Use These Tips And Tricks To Prevent Birds From Munching On Your Garden Fruit

Plenty of gardeners wax poetic about the perks of attracting birds to the garden. These natural works of art animate the landscape and the atmosphere with their colorful feathers and chirpiness. Making the most of their bird's eye view and sometimes driven by parental instincts, they clean up a yard's pesky weeds and insects with extraordinary precision. But these fair-weather friends become turncoats when the fruits ripen, competing with gardeners for the literal fruits of their labor. Leaving behind half-chewed berries — or worse, their poop splatters (who cares if it works as fertilizer in the heat?) — they make it necessary to explore methods to keep birds away.

Birds are adaptive creatures who switch their food preferences with the seasonally changing fruit profiles. They share a penchant for energy-giving lipids that grow in proportion to the fruits' maturity. They also love plucking off varieties high on anthocyanin, as they can see them better due to UV reflection. A winter food shortage can also cause these high flyers to peck dormant fruit buds. Regardless of the reasons, it's undeniable that your fruit trees need protection. Fortunately, there are multiple humane methods to deter birds from munching on your garden fruit. Netting, audio and visual scare devices, and repellent sprays are just a few. Use them in tandem for the best results.

Like humans, birds, too, feel uncomfortable with arbitrary light flashes, and you can capitalize on this to move the feathered pests along. The best part, though? You already have what it takes to rid your garden of pesky birds. Rummage through your storage, dust off some old compact discs (CDs) you haven't listened to in a while, and hang them from strings at differing heights from the trees you want to protect. Placing them close together will give you an added advantage, as the wind will have them clinking randomly, spooking the birds. But if you've already disposed of these '90s remnants, look for items in your kitchen, like aluminum foil or pie pans. Either wrap parts of the tree with foil or punch a hole in the pans and dangle them as you would the CDs. These noisy deterrents will even send squirrels and other troublesome mammals packing.

Alternatively, hang a reflective flash tape or Mylar streamers, especially if you're protecting cherries or apples. They're cheap and easy to use, albeit unattractive. However, they're unlikely to keep berry visitors like starlings, mockingbirds, house finches, and American robins at bay. Although the trick works well initially because the birds haven't made sense of the blinding reflections, the newness does wear off, and you may find birds using these items as a perch or weaved into their nests. But pairing the items with noisemakers can raise their impact.

If you don't find decoys a worthwhile investment, try out the relatively inexpensive scare-eye balloons or balls with large holographic eyes drawn on them. Suspend them from the fruit trees or adjoining poles, and let the breeze handle the rest. If required, dangle the balloons with a spring to boost their erratic movements. Better yet, tether hawk- or falcon-shaped kites to the ground or hang them with helium balloons and leave the avian pests guessing if they've entered the zones controlled by the loathed birds of prey. In bigger orchards, arrange them so that there's at least one kite per hectare.

This works because birds see the large eyes and believe they're being followed, so they scamper away to escape the "live predators." But if the positions remain unchanged for long, the birdy burglars will catch on that the threat isn't real. Further, these aerial elements aren't suitable in areas experiencing strong gusts (over 8 kilometers per hour), as they blow away easily and risk becoming tangled in trees or overhanging wires. Sun exposure, too, can deflate helium balloons, necessitating periodic refilling. Experiment with different sizes and colors to figure out what works in your garden, as their effectiveness varies across species. Complement their use with acoustic devices like those mimicking a bird's distress call to make them more effective.

Other popular visual tactics to deter the avian adversaries of your garden fruit include garden spinners, miniature pinwheels, and tiny windmills. They're easy to use and look fairly attractive with their variety of bright shades, adding an ornamental touch to your garden. To add a dash of your personality, you can craft your DIY wind spinner, killing (not literally) two birds with one stone (or spinner). To get this trick to work, simply stand the spinners close to your fruity gems. But if the fruit trees are relatively large, plant the spinners on 6- to 10-foot-tall poles or PVC pipes. Alternatively, buy cheap pinwheels and snake decoys, mount them on stakes, and place them around your shrubbery right before the fruits ripen. This provides both visual (reflective surfaces) and auditory (spinning sound) benefits to the trick.

Spinning devices work like a charm because birds notice even the tiniest movements and are on alert when the wheels go round and round. Being bird-brained, they sometimes mistake the spinners for predatory movements. When it's windy, the noise helps to frighten them as well. However, birds are quick to collect their wits when the spinners remain stationary, so don't forget to move them around every time you come out to pluck the fruits. While the method isn't 100% foolproof, it can minimize the damage to some extent.

You can give birdy thieves the brush-off by spritzing chemical repellents. These deter birds with unpleasant tastes and odors. For instance, methyl anthranilate-containing repellents like Avian Control have shown positive results in small orchards, as the birds are aggravated by contact with it. This active ingredient is also present in grape-flavored Kool-Aid, making it a suitable spray repellent for berries, as the birds find their taste revolting. However, used alone, these sprays prove insufficient and require additional help, like an alternate food source to distract the flurry of creatures. Moreover, they must be reapplied throughout the harvesting season to retain their effectiveness. They are also unsuitable for blueberry crops because their residue causes leaf scalding.

Polybutene or aliphatic petroleum-based tactile repellents are available, too, although some are also made of natural plant compounds. When birds sit on the treated fruit, their feet feel sticky, which agitates them, causing them to scram. A 5% concentrated mix of thyme, cumin, and rosemary can effectively disperse starlings. However, these products break down under sunlight and may stain your fruits. Not to mention, repellent sprays can be expensive and aren't easy to apply. EPA recognized-Avitrol is another offering that, although promoted as a scaring agent, can turn lethal in higher dosages, so use caution.

Beam strobe lights, spotlights, or flashing lights on your fruit bushes if hungry birds remain persistent. The lights are easy to install and need little maintenance, but they do require a convenient power source. Keep the flash frequency under 100 per second and use blue lights, as birds are more sensitive to their wavelengths. While the exact reasons for the lights' effectiveness remain unclear, some believe it has to do with unfamiliarity. Plus, they're fairly disorienting when shone during lowlight feeding times (dusk till dawn). Some birds may, however, become used to them over time.

If so, switch over to pedestal-mounted green laser beams — they perform well in all light conditions. But red laser lights will suffice if you're mainly targeting nocturnal birds, as they only work in dim lighting. A 2002 research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Wildlife Research Center found that in ambient lighting, laser wavelengths ranging between 630 and 650 nanometers were effective in scattering birds away without causing them or the environment any harm. Indeed, an 80-minute exposure was sufficient to disperse 96% of the Canadian geese present in the field. Lasers have a lasting impact because birds misjudge them as predatory movements, thereby steering clear of them. They've shown decent results with common problem birds like vultures, crows, and gulls. Moreover, Class-III B lasers work wonders on wild birds like waterfowl. Many manufacturers even customize the laser patterns for an orchard's specific conditions, which makes them expensive. Use caution since lasers can hurt human vision.

You can have rowdy birds make a beeline for greener pastures by planting flowers they dislike. For instance, daffodils are a no-no for foraging fowl because of the toxic lycorine compound present in them. Thus, planting daffodils next to your fruits (if they aren't competing) can quickly bar the winged creatures' entry. Similarly, some bird varieties dislike white flowers, so having them around works. Curiously, despite their tasty fruit, blackberry plants throw some birds off, thanks to their spiky foliage. But avoid growing them if starlings and silvereyes visit your garden often. Also, experiment with bird-resistant cultivars. A 2012 study in Plant Production Science found a few sunflower varieties that were left relatively untouched by the tiny oriental greenfinch — their routine attacker — because they couldn't manage to eat the bigger seeds.

You could also plant denser vegetation to block the birds' line of sight. For example, pigeons loathe wading through heavy thickets and can be held off by planting cabbages and related vegetables adjacent to your fruit shrubs. Growing tall grasses is another common tactic that plenty of gardeners fall back on, even though the impact varies across bird species. While not vegetation, another quick fix is to lay down a couple of sticks to disguise your seedlings, in addition to making it more difficult to access them. That being said, use this method in combination with other tactics like netting or scarecrows for a more solid deterrence effect.