Re- evaluating bagging fruit

I suspect that wasps in my backyard drilled through organza bags on my pears last year. I swear those insects in my backyard are more vicious than yours.:grin:

I highly doubt it, I have been using them with figs for the last three years, and they are close to 100% effective. Without them, my fig trees look like a giant hornet nest when figs are ripening. I have used them with all my other fruits, and they provide full protection from hornets, except when birds peck through them and create holes that hornets can get through.

This is specially useful, as hornets attack fruit that are ripe, and there is no insecticide that I know of the allows spraying ripe fruits (i.e. with 1 day PHI).

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I don’t know that I’d use the word useless. The other 50 or so peaches on this tree look great, no marks from curculio or any other insect. This one they just took a liking to and the bag was not going to stop them. It happens sometimes… Just checked my notes, I’ve been bagging peaches this way for at least the last 3 years. The bugs got to a few each of those years but most were very clean.

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Useless is applicable to my situation. I bagged peaches with them for 2-3 years and the results were abysmal. I have switched to Clemson bags. It has got better but still has had a brown rot in some.

I mostly use the mesh bags on apples and pears. My intent is to reduce insect damage. They aren’t perfect and I still get a few fruit with damage. For a few years now I have added a low level fence charged wire and it has stopped the night raiders (opossums and raccoons). I turn it on a few weeks before it is needed so the varmints have already tested it and don’t want any part of the wire. Although squirrels can easily avoid the wire they have stopped coming around. Hope in the future I don’t have to report any bad news.

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Useless is the right word! When I used them they were a total failure.

It looks interesting. I have some small “clamshells” that packaged light bulbs. Rigid clear plastic. Been planning to try them on smaller fruit. If they work well I’ll be looking for suppliers.

Regardless, I bagged my pears. It can’t provide protection from squirrels but it can provide fruits from insects. A lot of work . I am much willing to thin the fruit now.

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