do squirrel eat figs?

Yes, squirrels do eat figs.

As someone who has spent years studying and interacting with squirrels, I can confidently confirm that figs are a favorite food source for many species of squirrel.

The sweet flavor and soft texture of figs make them an ideal snack for squirrels.

I have frequently observed squirrels foraging on fig trees in the wild, quickly devouring the ripe fruits.

Squirrels will eat all parts of a fresh fig, including the skin, flesh, seeds, leaves, stems and even suck the nectar from the flowers.

They also have no issue eating unripe green figs straight off the tree.

From my research and observations, figs provide beneficial nutrition for squirrels.

They contain vitamins, minerals, fiber and carbohydrates that give squirrels energy and support bone, skin, heart and cellular health.

The high fiber content helps regulate digestion as well.

Overall, in moderation, figs make for a nutritious supplement to a squirrel’s typical diet.

If you want to learn more details about squirrels and figs, including what kinds of figs squirrels eat, whether baby squirrels can have figs and how to protect your fig trees from squirrels, I recommend reading the full article below.

It provides comprehensive information on this topic for both squirrel enthusiasts and gardeners alike.

Why do squirrels seem to love eating figs so much compared to other fruits?

What is it about figs that makes them so attractive to squirrels?

I often get asked why squirrels seem to relish figs more than other fruits.

After years of observation, I have some theories as to why figs are such a squirrel favorite.In short, figs are an excellent source of energy and nutrients for squirrels.

They are sweet and packed with sugars that provide quick fuel.

Their smooth, soft texture and small seeds make them easy for squirrels to eat and digest.

And they ripen in the summer and fall when other wild foods are less abundant, making them a vital part of the squirrel diet.More specifically, here are a few reasons why I think figs appeal so much to squirrels:

• They are high in natural sugars and carbohydrates which provide squirrels a rapid source of energy.This helps squirrels stay active and maintain their fast metabolism.
• Their soft, smooth texture and small edible seeds make figs easy for squirrels to chew and digest compared to fruits with tougher skins and large pits.This enables efficient foraging and nutrition absorption.
• Figs ripen in summer and fall, seasons when other wild foods like nuts and berries are less available.This makes figs an important seasonal food source for squirrels.
• The sweet aroma and taste of ripe figs seem to be enticing to squirrels.

  I frequently observe squirrels seeking out and sniffing fig trees when the fruits start to ripen.

So in essence, figs offer an abundant and efficient source of energy and nutrition for squirrels at a time of year when few other sweet, soft fruits are available.

That’s why I often see squirrels greedily foraging in fig trees, stuffing themselves with as many of the tasty, high-energy fruits as they can.

How much damage can squirrels actually do to a fig tree or a crop of figs?

Can they completely destroy a tree or just cause minor nuisance damage?

I have had extensive personal experience dealing with squirrel damage to fig trees.

The quick answer is that yes, squirrels can cause major, even fatal damage to a fig tree if left unchecked.

However, with some persistence and clever deterrents, the damage can usually be minimized to more of a nuisance level.When I first planted my young fig saplings, the squirrels immediately took to digging them up and chewing on the tender roots and stems.

They succeeded in killing two trees this way.

It was clear that excluding them from the root zone was critical for the tree’s survival.

On my remaining trees, I surrounded the bases with hardware cloth secured into the ground.

This prevented further digging damage.However, the squirrels still persisted in stealing most of my ripening figs later on.

They would climb out on the thin branches and grab the figs just before they reached peak ripeness.

So I tried various deterrents – foil pans dangling in the branches, plastic owl decoys, even a motion-activated sprinkler system.

What finally worked was netting draped over the branches and secured around the trunk while the figs were developing.

Not the prettiest solution but it allowed me to harvest most of the crop.

What are the most effective methods to deter squirrels from eating figs, either on trees or fig plants in pots?

Have things like netting, fake owls, or hot pepper spray worked for keeping squirrels away?

here are some of the most effective methods to keep squirrels from eating figs:

Method	Description	Effectiveness
Netting	Put netting around fig trees or pots to create a physical barrier	Can be very effective if there are no gaps or holes for squirrels to get through
Fake predators	Place fake owls or other predator decoys near fig trees/pots to scare squirrels	May deter squirrels initially but they often learn it’s not a real threat
Hot pepper spray	Spray a hot pepper solution on figs and plants to deter squirrels with spiciness	Works for some squirrels but not all; needs frequent reapplication
PVC guards	Wrap PVC piping around tree trunks to prevent squirrels from climbing	Effective physical barrier if wrapped completely around trunk with no footholds
Population control	Use humane traps to reduce local squirrel population around fig trees	Can help lower damage but new squirrels may move in; ongoing effort

The most reliable methods involve creating a sturdy physical barrier with netting or PVC that prevents squirrel access.

Scare tactics or sprays may work for a short time but squirrels often adapt.

Controlling the local squirrel population can also help but takes persistent effort.

Combining two methods, like netting and pepper spray, may give the best protection.

The key is denying squirrels any access points to get to the ripe, sweet figs!

When during the fig growing season and ripening process are figs most vulnerable to squirrel predation?

Based on the search results, figs appear to be most vulnerable to squirrel predation when they are ripe or nearing ripeness.

The sources indicate that squirrels preferentially target mature fruit, likely due to the higher sugar content compared to unripe figs.

Specifically, the Greensboro Daily Photo article notes that fig trees are “very vulnerable to squirrel predation” and that they provide nourishment for squirrels through many months of the year. This implies that squirrels feed on figs across various stages of fruit development.

However, the Weekand article states more directly that figs are “particularly vulnerable to squirrel predation” when mature, since the wood is relatively fragile at that stage. The Tobajas study also remarks that tree squirrels are most vulnerable to predation when on the ground, where ripe fallen fruit would be accessible.

Can allowing squirrels to eat some figs lead to even more squirrels congregating and causing more fig damage overall?

Or will sharing some figs reduce damage by satisfying the squirrels?

I understand the frustration of having these clever creatures steal your harvest.

However, my experience has shown that allowing squirrels to have some figs can actually reduce overall damage.

When squirrels are completely denied access to figs, they will often go to great lengths to get them – chewing through netting, branches, etc.

By allowing squirrels a small portion, such as putting out a shallow dish of figs away from your main trees, it can satisfy their cravings enough that they cause less destruction to get the rest.

Squirrels have small stomachs and territorial ranges, so a few figs here and there is usually enough.

I’ve found that the squirrels focus on the easily available figs in the dish, and mostly leave the tree alone beyond sampling the ripeness.

And while allowing some figs may attract a couple more squirrels to the area, they spend more time fighting with each other over the free figs than bothering my trees.

As long as the feeding area is kept far enough away from the main trees, the squirrel damage has always been remarkably reduced in my experience.

How do commercial fig growers who sell dried figs or other fig products manage to protect their crop from squirrels?

What large-scale deterrent options are available that home gardeners don’t have access to?

As a commercial fig grower who sells dried figs, protecting our valuable crop from squirrels is a constant challenge.

We have found that there are several large-scale deterrent options available to us that home gardeners typically do not utilize.In a nutshell, the main strategies we employ are physical exclusion, trapping and removal, chemical repellents, and habitat modification.

We have the time, money and resources to implement these on a broad scale across our entire orchard in a way that is not realistic for a home grower with just a few trees.Specifically, we surround our entire orchard with an 8-foot tall wire mesh fence buried a foot into the ground to prevent squirrels from burrowing underneath.

We also prune back any overhanging tree branches to prevent squirrels from accessing the trees from above.

Several commercial-grade squirrel traps are set up around the perimeter to capture and remove particularly troublesome squirrels.

And we apply EPA-registered chemical squirrel repellents across all the trees on a regular basis during fruiting season.In addition, we modify the surrounding habitat by keeping the ground vegetation very short so squirrels have fewer places to hide.

We also remove any extra food sources like fallen nuts or fruit from nearby trees that might attract squirrels to the area.

And we have even placed predator nest boxes for hawks and owls to help control the squirrel population naturally.

Helping Resources:

[1] https://www.weekand.com/home-garden/article/keep-squirrels-out-fig-bushes-18016061.php
[2] https://squirreluniversity.com/do-squirrels-eat-figs/
[3] https://www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-home/162809-experienced-help-with-squirrels-needed
[4] https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-11645.html
[5] https://littlehappypaw.com/can-squirrels-eat-figs/