Protecting the Fruits of Your Labor

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By Kathy Fritsch

Spring is here with summer right around the corner.  The sun is shining.  It is warming up.  You are enjoying lemonade out on your patio listening to the birds twittering.  Wait!  Birds twittering?  At one time it might have been a pleasant sound to have in your yard.   But since you have spent a lot of time pruning your fruit trees, planning out and planting the garden, protecting your yard from pest birds now is a concern.  Before you get out your broom to try and swat these pest birds away, solve your bird problem more effectively with a distinct plan of action using pest bird deterrents. 

First, determine what species of pest bird is causing the problem.   This will help you to find the best approach and which pest bird deterrent will work best for you.  There is both visual and sound bird deterrents available, as well as durable bird netting.  The investment in time and product will not only help you attain your goal of enjoying the fruits of your labor, but it will also deter damage that these pest birds may do to your home.  Sparrows, for instance, can build nests and clog gutters and drainage pipes as well as cause feces buildup, which can pose a health risk.  Property owners pay a heavy price each year for the cleanup and damage caused by pest birds.


Whether you have sparrows, cardinals, crows or any other pest bird near your home and in your fruit trees, visual bird deterrents can be very effective.  There are inflatable balloons as well as diverters for use.  These simple balloons have lifelike reflective predator eyes and markings on them that confuse and scare the birds causing them to fly away.  Diverters are similar in that they have an iridescent foil eye which also scares the birds away.  The diverters are ideal for use not only in trees, but also gazebos, patios, and house eaves.  You could even hang them from a small hook on a stake surrounding your precious tomato plants. 

Another inexpensive item to keep the pest birds away is a mylar flashtape.  It is an iridescent red and silver color and blows freely in the wind, helping divert the birds in another direction. The red tape hanging around the patio and throughout the yard can also serve as a decoration when hosting a party.  Your guests will never know that the bird deterrent was not meant for them!  Don’t forget about the bright colored balloons that can be used in your pool as well as the trees.  The bird netting, however, is virtually invisible.  Ultra net bird netting is extremely strong, yet lightweight and long lasting.  The durable, polypropylene netting comes in various mesh sizes to protect both your larger fruit trees as well as your blueberry bushes.   Like the balloons and diverters, the mesh bird netting is quick and easy to install.

A sound bird deterrent is another way to keep the pest birds at bay.  It is a device that can be placed in the trees or alongside your home.  These devices can be used year round, and they are sun and weather resistant.  They, too, are easy to install and can be set to “target” over 20 different types of birds.  You simply set the “target birds”, adjust the volume, and the unit will play the distress and predator call of that bird in intervals, causing the bird to fly away.  The sound bird deterrent covers a five-acre orchard by adding additional satellite speakers to the system.  It will not only keep birds out of your garden and trees, but also off the roof and eaves of your home.

And finally, the sure fire bet to get rid of the birds is by using an integrated bird control method, pairing both sound and visual bird deterrents.  Now let’s go back to sitting out on the patio, marveling at how peaceful it is to sit and watch the fruit ripen and turn colors in the trees and watch the garden bloom.