Are you trying to prevent birds from accessing your vegetable garden? In some instances, people cultivate specific shrubs and flowers with the goal of attracting birds into their garden spaces. Birds not only enhance the aesthetic value of a garden by bringing in colors and ‘music’, but they also assist in processes like pollination and pest control which are advantageous to gardeners.
Birdscaping, which is creating a garden to attract and support local birds, is actually an emerging trend in gardening. However, this is not the preference of every gardener, and there is good reason behind that.
Once they have tried gardening and grown some vegetables, they do not want to lose everything to birds. The local birds certainly have their fare share of pests. Pigeons can consume whole heads of cabbage, leaving behind only remnants of what was once a prize. Crows are also known to decimate corn crops by the acre, and Blue jays are notorious for stealing berries.
While it may not be pleasant to think about birds in your vegetable garden, they serve an important function in the ecosystem. Preventing them from accessing your garden in ways that may damage the ecosystem is not only inhumane, but counterproductive.
If you need to keep birds out, here are 12 suggestions that will allow you to keep your harvest while gently encouraging birds to go elsewhere.
Move It Or Lose It
Birds exhibit intelligent behavior. A static scarecrow does not pose a threat to birds, for they will quickly move to devour all your veggies
If you want to successfully discourage birds from snacking on your crops, make sure to rotate the position of the scarecrow weekly and dress it differently to signal to the birds that the scarecrow is capable of movement.
If you use reflective devices like old cd’s to ward off local birds, these too should be rearranged to ensure local birds do not get too comfortable.
Garden Netting
Using garden netting as a barrier within your garden is one of the best ways to prevent birds from ruining it. Butterfly netting shields crops from birds while allowing smaller beneficial insects, such as butterflies and bees, to access the crops for pollination.
To prevent wildlife such as birds from getting injured, ensure that the netting is fully pulled taught and use a netting with holes smaller than one cm.
Make sure to buy netting materials of a higher quality that are UV Resistant. While these may be more expensive, they will pay for themselves in the long run as low quality netting will turn into a dangerous risk for birds and small animals when it starts to fray and deteriorate.
Use Chicken Wire At Ground Level
To prevent birds and chickens from scratching and pecking at the soil. Pin chicken wire to the ground to safeguard newly planted seeds or freshly sown tubers. As the seedlings grow, the wire can be lifted off the ground on stakes for added protection.
Defend Crops With Garden Fleece
Fleece is typically used to guard crops from frosts during the cold months; however, it can also be used throughout the year to protect smaller crops from birds. Cover your lettuce, salad greens, chard, and bok choy with fine white fleece to prevent neighborhood birds from preemptively harvesting your greens. Fleece can be removed during harvest and stored until the next crop season.
Plastic Owls and Toy Snakes
Bird control becomes easier with the introduction of decoy predators such as plastic owls, falcons, and other birds of prey. They can be quite effective in stopping birds from devouring your garden goodies. However, as with the scarecrow, if these stationary decoys are not moved frequently, birds will take advantage of the empty space. It is important that you periodically change the position of your owls and toy snakes to keep the neighborhood birds from moving in. Decoys that move or make sound are even better at deterring birds.
Terror Eyes Balloon
The terror eyes balloon is the most popular bird deterrent. The large yellow ball is inflatable and can be easily set into motion by a slight breeze. Both the large printed eyes on the ball and the ball’s motion can quickly scare birds. You can purchase terror eye balloons at gardening centers or replicate the eyes on a yellow beach ball to make your own.
Scarecrow
Scarecrows can be effective bird deterrents, but in order to maintain effectiveness, they must be moved often and dressed in different outfits or changed so they do not look completely fake. If you are designing a scarecrow, make it lightweight and portable so you can easily move it weekly. Also, changing the outfit periodically will assist in maintaining the disguise.
Wind Chimes
Some objects such as wind chimes which produce noise or sudden movement can functioning as effective bird deterrents. To be effective, wind chimes should be positioned within your garden and will be of little use if placed on the porch. Wind chimes made from metal or other reflective materials will do an even better job scaring birds away.
Pouncing Pets
Your cherished pets can help protect your garden from birds in a surprisingly effective manner. A dog that is properly supervised will have a great time scaring away birds from the garden. Outdoor cats do keep birds away but can create other issues by turning soil into a makeshift litter box, covering their buried treasures, and digging up plants.
Garden Spinners
Wind-activated spinners are useful in scaring birds away from veggie gardens since any motion will make a cautious bird take off. Just like with other stationary items, remember to change your garden spinners every few weeks, so that the birds do not recognize them as stationary decoys and attempt to settle down.
Reflective Items
Birds do not like mirrors, and neither do they love old CDs. Therefore, they equally fear flashing lights or shiny surfaces. To use this to your advantage, hang some old CDs on your trees and put mirrors or CDs in the sunlight. Keep in mind that you will have to change their position a few times a month, otherwise the birds will try and test their freedom.
Make a Stick Jungle
Birds will likely overlook your foliage as they defend their nests when you place push sticks and small twigs along the perimeter. While this strategy does help restrict some access for birds, it will simultaneously hinder your ability to easily harvest your crops. This approach is most effective when guarding delicate and tender seedlings, as well as plants in early developmental stages.