My dogs eat the ripe figs.

No dogs or cats here. Last I checked, dogs don't climb, but we are gated and fenced, so doubt if a dog is the culprit. That fig was higher than I can reach! So over 6' up in the tree. I had to bend the trunk to put the bag on it.

I say it is a vegan Chupacabra :-)

GregBrady nailed it.

definitely raccoon.

Raccoon.

:-) So what happened to the second half of my question? HOW DO I GET RID OF IT?

I've dealt with raccoons before; they are resourceful critters. Scarecrow sprinklers, predator urine, etc. rarely work for more than a few days, if that. Only one raccoon might be trapped and removed...until the next one discovers your fig trees. Dogs outside at night can be a deterrent, but with the packs of coyotes in your area, probably not safe. Other than enclosing the tree in a cage, an electrical fence would probably be the most effective barrier.

Since hubby has gone fishing, it's on me to save the fruit for tonight. I soaked a dishrag in 100% ammonia and
wrapped it around the tree. Get a whiff of that, Bucko!! See if you'll
ever smell anything ever again!! Grrrrrrrrrrr

Good luck! I have two trees loaded with figs and I haven't gotten to eat one yet. Just about the time they are getting ripe they are gone. I'm thinking local roof rats.

I have had to buy an electric fence.

Well, for one night only the ammonia soaked rag worked. Not one fig has been touched, even the ones in bags that are almost ripe. Gonna put fresh ammonia on that bag tonight, and maybe on all my fig trees.

We had rats attack a fig tree, and DH suspended snap traps on the trunks. Got about 18. No problems with rats this year. Lots of snap traps on hand though.

Smart you!

get a solar light which reacts to movement. Aim it at the tree. That helps me alot and my yard is not fenced. also squirrel things that wrap around the tree so can't climb up. Could be a large rat or squirrel too.

Here's a little more reading material on raccoons. Sounds like the electric fence may be the only answer

.Raccoon IPM

When I had fig trees in Venice, the only pests I had were birds, and they mainly ate the figs at the tops of the trees. My trees were so large that I would still get to pick 40 or more figs a day at this time of year. When your trees get larger, you will get more figs than the predators can eat, unless you have hoards of predators. We very seldom had a raccoon in Venice, but we did have possums from time to time, especially when we had a passion vine. I will still get 60+ passion fruits a day in the summer, even with the occasional possum.

You can live trap racoons and possums. They like dry or canned catfood. Fish and Game services may even lend u a trap. Here they will pick them up and dispose of them as well. We get a lot of them here going after chickens etc.

Keep watch with a flashlight and pepper spray, give them a bath and they won't be back.

I think we are in bed by the time they hit. This morning we woke up to 3 entire fig laden branches broken from the tree. BIG branches. One is the size of a 2 year old tree! I rescued the softest figs to grill tonight.

Tonight the poison is going out. We got all the best almost ripe figs, so the critter is going to have to drink the kool aid if he wants something sweet.

I think it is illegal to poison either Wrap your tree in something - also don't forget squirrels!!

Not illegal here. We can even shoot critters! County, not city. Edge of the wilderness.

We have a county trapper in Napa County who comes out and moves them to other places. They use a Have A Heart Trap. I too live in the country. Squirrels grrrrr

One thing I have used successfully is motion detector lamps - they are solar powered and if anything moves they come on. Got rid of the skunks that way. Used to smell them nightly.

We just got rid of a raccoon after 3 weeks pilfering my garden and tearing up neighbor's roof looking for larvae from hornet's nests. Borrowed my brother's trap and it took 3 weeks before it finally went in the trap.....My son relocated it to another area quite a ways away near a river and orchard.....I guess they are all over our town now.....This is something new....didn't used to be raccoons anywhere right in town!! I first noticed that all our water bowls I have out for my bees and cats were tipped over and those that weren't were muddy with partial strawberries/blueberries, onions, garlic and you name it!!! I had a feeling it was a raccoon because we had problems with them when we lived in Oregon. I stayed up late enough one night to take a video of it on our porch!!