Re- evaluating bagging fruit

[mamuang]

Most of my fruit are low to the ground, tempting fate, unintentionally.

[IL847]

I lost graft tag so I don’t know what cultivar it is. But the flavor is great. If your bag didn’t get chewed by squirrels , let me know. I want to switch to store bought bags

[mamuang]

Annie,
What do you mean by “store bought bags”?

Here’s my experience:
Bags that have been chewed through and taken away by squirrels, groundhogs and the like:

• plastic sandwich bags
• organza bags (the flimsy ones used for gifts)
• Clemson paper bags

Attempts were made but did not chew through:

• durable nylon bags

Unknown (new):

• sleeves and bags made of plastic window screen (similar to yours)

Hope this help.

[IL847]

""What do you mean by “store bought bags”?
Are those nylon bag you use bought from store either retail or online store? You didn’t make those bag, did you?

[mamuang]

Ahh, yes, I bought them on line. Squirrels have pulled the bags from trees. They had a hard time getting to the fruit inside. So far, the material has slowed them down. The fruit inside sustained some damage but were not totally ruined.

[Bradybb]

This is the first time I’m trying fiberglass screen,to protect some small Euro Plum clusters.Do birds try to peck the fruit this way?bb

[IL847]

Birds in my yard are not a big problem. This year, I just hung couple of reflective tape on the tree, my cherries were not touched. Squirrels however are the big problem. They really do a lot of damage to the fruits

[mamuang]

@Bradybb,
I don’t think birds see well through a dark/black screen. So far, no bird pecking. Don’t think they can reach the fruit, either.

[PomGranny]

Hey ‘guys’ . . . don’t discount these clips! @growjimgrow and I love them for a lot of things! Binder Clips! They stay where you put them - probably better than clothespins.

[Sara_in_philly]

@mamuang, how is your fiberglass window screen workIng out against squirrels so far? Can squirrels get the fruit inside? I was looking for some tougher material against squirrels and saw your picture. Looks like your fruits are still intact, squirrels got mine when my plums started to change color.

There are white, grey and black screen on amazon, any thought on which color is better for fruit?

[PomGranny]

And you can always close all your cereal & chip bags with the extras!

P.S. - I think your screen idea is ingenious !

[Auburn]

Orient Pear. It get pretty sweet tasting at my location but it is one you need to peel.

[alan]

Is this the bag endorsed much further up the page. https://www.ienggbdc.com/shopping_cart.htm

[mamuang]

Sarah,
I personally would choose black so that the red color of fruit is not too obvious to attract birds.

Well, squirrels cannot get to the fruit in the screened bags but they did do damage by causing several plums to drop inside the bags. I lost 10 plums on this branch. See all the dropped plums at rpthe bottom of the bag.

[Sara_in_philly]

10, That hurts! Are those still edible? I use thick pile of bird netting wrapped around my plums, that saved some fruit. Maybe I can combine both methods, or imbed some spiky thing in the bag, that may stop the squirrel.
By the way, I set out squirrelinator yesterday afternoon, and caught two already. I did a quick calculation, it’s about $3 per squirrel for just gas alone to relocate them😡

[mamuang]

No, those were about to turn color but not edible.

I am not as worry about squirrels as much as raccoons or opossums who work at night. I saw one sceened bag had puncture wound and a few fruit inside had teeth marks. It could not take the fruit out.

[alan]

Can someone review for me, are any of these bags reliably effective for stopping squirrels? There are trees I’m called on to protect that I cannot baffle. I’m not going to start offering a bagging service but maybe some clients will have their landscape crews do the bagging.

[Auburn]

are any of these bags reliably effective for stopping squirrels?

Sorry but I don’t consider any of my bagging to give reliable results.

[mamuang]

Agree with Bill. Bagging with long sleeve of window screen offers the best protection but not fully animal proof. It is labor- intensive when putting each sleeve on. (need lots of staples, too.). The screen material is also expensive.

[alan]

Well there’s an invention awaiting a creator. Aluminum threads might discourage the beasts.