's 3 squirrels around the yard. They'll take one, carry it off a ways and eat it.
So far, they only get one each a day. I'll let them have that, at least until they get big enough to eat themselves.

Squirrel might go really good with a peach sauce too.

[rking22]

Peach fed squirrel sounds scrumptious! Be sure not to let them age too long, young and tender!!

[popper]

When they were ripe ,only time for vacation. After that the bores got them. Great when they were ripe and mowing, grab a bite.

[samari46]

Planted bush beans,carrots and radish last year. Critters love the young shoots when they come up out of the ground. Did the same this year so will have to make a portable screen enclosure that can be moved by one person to do any harvesting. When I had the 30" long x 10" wide garden never had that problem. Next year
will get one of the planter kits made from recycled plastics as my old one has rotted to the point that if it makes it through this year I'll be lucky. Frank

[MrWolf]

I've got two apple trees not peaches. Some kind of flying insect would eat and ruin a bunch. I know it was a flying something because I went to pick one and something stung my finger. I haven't been in that kind of pain for a long time. Almost felt like it had spines on it.

[Thumbcocker]

Yellow jackets

[Rick Hodges]

Grandpa used to hang aluminum pie plates on his trees, scared the bejesus out of the birds. Worked well. I used to get the job of climbing to hang the ones near the top.

[trapper9260]

I make jam and sauce out of the peaches. Beside eat them when they come in. Do not have problems with birds or wildlife. But have a problem with the peach bore .They do a job on the tree to the point they kill it and also other stone fruit .

[Cast_outlaw]

My suggestion is to get some of the hottest hot sauce you can find mix with water and put into a squirt gun then shoot birds with that as they probably will not like that it will also work for other nuisance critters
This kind is what I mean

This stuff makes franks red hot sauce look like water

[Winger Ed.]

This stuff makes franks red hot sauce look like water

Judging from the label:
That stuff looks so bad, the empty bottle may have to go to a hazardous waste site.

[Wayne Smith]

Just put plastic screening over the early blueberries and did the first picking. yes, we fight the birds, and I have basically given up the fig tree to the squirrels.

[MaryB]

I have a bottle of this, 6 million scovilles...