Cherry Tree Issue

[Grandma The Chicken]

So, every summer when our cherry tree grows, naughty squirrels come and steal every piece of it, leaving us with green cherries that end up the last cherries of the season. They do this with our strawberries too but the cherry tree is more of an issue. It's a little too early now because our tree recently bloomed flowers but I want to prevent this from happening before the squirrels start their journey. Does anyone know how to prevent squirrels and other animals from stealing cherries off of our tree? It sounds somewhat impossible because you obviously can't shoo or eliminate them away because they'll just come back.

 

[Callender Girl]

Squirrels, along with their wretched friends, the rabbits, are the bane of my existence when it comes to veggie gardens, flower beds, and fruit trees and bushes.

Over the winter, the two species teamed up to kill three young apple trees that were all tree- wrapped and surrounded by chicken wire. Snow drifts allowed them to climb over the wraps and girdle the trees.

I use bird netting on my cherry tree, but I am still lucky to get any fruit whatsoever. I hope someone can offer a better solution.

 

[bhaugh]

Is it possible that you could attract their own nemesis? My mom has a few cherry trees in her yard and she does not have much of an issue because of the high crow population that lives nearby. And although this may sound counterintuitive, have you thought about feeding the squirrels and rabbits away from the trees? Over the years I have read of others doing this but it does have its place and could work in your situation.

 

[Grandma The Chicken]

Is it possible that you could attract their own nemesis? My mom has a few cherry trees in her yard and she does not have much of an issue because of the high crow population that lives nearby. And although this may sound counterintuitive, have you thought about feeding the squirrels and rabbits away from the trees? Over the years I have read of others doing this but it does have its place and could work in your situation.

I don't feed the squirrels and we do have hawks in the area (not sure about crows) but now that you mention it, I might consider feeding the squirrels away from the cherry tree.

 

[StinkyAcres]

How big are your cherry trees? Is it possible to place some sort of baffle around the trunk?