I’m considering planting some figs on a part of my property where wildlife is basically going to have a free for all. I know birds eat figs, but birds don’t seem terrible in my location, and they seem to come right up by the house anyway, so I’m hoping they won’t be much worse in a further removed location. What about other animals, though? An internet search suggested that squirrels eat figs, but I haven’t ever noticed a squirrel going after my figs once. What is your all’s experience with squirrels and figs? Is there a chance the squirrels will leave them alone? I’m pretty sure deer generally don’t care to eat fig leaves, but what about the fruit? I know my goats have zero interest in eating fig leaves, even though fruit trees are generally their favorite thing on the farm. What about other wildlife: possums, racoons… anything else that could be a deal breaker?
Coons love anything sweet.They’ll take everything the birds leave behind. After those nothing else will much matter. Coons learn and remember. They’ll be back yr after yr.
That’s good to know. There are coons around here, but they don’t seem terrible. I grow a lot of different things (grains, vegetables, fruits, etc.) and so far as I know, I’ve never had any coon damage to anything, so even if they like figs, it seems like I might stand a chance. I might hedge my bets just a little but take my chances if other wildlife isn’t likely to be too hard on figs.
Yellow jackets and ants take a bigger toll here on Figs than other critters .
My dogs", mostly," keep other critters scared
Ants are the biggest problem that I have. Of course that may be the reality that I have more than a few ant colonies within striking distance of my in ground figs. Birds have generally left my figs alone, but I have noticed they have never touched my green figs.
From what I understand Raccoons can remember problem solving skills for up to 3 years
possums and raccoons are my biggest pests (with yellow-jackets being effective years when my figs ripen before fall arrives too)…
Scott
The grey squirrels in my area have no interest whatsoever in fig fruit. I have however seen some minor damage to the bark which appeared to be from squirrels. Walnuts on the other hand are impossible to grow without first removing all the squirrels in the area.
Coons/possums but I don’t know who is the main culprit since I don’t seem to ever catch them in the act. The worst problem I find with the coon/possum is not so much eating the figs but climbing and breaking the branches. I work hard to prune/shape and have branches occur where I want them and in the direction and angle I want, then the coon climbs and breaks it, really a shame.
I trapped a few opossums that decimated my crop in 2016. Broke off branches, too. I bet he would have tasted good, he ate a lot of figs!
Woodpeckers, crows, mockingbirds, wasps, honeybees,1" long fancy colored beetles, squirrels, possums, and coons enjoy figs here. Coon squads that show up in the middle of the night do the most harvesting, and they visit night after night. Best practices here mandate live trapping before the figs start getting ripe. Chunky dog food enhanced with a squirt of (STINKY) Asian fish sauce on it has worked spectacularly well to get both coons and possums inside the live traps.
I put organza bags on figs to keep off birds and bugs off, but sometimes find them still being stollen, bag and all, by squirrels who chew through the cloth. I find chewed up organza bags all around the yard. But it still helps me keep some of the figs.
I think anything that likes sweet fruit will go for figs once they get a taste. I was in Washington DC at a kayak rental place once and saw this big, mature fig tree covered in fruit. Several branches were shaking and I thought it must be birds, but when I looked closer I realized there were about a half dozen rats gorging themselves on the figs. In broad daylight! It made me think my squirrels weren’t such a big deal.
Huh? Squirrels are to the burbs what rats are to the city. Rodents.
I had a dog that loved figs. He would not pull them from the tree but he would eat everyone I gave him…
There are big green iridescent beetles that eat my figs and will “buzz you” if you get too close. I hate them! Nasty! Remind me of dung beetles. Do dung beetles fly???
Katy
fig/grape beetles
I’m dealing with this issue this right now the squirrels in my area eat almost everything including my figs.
squirrels
ground hogs
opossum
deer
skunk
raccoons
coyotes
fox
Black bears
rodents
bees
ants
im sure there is plenty more
When my figs first turn ripe color… i put on organza bag… and tie it on tightly
I have never had a bird, possum, coon, squirrell or any other critters bother my ripening figs.
My fig tree is just off the south wall of my home… not many critters are comfortable coming that close… perhaps they know i eat critters on a regular basis 
I have more trouble with insects… bees wasps yellowjackets hornets, ants… and the occasional late jap beetle… but the organza bags help greatly with those.
Fig loving June bugs.
A few years ago… before I started bagging figs… i picked a very nice CH fig… and went to share it with my wife.
Just looking at it the eye looked somewhat normal… but when i sliced it open with a knife… something crunched inside.
A dang jap beetle had crawled completely up inside the fig entering thru the eye.
Glad I did not take that one in one big bite.