(Received via email, and posted with permission)

August 27-2007
The footies arrived too late for the apples and Asian pears, so I placed them on the figs as a defense against starlings. Normally when a flock of starlings descends on a fig tree loaded with ripe figs, the devastation can be near total. But Starling attacks tend to be random, and anything short of full netting enclosure of the tree, they will work their way around it!

Of the figs that received the footies, we were able to harvest about 95%.
Of the figs left unfootied, we were able to harvest about 85%

It is possible that a majority of the figs being footied served as a general deterrent. There were a few instances where the starlings tore through the footies and nibbled off portions.

One word of caution:
If it is advisable to place footies on apples and pears soon after they set, the opposite should be true for figs. Footies should be placed on them just before they begin to soften and become attractive to starlings. The reason is that the figs seem to need exposure to sun and if enclosed prematurely, may shrivel or spoil with some kind of a rot. There were a few instances of that.
-y
-Seattle