It is strange that I have been answering this question on this forum for years and even provided photos of the “baffles” I install in the scores of orchards I manage, but even leaders here do not mention my methods or experience when the question comes up. I guess we are all mostly focused on our own anecdotes. My experience far exceeds most here because I manage so many orchards and my solutions have to be time and cost affective in a pretty big scale. Hundreds of these baffles must go up within about 2 weeks, starting 2 weeks after petal fall because squirrels will take small green peaches here, most years, most sites.
Nets work at some sites, some years, but squirrels are perfectly capable of gnawing through them the moment their hunger cannot be appeased by more convenient food. I only use nets for protection against birds.
People have created different types of baffles to protect crops from squirrels and coons and in my rather wide experience they are by far the best method to use if you are not willing to install an electric fence specifically designed for the purpose. I now train all my nursery trees with a long trunk devoid of scaffolds for at least the first 4’ so I can install these. I also paint them with a grease and oil blend and it is 100% affective in defending fruit from the ground. The only caveat is that the height squirrels will leap to reach a branch varies from site to site. Usually 5’ is adequate but not always. .
This tree had branches too low and squirrels that do jump 6’ where it is. It’s easier to baffle a tree with more trunk before branches and you can use a straight cylinder made of aluminum roofing coil and stapled to the trunk.
This tree has higher branches. We need to be very careful not to use too much oil grease mixture when the baffle doesn’t go all the way to the ground, or hot days may cause the mix to flow to and injure the trunk. I’ve killed plum trees this way, but only injured peach. If there is enough straight trunk, the cone shape isn’t necessary.
