How to Protect a Fruit Tree from Animal Attack and Avoid It’s Removal
How to Protect a Fruit Tree from Animal Attack and Avoid It’s Removal
8/16/2017
There can’t be many things more irritating than an animal attack on your fruit trees. After all the love and hard work you’ve put down on your crop, it’s maddening to come out to the yard one day to discover that all you’ve done is lay on an all you can eat buffet for the local wildlife!
Happily, there are a few tricks up your sleeve that can ward off attacks on your fruit trees.
Kaolin Clay Repellent This repellent is made of naturally occurring ingredients. It is sold in jars from nurseries, hardware suppliers and of course is available online. Applied directly to fruit before they ripen, this foul tasting clay will put off any animals from eating more than a couple of fruits after they taste it the first time. When your fruit ripens, it can be washed straight off when it’s time to eat the fruit. Be aware, that same intense bitter flavor that drives off animals won’t taste any better to you! Make sure all of the kaolin clay repellent is thoroughly washed away before you consume the fruit.
Chemical Repellent This repellent will be sprayed, either on the area around the trees or on the fruit itself. Whilst usually extremely effective be aware that many repellents are hazardous to the health of humans too. If you are spraying fruit you intend to eat, carefully research the chemical you plan to use to make sure there are no human health complications. Look for repellent sprays that take ingredients from nature. Good ones to look out for contain ingredients or extracts of such things as peppermint, tarragon, garlic or pepper.
Pro Tip: Be sure to use the most natural and tree friendly chemicals if possible, that will avoid slow deterioration and prevent the tree removal all together.
Animal Repellent Or perhaps you’d prefer to go direct to the source, and use an animal based repellent. These types of products will utilize the urine or musk of predators to ward off any other animals with designs on your fruit. These repellents don’t need to be sprayed on your fruit, but rather around the base of the tree. This means that your fruit remains largely untouched, though some of these products cane be rather pungent. This may make them unsuitable for smaller yards.
Animals Well, not an actual animal. I mean if you wish to train up a guard dog to protect your fruit trees then feel free, but here I’m talking about fake animals. Rather like the animal repellent discussed above, this option will use the power of predators to ward off animals from your fruit trees. Plastic hawks, owls, cats, and snakes can be strategically placed in your yard and around your trees to scare away other animals.
Noise Again this option uses the fear of predators to protect your crops but in a more round about fashion. Animals that eat your fruits are usually by nature quite wary, as they are low on the food chain. Create sufficient noise and they will be too frightened to hang around and steal your fruit. Attach bells or empty soda bottles half full of shells to branches to create noise as they sway in the wind.
One or a combination of the above should be efficient to drive away all but the most determined of thieves and ensure that you have a bumper crop of fruit. Learn more about what tree service is and what tree surgeons do.
Animal Repellent Or perhaps you’d prefer to go direct to the source, and use an animal based repellent. These types of products will utilize the urine or musk of predators to ward off any other animals with designs on your fruit. These repellents don’t need to be sprayed on your fruit, but rather around the base of the tree. This means that your fruit remains largely untouched, though some of these products cane be rather pungent. This may make them unsuitable for smaller yards.
Animals Well, not an actual animal. I mean if you wish to train up a guard dog to protect your fruit trees then feel free, but here I’m talking about fake animals. Rather like the animal repellent discussed above, this option will use the power of predators to ward off animals from your fruit trees. Plastic hawks, owls, cats, and snakes can be strategically placed in your yard and around your trees to scare away other animals.
Noise Again this option uses the fear of predators to protect your crops but in a more round about fashion. Animals that eat your fruits are usually by nature quite wary, as they are low on the food chain. Create sufficient noise and they will be too frightened to hang around and steal your fruit. Attach bells or empty soda bottles half full of shells to branches to create noise as they sway in the wind.
One or a combination of the above should be efficient to drive away all but the most determined of thieves and ensure that you have a bumper crop of fruit. Learn more about what tree service is and what tree surgeons do.