"j" wrote in message
...
I've got about a 4 year old peach, and a few blueberries.

Last year, the peaches mysteriously vanished one day, even though I had
sorta draped netting over them.

Is there an alternative, and when should I be ready for the assault?

Netting an 11' tree is no easy matter!

Do you use brooms to help you get it over them? We net several trees of
this size and by using brooms have foudn them quite easy to do. I really
don't like netting our big trees where we have to get up on ladders to get
near the tops.