Dealing With Bird Problems

Who doesn't enjoy the singing of birds in the trees in the mornings? Most gardeners have fruit trees; that's who. When the birds sing, they are probably also eating the fruit or the blossoms. Most fruit trees produce fruit that birds love as much as you do. Take care of the problem and ensure you enjoy more fruit than the birds.

You will want to remember that birds are intelligent creatures and will adapt to one method of control, making changing methods or even having several methods at once a more desirable and effective way of controlling them. You can use the steamer method. Tie long strips of reflective tape to several branches so that it tends to frighten off the birds. You can use yellow or orange safety tape, but the shiny kind works better. Pie tins are also a good deterrent. Just tie several of them in the tree you are trying to protect. More serious gardeners resort to more extravagant measures to protect their investment. You can cover the tree in fine netting so the birds cannot reach the fruit. However, this method can have its problems. If the fruit is small enough, birds will get to some fruit by eating it through the mesh.

Another good technique is adding the sounds of predators broadcasted around the tree. You must move the sound source every few days, or the birds will figure it out. A favorite has come to be adding a decoy, such as a blackbird or an owl figurine. Again, it would be best to move these around every few days so the birds think they are natural predators. One excellent technique is to add the sounds of predators with the figurines of predators. It is an effective method of discouraging birds from eating the fruit or blossoms from the tree. Try several things with the birds, but give it time!