How to make a fake scare owl, and do different animals respond to different abstractions?

Question

I would like to keep squirrels off of my peach tree. They have gotten over half of the peaches already.

Is there a way to make a home-made scare owl? I have found a few resources on-line, but they vary in complexity, from simply hanging old cd's to using two cds as eyes and brown foam as the face to using chicken wire to create a life-size 3-D owl.

I am curious what is the easiest way to create a home made scare owl?

Here are some examples, all would seem pretty scary to me if I were on the owl menu.

Answer 1

If your goal is to protect your fruit tree from squirrels then you should attack on all fronts:

• Wrap a band of thin, smooth sheet metal about three to five feet tall around the trunk of the tree. It should be about four to six feet above the ground. Make sure there are no branches so they can jump the distance to get up into the tree.
• enlist your local dog or cat to scare them off.
• buy coyote or fox urine from a hunting store and apply regularly at the base of the plant from spring onward
• spray leaves and bark with a mix of hot pepper sauce and detergent. Reapply after every rain.
• this site shows what you can do with a tree that has been kept small. T-posts and deer fencing may seem like overkill but if you want the fruit you'll have to work for it.
• here is an approach that is a lot of work but ends up making less work. Your chances of controlling access to a tree that is twenty feet tall with netting are slim. You could plant a new tree such as the Bonanza dwarf or a larger variety and prune to keep it under eight feet tall or you can cut your existing tree back and graft on new buds at a lower level. Olive growers do this in the Mediterranean to keep their trees small. I grant this requires an experienced grafter but you might find one through the local Master Gardeners near you.

If you make it hard enough to get to they will go somewhere else