I have come to the conclusion that the problem is birds for both of us

My experience with squirrels is that when they are hungry they will bite a hole in plastic netting, the only thing that stops them here is metal mesh (aviary wire).

Suzuchan, are the Japanese paper bags used for birds, or do they stop squirrels also. I've tried paper bags and plastic ziplock bags, but the squirrels will just rip them (and the fruit spur, alas) off the tree.

I once tried powdered red pepper on a small peach tree, but I found a few peaches on the ground half eaten with red pepper particles still on the rest of the fruit. Since I'm in S. California, perhaps the squirrels thought it was Mexican food...

I do think it may be birds. I found a hole pecked in a big Meyer lemon. I have lots of bird feeders in a peach tree nearby. I wonder if this is attracting more birds than usually come to my yard. We like seeing them, but the problem with the citrus is very frustrating!

I'm sorry Cory. It really stinks! I wonder if the birds in the NE are hungrier this year! Jbclem, I thought of hot pepper but did not want to have inedible fruits...

I would be so bleeding mad.... especially now that they have gotten a big lemon too?? No way, we work way too hard for those.

Wonder if neem would be enough to deter them? It does reek....

That's a great idea Hobby. It certainly will not hurt! I'm going to go out and try it now! Oh, and here are pics of my calamondin....it is not big, but growing like a weed. The other pic shows my not-perfect netting and sticky traps. I can't get them to stick together around the trunk.

Up close...Not great, but better than nothing. The biggest problem is that some of the trees have young, soft shoots. That netting will get caught on it and break the sprouts. I did not lay it on Jane (third from left), because she is recovering and sprouting all over. I did not want to break off all the new growth.

Laura, here is the recipe I use for making marmalade: http://www.americanpotager.com/small-batch-jelly-jam-and-marmalade/

I have tried a number of recipes over more than 25 years from books and online and sometimes they jelled but oftentimes they did not even with pectin. Some recipes jelled, but when I tried them again, they did not. I searched the internet and found that many other people had the same problem. The last batch I tried I used the recipe above (minus the ginger) and it turned out great! Plus, you only have to boil for 30 minutes instead of until it reaches 225 F, which can take 1 - 2 hours and risks burning. Notice that she does not remove the seeds, which I think is a bad idea. I either remove the seeds before putting them in the blender or scoop them out while it is simmering. The latter is easier but means standing there and waiting for the seeds to rise to the top. Do not run the blender too long otherwise you will end up with a lot of chopped up seeds to remove.

I am a big animal person and try not to kill anything, but I feel your pain. I have a resident gopher or vole (not sure yet) and is wreaking havoc on my first veggie garden in years. We have tons of rats though, as we never prune our orange tree and they eat the oranges nightly. I am thinking your problem is rats or mice. There are squirrels here in Burbank, CA, but they never go into my yard because of my dogs. Rats are nocturnal and our local squirrels are not. So our problem is the rats with our citrus. I wish you the best of luck. I am at my wits end with this resident gopher.

Thanks Vladimir and John! I will note all of that and hopefully someday I will be able to make that marmalade!! Since it has been on the picnic table, there has been no damage, but there are no fruits left either. My Key lime that was also hit, I moved next to my house and that one has also been untouched. Christen, I think you may be right. Last night, my dog was going crazy sniffing in that area and even jumped up into the garden bed above to sniff very excitedly....she was obviously after something. I need to go through and clear out some plants there...too much stuff growing there all together. Here is the critter hunter ;-)

And John, I had no idea about the seeds and pectin. I will do what you suggest!

Laura, I am sorry I did not mention that seeds are a pectin source. Forgot about that. The book I recommended to you has a lemon marmalade recipe that is very similar to the marmalade recipe I mentioned.

Re critters: looking at the pics, I think they are birds. If you put up bird netting, I have read that one should use the kind with narrow (1/4") openings to avoid birds getting their legs caught in the netting.

Thanks Vladimir, I ordered that book the day you posted it, but have not received it yet. I need to check on Amazon and see what's up...

Vladimir, for some reason, I cannot find my order - probably why I've not received it. I also cannot find the link to the book. Do you mind reposting that for me?? Thank you!

Laura, here it is: https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Tart-Irresistible-Recipes-Citrus-ebook/dp/B00W8Q11JI/ref=pd_sim_351_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=510hh2tvQ0L&dpSrc=sims&preST=OU01_AC_UL320_SR234%2C320&psc=1&refRID=Q186KRYNKQJGEJ0E7185

Thank you Vladimir!

Laura, my wife bought this book Kindle version: https://www.amazon.com/Citrus-Sweet-Savory-Sun-Kissed-Recipes-ebook/dp/B00QP3SAS0/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468027477&sr=1-1&keywords=citrus+sweet+and+savory+sun-kissed+recipes

We have not used any recipes yet or checked it out closely. Thought you might be interested.

Nice! I had not realized they were e-books. That is probably good...I have enough books in my house!

Ugh, I've had the same problem here. I've lost 6 immature, but almost ripe, Meyers. The kicker is whatever is pulling them off the tree doesn't even eat them. I find the uneaten lemons abandoned next to the pot. I haven't seen the culprit yet, but I wish he'd remember his dislike of lemons before the next attack.

Exactly!!! They chomp, then spit out...but continue to chomp...very annoying!

spray lemon juice on the rinds and see if that refreshes his memory before the next picking

JBclem, sorry I missed your question. Commercial growers use both large overhead netting AND the paper bags on individual fruits. You would not recognize a grape arbor here due to all the elaborate nets and paper bags hanging from below. Our fruits are very expensive here due to the intensive gardening techniques. A small watermelon in our markets here runs $15 or more. A cantaloupe or honeydew can be seen in a regular supermarket for $50. If I buy any, it is a single fruit or a slice. Apples run $3 each here. That is why I want to grow lemons and limes, as a lime can cost $3 in winter. Our crows are the biggest offenders and would rip up anything paper or plastic without a net. So far my fruit hasn't attracted much notice from squirrels or birds but I know they bother the yuzu trees down the street, but not the lemon tree, as far as I can tell. My neighbor has so many lemons that he probably wouldn't notice. His tree is easily 20 by 20' and ripe lemons hang over his fence into the street, but I've never noticed a mess on the ground from pests.

I tried to upload a photo from the web. And will try again. This is how grapes are grown here. That is netting all around and over the top.

Wow! What tremendous effort to grow fruit! No wonder they are so costly! I would do the same thing if I were in your shoes....grow as much as I can. It sounds as if it is very possible. Can you show us pics of your trees? I love to see everyone's trees! Also, a note about my trees. After the netting, which is quite loose and not well put on, I've noticed no damage. Two I covered because they are too big to move, the two smaller key lime and calamondin, I just moved to my picnic table and so far nobody has bothered them....I'm trying not to get too excited...

suzuchan, I'm impressed that anyone would pay $50 for a cantaloupe. At those prices a backyard grower could make some extra money growing melons, small clusters would be easy to protect. But I'm not sure which are worse, crows or squirrels. At least crows let you know when they are around. I have squirrels to deal with and have been growing most everything inside of cages of various kinds.

Laura, here's a photo of what I've done with stucco wire (higher grade chicken wire) to protect corn in containers. You could do the same with individual (or groups) citrus trees. I make a cylinder around the plants, 36" high, and extend it upwards with additional 36" high cylinders. And put a stucco wire lid over the top, held in place with clothespins. The photo of the corn is hard to see because of the light, but the lid is off the top since the corn kept growing up. When there is actual corn on the cob growing, I'll add another extension, or make a domed lid.

The advantage of stucco wire/chicken wire is that it doesn't stick to the branches like plastic netting, it's very easy to remove (just lift it up and off) and probably cheaper. Stucco wire is 36" high and sold at Home Depot type places in 150' rolls for about $45. I use the type with the 1" holes, just like chicken wire, and because it's make for the construction industry it's stiffer, cheaper, and longer lasting than the chinese chicken wire that most people use. I use this and aviary wire to protect everything edible that I grow. I guess the only disadvantage is storage, you can't squeeze it into a paper bag.

Jb...that's a great system. The squirrels do not climb in the top? I do not like that plastic netting for that reason exactly...it gets tangled up in everything and if there is any new growth, it would rip it off. I now suspect that what I have are birds. The squirrels are wreaking havoc on my peach tree, but that tree is too big for netting or anything...at least for me to manage. I may cover a few isolated branches with a peach so that perhaps this year I will actually try one of its peaches...

Wow! Impressive! Fortunately, we have very few squirrels.

Well, the critter has struck again.

I found this fruit 100 ft. from my trees at the base of my Sugar Maple where the squirrels have a nest and I also see the chipmunks running up and down the trunk. Whoever it was got it that far, but maybe couldn't get it up the trunk? The critters never bothered my citrus fruit other years. There are plenty of vegetables growing that they could eat and plenty of nut trees. I don't know why they keep going after the citrus.

Cory

Oh no Cory! That's awful! I'm sorry! I've been throwing dried corn in my yard and they seem to be eating that...no strikes lately!

Wow. sorry to hear of your squirrel problems, Laura They got my calamondins before too. Made me mad too because I was just about to pick them. Also, snails love to climb up an eat the calamondin peels. So if you see peel parts missing without bite marks, looks for snails.

My neighbors cat has help my squirrel problems a lot.

lol Bob!

Interesting. My calamondins aren't ripe until winter. Some critter was eating the ends of my squash vines. Drove me nuts. Then I caught my dog doingit!!! Could of killed him.

I've caught my dog with green (and ripe) tomatoes in her mouth!!! I feel you pain Vladimir! I honestly feel that feeding the squirrels has helped. They've not touched my figs this year either...even my daughter is getting tired of eating figs! Although my dog eats plenty...;-

No squirrel problem Lulu take care of everything that moves.

Does Lulu eat them?

Wow! That is impressive. I had two Dalmatians years ago that managed to catch a squirrel. Never again...

Lololoo...I stinking love to!!! Even my cat runs from those over sized rats..Good for Lulu!!

Bob That is an awfully pretty squirrel you got there.6b Steve cincinnati, OH

Lulu does not eat them neither am i, but she give them a decent burial, dig a shallow hole and cover them up with leaves so i can not find them(most of the time)

lol . she is a keeper. not only getting rid of critters but adding compost as well

Lulu is adorable! And yes you grow some healthy looking squirrels out your way!

I've had a similar issue with squirrels biting my calamondins and my single grapefruit. But the worst thing they're doing is digging into my 5-1-1 mix. I bought bags to place over my pots. I just received and put them on today. Hopefully it stops them.

Matt, I've had the same problem. I found a perfectly buried lemon under my lemon tree and a guava buried in the guava pot. I guess they need those reserves...lol!

The squirrels have been crazy this year for me, not so much on my citrus, but eating things they've never attacked before - like chomping swiss chard to the ground (the stalk and all) and green onions, and other salad stuff. I was tempted to leave a bottle of salad dressing for them.

Lol Dave! I'm sorry! As I've said, this year has been better for me (even though I started with the problems of the citrus) since I've started feeding them. From what I have read, since squirrels are territorial, they will not allow others to come to their "squirrel party" with the corn. The unfortunate side effect is that they have buried corn kernels all over my yard, so they have sprouted everywhere!!

LOLOLOL...The squirrels have been horrible for me too in area I didn't think to put repellant....They are eating strange things..Mines sit on my fence eating my Lilac leaves and the other day my Roses, stems and all? Did they come from another planet planted by aliens this year? Just NUTS...lol Thank God mine don't touch my Citrus, although one did get stuck in my greenhouse and chomped on my Orchid bulbs...Then drowned in the pond in there...

Mike, I wonder if the squirrels chomping on weird things might be due to them being thirsty from the severe drought we are in.

Squirrels have taken 100% of my pears and peaches at home. I am getting figs.

Steve, squirrels eat figs, too.

You might have a point Vladimir!! By the way. They tried to take my figs but I put a stop to that. Darn varmits. I pulled out my peach trees because they would never leave one behind for me. My pears. You can forget that. Lol