Image via WikipediaPest birds have been known to attack gardens and orchards, costing growers and garden lovers all sorts of grief and expense. They can eat flower buds, strip ornamental berries, and attack radishes, turnips, rutabagas, cabbages, cauliflower, canola, and kale. In spring, they can steal seeds and damage seedlings. And when summer rolls around, pest birds can take fruit and seriously damage turf.
Specifically, blackbirds, thrushes jays and pigeons will eat autumn berries and fruits. They can also attack cotoneaster, berberis, pyracantha and sorbus plants. Flower buds often fall victim to bullfinches, hawfinches, chaffinches, greenfinches, and sparrows.
Fruit trees, and ornamental trees and bushes are frequently attacked in cold weather. Pest birds will zero in on almonds, flowering cherries, crab apples, lilacs, magnolias, rhododendrons and wisteria. Birds will also peck at magnolia buds, leaving blooms open but disfigured.
Sparrows love to feast on newly sown lawns and other seedbeds. Young seedlings are grazed by larks, sparrows and pheasants. Sparrows also like to shred the flowers of spring plants like sweet peas, violets, polyanthus and crocus.
Pest birds usually confine their attacks near trees, bushes and hedges. They tend to avoid areas lacking in vegetation. Pigeons are an exception. They will search out vegetation anywhere in winter, and are more likely to flock in areas where oilseed rape is grown. One way to avoid some of these bird attacks is to plant flowering or fruit bearing trees near one's house.
Bullfinches love embryo fruits. Starlings, pigeons, collared doves, blackbirds and thrushes will feed on ripe fruit. Jays, on the other hand, can't seem to get enough of peas, beans and sweet corn. Wood pigeons prefer leafy vegetables.
Effective Bird Pest Deterrents
Growers and gardeners have a variety of proven effective bird pest deterrents they can choose from. These can be used to deter a wide range of pest birds. Most are easy to install and require very little maintenance.
Physical Barrier Deterrents
Some of the most effective pest bird deterrents for growers and gardens are also the most simple. For one, try to grow fruit in a fruit cage that can be covered with netting in winter--before the damage starts. Later, this will keep birds off ripening fruit. When placing the netting over low-growing plants, keep in mind that pigeons, collared doves and other large birds can do serious damage quickly, so install the netting the minute you spot any damage. Dark-colored netting is less intrusive but more hazardous to birds since they often can't see it and could become entangled. Netting comes in several mesh sizes to keep out everything from pigeons and sparrows to starlings and seagulls. Better still, you can now get flame resistant, U.V. stabilized, and rot- and water-proof netting for lasting durability in a number of environments.
Visual Deterrents
Many birds are easily frightened by objects they don't recognize waving at them. Known as bird-scare deterrents, these include reflective foils, tape banners and balloons. Some banners and tape rattle noisily in the breeze to further distract pest birds. Balloons often come with large predator eyes imprinted on them, which make them even scarier to pest birds.
For small gardens, there's the Bird Spider. Its long spindly arms wave in the wind to scare away any pest birds that try to land. Spiders come in various arm lengths to frighten away a wide range of birds. They can be mounted easily on most any surface and are virtually maintenance free.
Another very clever bird scare device is a product called the Scarecrow. This bird pest deterrent uses a motion-activated sprinkler that turns on whenever it senses a bird approaching. Scarecrows are perfect for gardens, backyards, and other outdoor areas where all types of bird pests tend to gather. These devices combine the triple threat of water spray, sudden sound, and moving bird's head to discourage pest birds from returning.
Chemical Pest Bird Deterrents
Bird Foggers and Misters are basically aerosol systems that spay an irritating mist into an area to discourage pest birds. The chemical used by these systems is a food-grade methyl anthranilate. Recognized by the FDA as a safe substance, the chemical has been used to flavor grape soda and candies. So it's safe for people, pets, plants and birds. Some bird mist systems won't even leave a residue--just the scent of grapes.
How do they work? Simple. Like peeling onions for humans, methyl anthranilate irritates the trigeminal nerve and mucous membranes of birds when they fly through it. The chemical enters their eyes, nose or mouth and persuades pest birds to leave or get all bleary eyed. One interesting note: Birds in flight will inhale the repellent up to 30 times faster than a bird at rest. Misters/foggers are ideal for deterring sparrows, pigeons, starlings, crows, blackbirds and geese. It works on large birds very quickly. Sparrows and other smaller birds will often need more exposure to the chemical.
Bird mist systems come as fancy or simple as your budget will permit. Some have a central console that keeps track of how much chemical is left in each unit and when it's time to refill them. Satellite units can be controlled from as far away as one mile.
Better still, each satellite unit can be programmed to spray an area for a specific time of day, or to spray in preset intervals throughout the day and/or night. The best systems let you adjust each individual nozzle's spray to direct the chemical to specific bird infested areas. Most users set their spray units to turn on in the morning and evenings. Keep in mind, most foggers/misters will not work below 32 degrees Fahrenheit due to the freezing point of methyl anthranilate.
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