Nothing short of death will discourage them long-term. I usually spend the morning on the deck with my coffee and chase them off by clapping my hands and shouting “NO!”. Sometimes I have to get up and start towards them. All in all though, the losses to my very-productive Elberta tree are minimal and tolerable. It produces so many that we can’t eat them all in a year, and we freeze, dry, juice, and make leather. The newest tree on the other side of the house is a Redhaven, and is just getting started. They get most of those. I may net it this year since it’s still small.
I feed the squirrels and birds: corn, black oil seed, and peanuts. Many of the squirrels and bluejays come to my whistle and even uncalled will approach me looking for a handout. One even follows me and waits while I go into the garage for peanuts. One in particular, Jack, short for Jackass, comes up on the deck and eats peanuts right next to my chair. The little bastard is very particular, often rejecting the first couple or three until one meets his approval.
I expect a real struggle this year to keep any nuts from my three native hazelnut bushes. Just got a few last year from the first crop. They’re still small enough to easily net, so I’ll do that. Looks like there may be a good many. They’re netted right now to protect the catkins that pollenate the female flowers. The deer will hit those hard otherwise.
