How to Protect Figs from Birds, Squirrels, Deer & Other Animals
If you're gonna grow figs—or any fruit—you're gonna feed something that isn't you. Birds, squirrels, deer, raccoons, groundhogs, rodents. In the Philadelphia area, birds and squirrels are my number one culprits for ripe figs. Deer are a different problem entirely: they don't just steal fruit. They can eat a garden down to a nub.
I'm Ross, the "Fig Boss," and I've dedicated my life to this amazing fruit since 2014. This guide is how I protect figs from birds, squirrels, deer, and other animals—what actually works, what doesn't, and the honest downsides of every method. Insect pests (scale, ants, mites, rust) live in a different article: my common fig tree pests and diseases guide.
Insect problems—ants, scale, mites—are covered separately. For ants, see how to keep ants off fig trees. For everything else crawling or fungal, start with pests and diseases.
Deer: the Only Real Answer Is a Deer Fence
If deer have other food, they usually leave fig trees alone. If they don't, they can destroy a garden. Plan for deer before you plant fruit.
Growing any fruit trees and having a garden is extremely difficult with high deer pressure. If the deer have other things to eat, they usually won't eat your fig trees. With most plants they avoid, there's a strong fragrance in the leaves—and fig leaves are aromatic. So even with somewhat high deer pressure on one of my properties, the potted fig trees outside my fence by the driveway have sat there about three years without being attacked.
That does not mean you're safe. I've heard plenty of stories of deer chewing fig trees when they have nothing else to do and don't know what a fig tree is. In a high-pressure area, you can lose trees. You have to know how the deer travel on your property.
There really isn't a great answer other than a deer fence. Nets won't really help. Organza bags won't really help. You could shoot them or trap them. Some growers even use fruit trees as bait—American persimmons are classic for that, and there's a persimmon variety called Deer Candy. I would not waste my time growing fruit without a deer plan. They are that destructive. They'll eat everything down to a nub. You'll just be feeding deer.
My Neighbor's Dog Kept the Deer Away—Until They Moved
On one property I'm growing fig trees on, I thought there wasn't much deer pressure. The neighbors next door had a dog that spent a lot of time outside, especially in the morning, and it kept the deer away—even from our yard. Then the neighbors moved. Suddenly there was a ton of deer pressure. I eventually caved. For the last two years I've had a deer fence installed.
How I Build a Deer Fence That Stays Up
I use a roughly 7-foot deer fence (Tenax-style black mesh). So far deer haven't even attempted to jump it or damage it. The fence material works. The posts are where fences fail. Flimsy posts, poorly installed, and the whole thing comes down. Heartbreaking.
The best posts I've used are 10-foot T-posts, driven with a T-post driver. The short 5–6 ft posts at big-box stores aren't tall enough for a real deer fence. I've ordered 10-footers from places like Tractor Supply. Another option: drive rebar into the ground and slide EMT conduit over it, then attach the fencing. EMT can be flimsier than a T-post, but it works if you do it right.
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Here's the deer fence style I point people to.
Other Animals Steal Fruit—They Rarely Ruin the Tree
Squirrels, birds, raccoons, and most other critters are after your figs, not your wood. Groundhogs are the exception when trees are young.
When it comes to other animals, they're going to steal your fruits. They're not going to damage your trees. It's pretty rare for a squirrel to actually damage a fig tree. You could have a groundhog that will mess with young trees. Everybody's yard is different. The closer you are to the woods or real nature, the more types of animals—and the higher the numbers—you'll see. In a concrete jungle you'll still have squirrels and birds, but less of everything else.
Stack methods. Put up a deer fence, net a tree, bag a few prize figs, keep a cat, plant for the right birds. None of it is 100% foolproof, and a lot of it is ugly. I'm being honest with you. Everything has downsides.
Groundhogs: Trap Them or Use 3-Foot Chicken Wire
Chicken wire about three feet tall on stakes stops most groundhogs. Squirrels can jump it.
The trick for groundhogs is simple: trap them, or put up chicken wire about three feet tall with stakes to keep it upright. Believe it or not, groundhogs don't really get through that unless they're desperate.
I tried chicken wire for squirrels too once I realized they were getting my figs. Then I watched them jump over the fence and still get in. No matter how much you beef up a short chicken-wire fence, squirrels get underneath it or over the top. Then you take the next step: net or trap.
Squirrels: Net Them or Trap Them
For squirrels, it's nets, traps, or both. Peanut butter is the bait. Pick relocate vs. lethal yourself.
For me, squirrels are how you do it: trap or net. Sometimes they even get through nets—I've seen it many times. Dealing with nets is annoying. You take them on and off. You secure them. Every time you harvest, you take them off and put them back on. And with figs, you need to be out there every single day checking for optimal ripeness. That's a lot of work. A lot of people just don't want to do it.
There are traps that relocate animals and traps that kill. Entirely up to you. A lot of people shoot. When you grow food and something is destroying all the hard work you put in, you think differently. I'm pretty tired of birds and squirrels eating my figs.
For squirrels I like a WCS trap. You can also use Havahart traps. I use two styles: one electric, and one that relocates. They all work if you do it properly. Peanut butter is the bait. My homepage Tools section also has the squirrel trap I link for readers.
For netting, I point people to the bird netting in my Tools menu—same net you use against birds.
Nets, Permanent Frames, and Greenhouses
Daily netting works but is a grind. A framed enclosure or greenhouse solves the on-and-off problem—and looks ugly.
You can grow fig trees in a greenhouse to keep animals out. Some people build a wooden frame—basically a box—screened in with netting and a door, so you don't take the net down every day. I've seen these all over the Northeast. You don't have to use wood; it's just a frame that creates an enclosure.
Deer fences are ugly. Those frames are ugly. Your neighbors might not be happy. When it comes to protecting crops, there's no real great answer. I'm being honest. Everything has downsides. Sometimes methods don't work. Stack multiple methods of protection.
And remember: you still want to harvest figs at peak ripeness. A net that stays on forever only helps if you can still get in and pick every day.
Organza Bags (Party Favor Bags): Good for Light Pressure
I use organza bags for birds and squirrels when pressure is light—not as a stand-alone fix for a heavy infestation, and not for ants.
If you've got a light amount of pressure, organza bags (party favor bags) are a solid alternative. I've got affiliate links to these on the homepage Tools menu. You bag individual figs. Ripeness is still easy to see through the mesh.
The problems: you have to bag every fig you care about, and unbag every fig you eat. Insects can still get in—I cover that more in the ants article; ants crawl underneath because the bags aren't skin-tight. Squirrels can destroy the bags. Birds can peck through them.
Rain is the big quality killer. If it rains while bags are on ripening figs, you can quickly spoil, mold, and ferment them. Excess water gets absorbed. Figs crack and split where water collects. This is why certain varieties are so good—they have skin like a waterproof jacket. Rain hits and slides off. Celeste is famous for that. Encasing a fig in a wet party-favor bag keeps moisture on it longer. Ideally you pick before the rain, or pull the bags off before rain and put them back after. It's crazy. Too much work. Fine if you don't have a lot of figs.
Rain-resistant varieties still help when you're not bagging—see my rain-resistant fig varieties guide and why figs split.
Birds: Nets, Scare Tactics, and Changing Your Ecology
Nets are the main bird fix. Streamers and predator-sound devices help some. The best long-term move is changing which birds claim your yard.
Nets are still the main way to deter birds. People also hang CDs, use flashy reflective streamers, or run bird scare devices that play birds-of-prey calls. Those electronic scarers get expensive. Birds also get used to the same trick, so rotate what you do.
Some of the worst offenders in my yard—on figs and a lot of my other fruit—are American robins and catbirds. Catbirds might be the worst. Sparrows? I've seen fifteen sparrows hanging out in my fig trees at once. They don't eat the figs. Goldfinches are seed eaters too.
A Cat Is an Orchard's Best Friend
Really, I think the best answer is having animals of your own. Dogs work really well. Cats work great. A cat is an orchard's best friend. They hunt rodents. They keep squirrels away. They keep birds away. They do a fantastic job protecting crops. When I have a larger property, I'm going to have a hoard of outdoor cats. I'd rather have cats around than squirrels, rodents, and fruit-eating birds.
Change Your Ecology: Birdbaths, Seeds, and Caterpillar Host Plants
Not a lot of people mention this. Some claim birds peck figs because they're thirsty. I don't know how accurate that is, but adding a birdbath can potentially help, and I think it does. Ecology definitely works. If you build it, they will come.
There are birds that eat fruit, birds that eat seeds, and birds that eat caterpillars. If you plant host plants for caterpillars, you attract the birds that take territory to hunt caterpillars. If you plant seed plants, you attract seed-eaters who may push fruit-eaters out of the niche.
Five solid caterpillar host plants for a Mid-Atlantic yard (documented hosts—Audubon and Doug Tallamy—not extension fig advice):
Oak (Quercus). Among the highest caterpillar hosts in North America—hundreds of moth and butterfly species (Audubon habitat list; Tallamy Mid-Atlantic list).
Native cherry / Prunus (e.g. black cherry). Another top-tier host; fruit also feeds many birds.
Goldenrod (Solidago). Supports on the order of 100+ Lepidoptera species as a host; late-season nectar too.
Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium / Eupatorium). Host for dozens of caterpillar species; excellent pollinator plant. I specifically call this one out near fig plots.
Milkweed (Asclepias). Host for monarchs and other specialists; plant near figs if you want caterpillar hunters moving in.
For seeds, catnip is probably the best attractor of goldfinches I've ever seen—and it also attracts cats. I planted catnip in different areas of my fig plots. There's a cat that does a lot of hunting on both my properties. If you're talking companion plants for fig trees, these count, because they change the ecology of your yard. For more native-plant ideas by zip code, see the National Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder (built on Tallamy's research).
Rodents, Voles, and Mice: Winter Bark Killers
You may not know rodents are there until winter—then they eat bark and can take a tree to the ground. Traps are mandatory in winter storage.
Rodents are really tough. They're harder to catch and harder to find. You might not even know they're there until winter. Then they'll eat your fig trees down to the ground. They'll eat the bark and destroy trees.
If you're storing fig trees away for the winter every year, it's mandatory to use rodent traps. Indoor traps that electrocute, traps that relocate—your call. Bait: peanut butter. Load it up. I ordered about six outdoor rodent traps, scattered them in different areas of the yard, loaded them with peanut butter, and got rodents. Do this in the fall.
My Tools menu links the rodent trap I use for readers.
Timing is critical. You don't need a net until the figs are actually ripening. You don't need traps until you see that rodents, squirrels, or whatever it is are actually eating your figs—or, for winter storage, before you tuck trees away. Read fig tree winter storage and wrapping fig trees for winter alongside this.
Don't Winter-Protect In-Ground Trees Too Soon
One of the tips I always give: don't protect your in-ground trees too soon. If you give rodents a warm home while they're looking for one in the fall, they may choose your winter protection. Then they eat the bark. You uncover in the spring and the bark is missing—eaten down to the ground, basically. Wait for real dormancy cues. More on timing in when to uncover / winter protection and the first frost.
Raccoons: Worse Than Squirrels
Raccoons will strip a tree. You can trap them—just know you may catch skunks or possums you didn't want.
Raccoons are similar to squirrels but really difficult. They'll take all the figs off your tree. They're worse than squirrels. You can trap them. The downside of trapping is catching animals you don't want to trap—skunks, possums. Possums are great for keeping tick populations down and insect populations down. There's an upside and a downside to all of this.
Stack Methods and Time Them Right
No single tool is enough. Net when fruit ripens. Trap when damage starts. Fence for deer year-round.
Deer: Fence on sturdy tall posts. Persimmons as sacrificial bait if that fits your property.
Groundhogs: 3 ft chicken wire or traps.
Squirrels & birds: Net and/or trap; organza for light pressure; scare tactics as extras.
Raccoons: Trap (accept non-target risk) or hard exclusion (greenhouse / framed net).
Rodents: Fall traps + peanut butter; mandatory in winter storage; don't wrap too early.
Ecology: Cat/dog, birdbath, catnip, caterpillar host plants, seed plants.
