Keeping birds away
- Thread starter mrsgibber
- Start date
lesa
Garden Master
Why do you want to keep birds out of the garden? Do you have berry bushes? I have never had an ordinary songbird do any damage to my garden, I rather enjoy having them around. Now, my berries I cover with "deer" netting and that solves the immediate problem. I presume you are not talking about chickens or ducks- which are a different issue entirely!!!
Greenthumb18
Deeply Rooted
I agree with lesa, birds dont cause much damage other than eating a few berries, at least where i'am. Its the squirrels that cause the most damage where i live, i'm gonna to have to put up traps later, i cant keep finding plants missing anymore.
- Thread starter
- #4
I saw tiny birds in my garden yesterday and I've noticed that something pulled out a bean seedling and cucumber seedling. I was figuring it was a bird but who knows. This is my FIRST garden so I don't know what I'm doing. LOL So if birds are not an issue I won't bother. I do have chickens but they are enclosed in a large run and won't have access to my garden until fall.
Thanks!
Thanks!
me&thegals
Garden Ornament
Hi--Chickens I would worry about, but I don't think songbirds do garden damage. In fact, I lure them to my garden with sunflowers and then hope they will stay to eat insect pests 
If you have plants pulled out, I would look to rabbits as your culprits. Good luck!
If you have plants pulled out, I would look to rabbits as your culprits. Good luck!
davaroo
Garden Ornament
The CD's might deter them. It would be interesting to learn if it made a difference.
patandchickens
Deeply Rooted
If you've got birds attacking newly planted seeds or newly sprouted seedlings, you might want to cover them with a 'hoop' or a-frame of chickenwire or whatever ya got lying around, or floating row cover, until the plants are big enough to be immune.
Berry bushes can, if you're ambitious and don't have too vast a number of them, be protected with temporary netting or even a permanent English style fruit cage. Or, you can just try to get out there before the birds do and hope to get some berries for yourself that way
Birds don't usually bother other things. Well, ok, I've had bird damage to dead-ripe cantaloupes, back when I lived in a cantaloupe-growing climate. Wire over them would have fixed that. The box turtles were a worse problem actually, and the cotton rats. All my cantaloupes had various-shaped bites taken out of them
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
Berry bushes can, if you're ambitious and don't have too vast a number of them, be protected with temporary netting or even a permanent English style fruit cage. Or, you can just try to get out there before the birds do and hope to get some berries for yourself that way
Birds don't usually bother other things. Well, ok, I've had bird damage to dead-ripe cantaloupes, back when I lived in a cantaloupe-growing climate. Wire over them would have fixed that. The box turtles were a worse problem actually, and the cotton rats. All my cantaloupes had various-shaped bites taken out of them
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
GrowinVeggiesInSC
Garden Ornament
And here I am, trying to get the birds to come INTO the garden to eat the pests! 
I never thought to plant sunflowers to attract them, that's genious!
I never thought to plant sunflowers to attract them, that's genious!
digitS'
Garden Master
I've had pheasants devastate salad plantings. Quail like ripe tomatoes. My solution for the salad garden was to move it away from the bushes . . . the next year. Ripe tomatoes can't stay in my garden - I gotta get 'em just as they ripen.
Sparrows will make a mess out of a newly planted seed bed by dust bathing
. One solution was to drive several stakes around that area and run cassette tape stretched tight from one post to another a few inches from the soil surface. They'll find another location to dust bathe for a week or two.
Steve
edited to add: I just realized how similar the ideas are: CD's and cassette tapes
. I suppose 8-tracks would work, too 
. And, then loud speakers with something by Van Halen, maybe . . .
Sparrows will make a mess out of a newly planted seed bed by dust bathing
. One solution was to drive several stakes around that area and run cassette tape stretched tight from one post to another a few inches from the soil surface. They'll find another location to dust bathe for a week or two.Steve
edited to add: I just realized how similar the ideas are: CD's and cassette tapes
. I suppose 8-tracks would work, too . And, then loud speakers with something by Van Halen, maybe . . .
chills
Garden Ornament
i see mostly magpies in my yard, they eat from the olive tree and torment the cat .. i have squirrels that visit the fig tree .. but ive been pretty lucky with everyone leaving my food garden alone ..
if you have some shiny cd's to try, i would ..
i was going to try something shinny by my grapes, cuz duh, i planted sunflowers by them - i didnt think bird attractant ..
i was hoping the shinny item would deter them .. its worth giving it a try
im off to read what box turtle and cotton rats are ..
if you have some shiny cd's to try, i would ..
i was going to try something shinny by my grapes, cuz duh, i planted sunflowers by them - i didnt think bird attractant ..
i was hoping the shinny item would deter them .. its worth giving it a try
im off to read what box turtle and cotton rats are ..
