Column: Thwarting Birds
I suppose the title to today’s post might shock you because you probably know I’m an avid birdwatcher. But I take issue when birds think it’s perfectly fine to take bites out of our cherries, raspberries, and blueberries.
How can Bill and I thwart the birds but still be on a friendly basis with them? Well, that’s exactly what you’ll learn in today’s garden column! One of the methods is something Bill has employed for the first time this year. It worked quite well. Read on for more details. I hope there will be something in here that helps if you’re dealing with the same issues.
by Susan Mulvihill
My husband Bill and I really enjoy growing tree fruits. Our small orchard consists of apple, plum, pear, cherry and peach trees. Cherries in particular are commonly targeted by birds. We’ve had to get creative over the years in order to protect our highly-coveted crop.
Anyone who has grown cherries knows that the fruits remain green and hard for most of the growing season. The birds tend to ignore them until the cherries turn color and then it’s a free-for-all.
Long before those fruits mature, we bring out what we jokingly refer to as the “party decorations.” They consist of tall metal or PVC poles. Then we top them with varying lengths of 3-inch-wide mylar flash tape. Next, we strap the poles to the tree trunks. Whenever the wind blows, the tape rustles and flashes brightly in the sun.
Next, we wrap our largest tree in bird netting. This involves a giant piece of netting, ladders, long poles, colorful language and a review of our medical co-pays. Between the party decorations and the netting, we have managed to limit bird damage.
This year, Bill decided to skip the bird netting and try something new. His goal was to convince them that our orchard wasn’t worth visiting.
He ordered artificial cherry fruits online which are incredibly realistic. Even though they are primarily sold as decorations, Bill thought they would make excellent decoys. While the cherries were still green, his plan was to string the fake cherries on monofilament line. Then he’d drape those strings in our cherry trees while our fruits were still green.
You may have heard about gardeners trying to fool robins by painting stones red so they look like strawberries. If a robin pecks at a red stone long enough, they decide there aren’t any fruits for them to feast upon. And they hopefully move along.
Bill’s artificial cherry plan worked the same way. No sooner did he hang those strings of cherries than the robins showed up. They pecked on the fake fruits and – for the most part – went off to sulk about the lack of juicy fruits.
While harvesting ripe cherries, we noticed an occasional bird peck. However, it was nothing like the damage we usually have to endure. I have to admit that I occasionally reached for an artificial cherry, thinking it was the real thing. The surprise was on me when I discovered how hard it was.
We also grow small fruits such as raspberries and blackberries. We’ve mostly used the mylar flash tape to keep the birds away and it works pretty well. There’s also a type of flash tape that buzzes when the wind hits it.
To protect our blueberry crop, we’ve found that a physical barrier works the best. Years ago, we put bird netting over the bed. While it did keep out the birds, the berries easily got caught in it. Whenever we lifted the netting to pick them, berries would fly off in every direction.
A few years back, I sewed together some long pieces of floating row cover. That way, it would be wide enough to cover the entire bed. We always wait until there are full-sized green berries before covering the bed. Then we weigh down the edges with rocks. It is really effective.
Yes, Bill and I are avid birdwatchers. But we do draw the line when it comes to keeping them away from our favorite crops to harvest.
Susan Mulvihill is author of “The Vegetable Garden Problem Solver Handbook” and “The Vegetable Garden Pest Handbook.” She can be reached at Susan@SusansintheGarden.com. Watch this week’s video at youtube.com/susansinthegarden.