Yeah, the netting will work for most of the birds but those tree rats will just dig under and it's a pain in the butt to get on and off and tears up my trees. For me the paper bags worked for the birds but not on the squirrels. Plus once my trees got bigger, it's was too much time to bag all the fruit. For birds I use streamers of reflective tape, a bobble head owl, and hang my sweaty mowing shirt and hat on one of the trees. I rotate them each time I mow. The birds don't like change. Whatever deterrent you use, I've gotten the best results by moving them often. Otherwise the birds get used to them and just ignore them. For deer, I've got a motion activated sprinkler if I'm really trying to keep them away from something. Otherwise I use irish spring soap shoved into a piece of PVC and hang it from the tree. They don't like to venture too close to that. Or you can let the deer fatten up on apples and harvest those eaten apples all at once with a well placed shot in the fall. I'm still learning things as I go. I've still got some trees that are duds from disease and pests but some others are doing well. It's a humbling hobby.