Repurpose Extra Pie Tins To Help Protect Your Fruit And Vegetable Garden From Pests

Just as there are birds you don't want hanging around your feeders, there are plenty of birds and a host of four-legged pests you don't want nosing about your recently planted garden. One cheap solution might be found cradling that apple pie in your refrigerator. According to Recycle Nation, it can take up to 400 years for a disposable aluminum pie tin to decompose, so the more ways you find to repurpose one or more, the better. Since they usually come in packs of two three, it's likely you'll have extras lying about. One clever use for a clean aluminum pie tin is a quick and easy scarecrow, of sorts, to keep unwanted birds out of your garden. It's similar to using aluminum foil to keep woodpeckers off your trees. This DIY is significantly cheaper than, and just as effective as, store-bought spinning foil, pinwheels, or flashing lights, thanks to a pie plate's light weight and reflective surface.

What is it about pie tins that help protect your garden from avian pests like crows, pigeons, and sparrows? They make noise, they move, and they're reflective. Just tie a clean pan to a string, suspend it from a pole, and they'll blow in the wind. All of this bright light and movement can be enough to at least temporarily ward off the critters that want to eat your fruits and veggies (especially as they're just getting established), or that just make a plain nuisance of themselves. Bonus? It works on other pests, including deer, squirrels, and even some insects who don't like the movement.

It's easy to create a pie tin scarecrow. All you do is put a 5 or 6-foot post in your garden, or use an existing post or tree, then attach one or more pie tins to it by twine. Punch a hole in the rim of the pie tin and securely tie the twine through, using one piece of twine per tin. The more pie tins you tie to the same post, the more noise they'll make anytime a breeze blows through. It's that noise that is going to scare away most of the critters messing around with your fruits and vegetables. Pie tins will scare off pests on your fruit trees as well. Tie the pans to branches, and no poles are needed.

Along with the noise, as wind blows, the pans' erratic movement and reflective flashes of sunlight will also ward off pests. Birds and deer are most likely to be startled by your makeshift pie tin scarecrow, but it could also help keep raccoons, rabbits, and squirrels out of the garden.