Don't give up on the one which was chewed to the roots. It will take some time, but it should probably survive.

I have a pump action air rifle for those tree rats, it does the trick and becausce I live with some homes that are close it works out well.

Those little buggers will eat my peaches just when they are ripe and only take a bite or two and move on to the next one same with my pear tree. So I have no problem sending them to the great garden in the sky. I don't mind sharing but hands off my mater's and fruits...bad enough they eat most of our bird seed.

Big Al

Chills, if I were opting to deter pests with something around the fig plants, I'd go with a hot pepper remedy first (there are allegedly sprays on the market that combine the capsaicin of pepper with something that makes it "stick" to the plant), or you can sprinkle or spray with cayenne or a tabasco sauce homemade mix. If you have a little one, I'd keep away from the mothballs (see link below on composition and warnings, then decide). I've had reasonably good success with deterring bunnies off my flowers using the hot pepper (or even black pepper) sprinkled liberally on the plants, though rain will wash it off and you need to reapply. Hope your fig grows back okay, and do give it time before giving up.

Sherry
(who went out in her PJs at midnight last night, remembering to pepper the newly-planted petunias around the mailbox)

Here is a link that might be useful: mothball health questions

Mothballs are really, really toxic and not a wise choice around edibles -- particularly if you have kids or pets around. Have you tried or considered either netting or caging the plants?

Mothballs were a waste of time. I caught birds stealing them two days later. I found out that I have both bunnies and squirrels gnawing on the newly potted up fig cuttings. I ran a bulb of garlic through a food processor and added water, let sit and then strained. I sprayed the plants with the spray, I'm hoping it will either dissuade the varmints or season them for the next track I take in dealing with them.

~Chills

We know a family who has a rabbit running loose during the day in their back yard. The rabbit likes to chew on everything it can reach, so they wrapped chicken wire around the base of all the trees and shrubs. It didn't look beautiful, but it keep those teeth off all the greenery. I checked very closely as I was curious to see if it really did keep the teeth off the plant, and there were NO tooth marks on the wrapped trunks. Leaves may have been nipped, but the trunks were untouched.

I have found that the Havaheart trap does wonders for squirrels. I use a slice of apple with a dab of peanut butter for bait, and can catch one a day. Trapping for a few weeks really reduces the population, and significantly reduces the damage I see. By the way, the squirrels don't seem to learn about the trap. Even though they can see their companions in the trap before the trap is emptied, they still come back the next day for their own opportunity.

Renais

Yes, the 1040 works great.
I got the info at:

http://www.unexco.com/trapsquirrels.html

Here is a link that might be useful: How to trap and kill squirrels