Birds were destroying all my plums. Put produce bags on groups of methley plums that were almost ripe to keep the birds off for a few days until they were fully ripe. Today the bags where ripped open and empty. There was one plum still on the tree.
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Are you sure all the damage are from birds? You don’t have squirrels or night visitors like opossums or raccoms?,
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Sorry for your loss. It is tough when you put so much time and effort into growing the fruit. Just my opinion but I think it is unlikely that much damage is from birds unless the bags are clear. I stand corrected if you witness the break in. Night invaders were mostly what opened my ziploc bags (raccoons and opossums). I have had a few pecks from birds. This is the first year with no night damage. I give credit to the electric wire. Again I’m sorry about your loss.
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Same here… the birds got almost all my plums with peck marks…the couple i did manage to bag ended up fine…so they work for birds…squirrels are fixed by bullets and traps…
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It is a horrible feeling to see such ravaging, and its not about the work you put in, its more about expectation and reward. Ugh!
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I ran out of Clemson bags while I was bagging peeaches in June. So I used what I had plenty, organza gift bags. I know it was a risk.
Well, I knew when I bags those oeaches had no holes. I am convinced OFM laid eggs through the flimsy bags. There was a hole in each bag where the entry was.
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The original damage was from birds. The final damage was most likely racoons. There was nothing left but plum pits.
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I occasionally find similar damage on my ziploc bags. I don’t know how they find my tiny vent holes but they do.
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I can empathize with both of you. These critters take all. I could live with them if they knew how to share.
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I hope I can answer someone @anne whether or not clemson bag protect against rodents. Happened last night so my bet is on a raccoon or an opossum. This nectarine is low to the ground. No need to climb up the tree.
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Oh’ why not spare yourself and remove the low fruit?
The whole tree is 5’ tall 
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I do have a few apple trees with fruit this year. When I noticed a few apples missing, I stuck a metal pole in the ground next to the trunk, got out one of my tennis balls and cut an X on one side and pushed the cut X onto the top of the pole, threw my environmesh row cover over the pole, placed a few rocks around the bottom to hold the row cover down. So far so good.
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Anne,
Don’t want to be a bearer of the bad news. Those critters have bitten through metal window screen, wire, etc. If they really want to, they will chew through your row cover. A raccoon chewed through my bird netting like it was nothing.
Hopefully, they have something they like more than your apples so they can leave your apples alone.
I know the raccoons are trouble. But maybe after hanging out with the other critters in the corn field they will be too fat. The row cover does keep the deer, rabbits and birds away.
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A lot of times with my climate the only fruit is low because that is the area buried in snow… So the top of the tree is empty.
I had to remove all the rest of my saturn peaches…they are just softening and i had some wire fencing over them that was on the ground so i know mr squirrel was poking around. Today he was digging in a bunch of my potted plants --for what i have no idea.
Anyone set up a security camera to watch it all happen? Might give some clues on who/timing/method.
Several of the Korean Giant are pushing the sandwich bags open. I had a few old one quart bags so I replaced them. The last picture is several Harrow Sweet very close together. These all appear to be doing well inside the bags. This tree is just starting to fruit so I left all the fruit I could in hopes to get it to slow down and fruit more. Extra support was required.
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My HS is in a shady spot. The tree is not as vigorous as it should be. I graf5ed it to other tree in a better spot.
My bad when I planted Blake’s Pride and HS seceral years ago. I should have put HS where BP is. I don’t care for BP which is in a better, sunn8er spot.
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I have one (1) nectarine ripening after the killing frost this spring. I just wrapped it in a lot of snaggy netting on the theory that the squirrels would get their paws stuck.
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@ltilton,
May the theory be correct so you will have your one and only nectarine. I was short of Clemson paper bags so I used organza bags for my late peaches. They don’t work, of course.
Now my nectarines are ripening. So, today I took those Clemson bags off nectarines at the risk of bird pecking those red nectarines. I will re-use these bags on my peaches (taking organza bags off peaches and will replace them with Clemson bags)
Now my nectarines are naked !!!
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