Keeping the critters off the cherry tree; How?

[island911]

So what works best to keep the crows, squirrels and raccoons from taking all of the cherries?

[onlycafe]

[emcon5]

[Neilk]

Is the tree near other trees? If so, you could try wrapping some kind of sheet metal around the trunk so they can't climb up the tree... You might also want to put a net around the top of the tree to keep the birds off.

check out this link.. google is your friend. Can you ship me some of your cherries. We recently bought some bing cherries and they were fantastic.

[porsche4life]

Could just sit and watch the tree and when they come up you shoot them.

[island911]

emcon, that ROCKS Post like that eclipse google for answers. Although, thanks for the link, Neil. ...the peanut butter sounds like a smart idea. ...except for the crows.

[Tobra]

Hang mylar strips in the tree, I am told it makes the tree look like it is on fire to the tweety birds. Get yourself some red fox urine at a hunting store, will discourage the furry ones.

I thought both these suggestions were utter nonsense, until I got zero cherries and the birds left Dad's alone, with the shiny crap fluttering in the breeze.

does not hurt to have 50 lbs of squirrel repellent patroling the premises either.

[aigel]

A big net for the birds. If the tree stands alone, a collar on the trunk for the rodents. If they can jump into it, the net will help a little too.

Not sure if it is legal where you live, but depredation of some of the critters will also help.

George

[Tobra]

For the birds, generally illegal, for the fur bearing varmints may be illegal. Can't kill the rats with fluffy tails around here for example.

My wife wanted to sit out there with a shotgun. I think she was kidding, but she is from Texas, so you can't be sure.

[island911]

Originally Posted by Neilk

... Can you ship me some of your cherries. We recently bought some bing cherries and they were fantastic.

Well, these are Rainier cherries, and from past experience, and reading below, I think that I'll be lucky to get a dozen in good shape.

From Wikipedia,
Rainier is a cultivar of cherry. The Rainier was created in 1952 at Washington State University by Harold Fogle, as a cross between the Bing and Van cultivars.[1]

Rainiers are sweet cherries with creamy-yellow flesh. The cherries are very sensitive to temperature, wind, and rain. About 1/3 of a Rainier cherry orchard's crop is eaten by birds.

Rainiers are considered the "cream of the crop", selling for $5 dollars a pound or more in the USA and as much as a dollar each in Japan.[2]

..and the other two thirds eaten by raccoons and squiggles.

[targa911S]