Controlling Wildlife Damage in the Home Fruit Garden

To the passing robin or deer, your fruit garden appears appears to be a grocery store. In most cases, growers can tolerate a little damage from wildlife, but sometimes losses can become excessive if measures are not taken to control wildlife damage. In general, fruit-eating birds such as robins and starlings and browsing mammals such as deer, voles, and rabbits are the most common wildlife problems in the home fruit garden.

Effective management begins by anticipating the extent of damage and responding with the appropriate control. Before deciding on a control method, if any, you should consider the cost and benefits of the control program. Economic costs are not the only costs that should be taken into consideration. Time constraints and the impacts of the control methods on other nontarget wildlife should be considered. In many instances, an integrated pest management (IPM) plan is the best approach.