How To Prevent Birds From Ruining Your Garden (Without Hurting Them)

Birds may be a welcome sight in your backyard, but it's hard to be enthusiastic about them when they're nibbling on plants or rooting around in your garden. Backyard birds don't know the difference between things you're growing for yourself or seedlings that are theirs for the taking. One of the simplest ways to keep birds at bay, without harming or scaring them, is through the clever placement of sticks or twigs. Creating a little fort around or over young plants by shoving sticks into the ground makes it more difficult for birds to get to — or sometimes even see — the good stuff. 

Placing a series of sticks around or over your prized plants gives plants a chance to grow when birds aren't disrupting the soil or eating the shoots or seeds. With an abundance of twigs or sticks poking up like a little forest around your emerging plants, it becomes more difficult for a bird to land in the area. The obstructions also make it more difficult for a bird to hop around, even if they're just there to forage for grubs beneath the soil. Of course, you can still attract robins to your yard without them digging through your garden soil — just scatter mealworms or bits of fruit somewhere in your yard, away from the garden.

After you've planted young seedlings in the garden, gather sturdy twigs and sticks from around the yard. Look for pieces that are at least about 8 inches high and close to a quarter-inch in diameter if you plan on using fairly straight sticks. When you're caring for your roses or hydrangeas, you can save the sturdier cuttings and use them as well. Forked or branched twigs can create even more complex barriers — just make sure the entire piece is sturdy. Also, make certain that all twigs or woody stems you use are healthy and free of mildew, pests, or disease. Pairing you stick fortress with wind spinners and other garden decor designed to keep unwanted birds away should do the trick.

Push sticks into the ground around the plants you wish to protect, spacing them a couple inches apart. Arrange them in a random manner so there isn't a clear path to any given plant. The goal is to make the sticks seem like an obstacle course that birds would rather avoid. You can also use branched and forked sticks to build a small protective structure over young plants until they're sturdy enough to thrive. Birds flying overhead will just see the stick pile camouflage, and not differentiate the seedlings underneath. Remember you will need to weed and water, and that sunlight still needs to get through your barricade (it doesn't take a lot of sticks to confuse hungry birds flying past).

Pay attention to your stick-protected plants to ensure the birds aren't still nibbling or uprooting them, and adjust your jungle of twigs as needed. A number of twigs all over the planted area could also keep cats out of your garden, or at very least, away from the plants.