Here is something a client built Squirrels had already taken his green pears so he designed and built this. Today he harvested a crop of nectarines which received no spray at all. Unusual year.
Here’s how he built them. Used 30” flashing doubled up, overlapped to make larger pieces. Riveted them together, cut out the circles, and left enough room for the tree circumferences - drilled two tiny holes in place ( in two spots, high and low ) and inserted a straightened paper clip through holes to keep them together. Gave it so much thought! OMG. Great that I can reuse them over and over again.
The ones I use only take about 10 minutes to assemble once I have the supplies, so I don’t think I will be stealing his idea.
I’m pretty sure his squirrels are not going to jump past them if they took green pears before and he’s now harvested ripe nectarines. I’ve dealt with enough failing methods in the last 30 years to know the drill.
Now whether your squirrels would defeat that baffle is another question.
One needn’t be apt to build this one. Just check tree circumference with a string and cut the metal about 3 inches wider stapling to the tree with larges staples from the bottom up. DIY Squirrel Baffle ideas? - #24 by alan