Lou McLeod: Keeping Bully Birds at Bay And Protecting Your Garden

Thursday, 1 June 2017

Keeping Bully Birds at Bay And Protecting Your Garden

Keeping Bully Birds at Bay And Protecting Your Garden was originally published on http://ift.tt/1nr27gs

Birds can be particularly tricky pests to monitor; they can be loud early in the morning which disrupts your sound sleep. Birds such as pigeons and doves are known for scavenging and tearing the grass out of flat surfaces and nibbling on plants, which could very well be your own personal garden. Finding a feeder that can keep birds occupied and off your lawn, as well as designing some homemade barriers that will keep these birds at bay, is certainly an achievable goal! Read on for some pro tips that will ensure your gardens are protected from all types of bully birds.

Keeping Bully Birds at Bay

Typically, you will encounter this problem with larger birds rather than the smaller ones. Particular species to look out for include sparrows, pigeons, doves, and wood pigeons.

The first suggestion that experts will give is to invest in a hanging feeder. Hanging feeders will attract the larger birds that you are wanting to keep away from your plants and flowers, but you will need to make sure that you properly equip the feeder to deal with small little mishaps. One such mishap is that seeds will most likely fall to the ground if you have smaller birds eating from the same feeder (which is highly likely to occur).

To avoid having your larger, peskier birds migrating to the ground to feed, place a bucket or a similar object under the feeder to catch the falling seeds; you could also place some wire mesh under the bottom of the feeder so seeds can fall in and collect, but this will need to be strictly monitored and emptied before pigeons or other similar birds flock and potentially ruin the mesh and even the feeder.

Keeping Bully Birds at Bay And Protecting Your Garden

If you’re looking for an opportunity to get crafty with some household items that need to be put to use, consider these following options for protecting any seedlings or budding flora and fauna from big, bad bully birds:

Place inverted crates or disposable cups with the bottoms cut out over vulnerable plants or upcoming seedlings. Feeling super creative? One farmer has constructed a cone out of window screen cloth to protect his tomato plants!
Got any fishing lines? Birds have an aversion to wires, and fishing line looks just the same to a bully bird. Even black thread will do – weave any of these materials over some posts set up bordering your garden and you’ll be amazed at how it keeps bigger birds away!
Old wives’ tales exist for a reason – they usually work, and this one is no exception! If you’re hoping to stave off crows, soak a few quarts of dried corn in whiskey and scatter them near in close (but not too close) approximation to your garden, and the crows will come flocking – to the corn, of course, and not your beautiful crops!

They might sing beautifully, but birds can truly be pests for a farmer or gardener. Give these simple and easy solutions a try, and you’ll be able to enjoy the songs without your gardens suffering!