If you do a search on the Fruit and Orchards Forum, you will know that your troubles are experienced by many.

Many suggestions/solutions are offered.

A high-powered air rifle (not a firearm), live traps, and a Jack Russell Terrier will allow you to enjoy your Mangos.

Squirrels waste soo much fruit, and are nothing more than rats with fluffy tails.

I used to think they were cute. Not anymore. And the battle is neverending. Your only hope is to reduce the population, year after year. Hard to believe, but some people feed them, proven by peanuts buried all over my property.

An air rifle is quiet, effective and improves your hand/eye co-ordination. Mango fed squirrels are delicious!

Good luck to you!

Lisa

It is a bit, of work but I wrap chicken wire around the fruits and that has actually saved my fruits from the little rats. I managed to save all 8 mangoes from my Julie tree this year. It is awkward to put the wire on and the weight of the wire must be supported by the branch, but it works.

With a small Mango tree (under 5' tall) a wire cage is a viable solution to predation. It must fully enclose the plant.

For larger trees, you are talking big bucks and a lot of work to cage in even a mature Condo Mango. My Nam Doc Mai is too big to cage, and it is only 7 by 6.

I cannot imagine anyone caging a mature, normal-sized Mango tree in wire mesh. Plastic mesh is useless against squirrels, they chew right through it.

I tried caging trees years ago. I spent $400 on welded wire to protect my Peach trees. It did not work well since they were over 7' tall, the supporting posts were costly too, and weeds invaded the lower edge of the wire very quickly. Try picking fruit from such a caged tree and you will realize it is a PITA!

I gave it up and used the rifle. Much easier and more effective.

Lisa

We pick the mangoes just before full ripe. The squirrels seem to prefer the fully ripe ones. Haven't had much of an issue with them eating the fruit this way and we are overrun with the furry critters.

Is it possible to prevent the squirrels from climbing the tree? If it i not a low hanging tree, you could wrap the metal flashing around the trunk and they wont be able to climb past that spot

Eric, I agree with Lisa that they are simply rodents(RATS) with a fuzzy tail. When I lived in the city limits of WPB, I used a high powered air pellet rifle and became very proficient at knocking them off. We had a standard Snauzer that would quickly finish them off if I only wounded one. A very efficient system for saving "your" hard earned mango's.
Thank goodness it is not a problem currently where I live in palmettos and pine, no Squirrels. If they show up because even I love oaks and now have 3 very large ones, I can get a shotgun since I'm zoned ag and no longer have a dog.
bernie

To explain what I meant, here are the photos. I cage the fruits, not the tree. Hope this helps...

I have had a 100% success rate this year.

Here is what keeps them off my navel oranges, peaches and mangoes-you can get one at Animal Control pretty cheap: