Can you "net" a whole tree to keep squirrels from eating the fruit?

We did that to a 20’ cherry tree to keep the birds out with some success last year. Squirrels would be tough to net for. I assume the tree is too close to other trees to use the old cone-on-the-trunk trick.

I wonder if the fake-snake-in-a-tree trick would work on squirrels. It does keep birds away from our tomato patch, but you have to move the fake snake every couple of days or the birds get wise. Are squirrels smarter than birds?

How about a small fence and a dog?

Or this

I don’t know if a net would work, but just for your information: Squirrels cannot be poisoned, seems the little buggers are too smart for that. They won’t eat anything that reeks of poison. Not that you would want to poison the cute little basta….er, critters, I’m just sayin’ ya know?

To keep squirrels out of bird feeders, I mix chili powder with my bird seed. The birds can’t taste it, but the stuff burns the hell out of the squirrels little fuzzy noses.

Some people suggest live trapping squirrels and relocating them, but trust me, that doesn’t work. If a mosquito will fly forty miles for a blood meal, how far will a squirrel walk for free peaches? If you figure it out how to keep the little basta…er, buggers out of your tree, let me know.

With over 4 hundred trees here… netting never came up as a solution BUT spraying the trees with a mixture of liquid detergent (doesn’t take much) and water seems to work until it rains… sigh. The love the persimmons, bermuda cherries and starfruit best… thank Heavens they don’t seem to be partial to loquats or figs!

@evelyns_pet_zebra love your sense of humor!

I read in my latest gardening catalog that they sell a spray that is called Hot Pepper Wax Animal Repellent. Supposedly it doesn’t wash off in the rain. I suppose it might be labor intensive to spray every peach, but it’s a thought.

I have two peach trees in my yard, planted very close to the fence. Having a dog in the yard is about 30% effective, but sometimes the squirrels seem to throw green peaches at the dog! Something else that seems to work is to hang old CD’s from the branches.

@SherlockPoems I have used a home-made spray. I mix the liquid detergent with a bit of ground-up hot peppers and a small amount of vegetable oil. I think the detergent makes the solution “wetter”, the oil makes it stick, and the hot peppers make the peaches unpalatable for the squirrels

@Yetanotheruser believe it or not, I suggest anyone who visits my yard in the summer to wear a hard hat because the squirrels will throw walnuts at your head. It has happened too many times to be coincidence. Might explain my extravagant aspirin bill as well.