Deter Birds From Your Fruit And Vegetable Plants With A Simple Trick

Many homeowners endeavor to attract songbirds to their yards with easy DIY bird-friendly hacks to enjoy their vibrant colors and cheerful songs. They may also want to entice bug-eating birds to consume unwanted bugs and insects to create a natural pest-control system. But when these feathered creatures start feasting on your carefully cultivated fruits and vegetables, they can quickly change from charming guests into frustrating garden pests. You may soon find them eating up your berries and gobbling your leafy greens. Sure, you could shell out money and purchase commercial deterrents like fake owl decoys, reflective bird-scare tape, or heavy-duty bird netting to spread over your crops. But before spending your hard-earned cash, you could instead simply repurpose an empty plastic mulch bag to create effective, no-cost streamers to hang over your garden to frighten them. Not only will this project help your garden thrive, but it will also allow you to prevent more plastic from entering our landfills.

This simple, do-it-yourself method leverages a fundamental bird instinct: their innate fear of sudden, unpredictable movement. Because birds are naturally targets for predators, any erratic motion in their environment will trigger an alarm response, making them instinctively avoid the area. To make your own mulch-bag streamers, just cut long, narrow strips from an empty plastic mulch bag with a sharp pair of scissors. Next, you could string some garden twine or a lightweight rope over your garden. Opt for biodegradable jute string as an eco-friendly option or, if you prefer, a weather-resistant option: nylon cord. You can anchor it using shepherd's hooks, tall garden stakes, or even nearby trees. Then, evenly knot the plastic strips along the line.

As the strips flutter and twist in the breeze, they'll create enough unpredictable motion to deter birds from landing in your garden. You can enhance the effectiveness of these streamers by adding elements that avert birds, such as noisy objects and reflective surfaces. If you have them on hand, consider tying small bells or old music CDS or gluing bits of aluminum foil onto your strips. Not only will the glinting light and gentle melodies in the breeze serve as visual and audible discouragements to keep birds away from your cherished fruits and vegetables, but the colorful, weather-hardy display will add a unique decorative touch to your outdoor space.

Should you still want some birds in your backyard — just not in your garden — you could invite them to your deck or patio, such as by placing a large bowl or saucer of water on a table to create an inexpensive bird bath, add pots of pretty coneflowers, or hang a simple DIY birdhouse made out of a used plastic coffee container.

With fun and practical projects like these, you can shield your crops from hungry birds, upcycle materials you already have on hand, and enjoy fresh fruits and veggies and the company of backyard birds. With smart and satisfying solutions like these, you may find yourself singing a happy tune all season long.