Is Your Garden Party for the Birds?

by Alex A. Kecskes

It’s time for the annual round of garden parties. But unless you’ve implemented effective bird control measures, your garden party may be for the birds.

Many homeowners who have spent time and money to beautify their gardens are sending out invitations. Like you, they’re preparing for garden parties and backyard get-togethers with friends and relatives. As is typical during these functions, food and beverages of all kinds will be available on veranadas, under umbrealls and patios, and gazebos decorated in the season’s flowers.

But without bird control, pest birds can wreak havoc at a garden party. They can “dive bomb” food set out on tables, even snatch food out of the hands of children. And heaven forbid, your “uninvited guests” leave droppings on tables, chairs, benches and unattended food!

Fortunately, you can avail yourself of the pest bird deterrents today’s professionals use. These measures are both highly effective and humane. Here are a few of the most popular:  
Sonic Bird Deterrents

Ideal for large gardens, Sonic Bird Deterrents emit bird distress and predator calls that make pest birds want to leave. For example, some devices can broadcast the sounds of peregrine falcons (a pigeon's natural enemy) as well as the sounds of other pigeons being attacked. No bird wants to be in an area where they might be hunted. The sounds resemble normal bird sounds, so they won’t irritate your pets, friends or neighbors. If your not sure which species of bird is attacking your garden, one sonic system currently on the market emits distress and predator calls for 22 different species of birds. This unit covers up to an acre of land and can be programmed to turn on or off at night.  By the way, don’ bother with ultrasonic bird deterrents, for birds can’t hear them and they are largely ineffective.

Visual Bird Deterrents

Easy to set up and use, Visual Bird Deterrents can be highy effective in deterring pest birds from gardens and patios, especially when combined with other bird deterrents. Visual deterrents include Flash Tape and Reflective Banners, as well as Scare Eye Diverters and Bird Scare Balloons (featuring large mock predator eyes). Visual deterrents bob and weave in the breeze to create distractions that make pest birds too nervous to hang around. Simply attach these deterrents to any high visibility area in your garden and move them about from time to time.

Red-Tail Hawk Decoys

Combining decoration with function, Red-Tail Hawk Decoys intimidate most bids because real Hawks hunt during the day when most birds are active. It’s important to get the most realistic looking decoy you can find. And make sure it’s made of heavy duty plastic to endure several seasons outdoors. Here, again, it’s a good idea to move the decoy around often to convince birds that your decoy is a real threat.

Choosing the Right Bird Deterrent for Your Garden

by Alex A. Kecskes

It’s springtime and you’re ready to reap the rewards of your hard work in the garden. You diligently planted, weeded, and nurtured your garden. You also kept the pests at bay with regular spraying of insecticides. But now there’s a new threat to your garden: pest birds. They’re starting to come in and destroy your flowers, eat your tomatoes, and peck at the fruits ripening in your fruit trees.

You tried squirting these annoying birds with your water hose. But they just came back the next morning. Even your dog was no help, for the birds simply waited till your dog was in the house to feast on the vegetables and fruits in your trees.
You’re at your wits end on this one. Fortunately, your neighbor told you how the professionals get rid of pest birds. They use things that are effective and humane. Here’s what you discovered:

Wrap Up Veggie Plants in Plastic Bird Netting

Easy to use and highly effective, Plastic Bird Netting keeps pest birds from getting at the vegetable plants in your garden. This barrier deterrent is ideal for smaller gardens and small fruit trees. Wrap your plants with the netting or simply cover entire sections of your garden with the netting using poles. To protect fruit trees, measure the circumference of the tree and cut the net to size (allow at least one foot extra around the circumference). Secure the netting with twine, zip ties, or hog rings. Look for high quality plastic bird netting made of durable, U.V.-protected polypropylene. It's strong, light, easy to handle and virtually invisible.

Set Up a Sonic Bird Deterrent

If you have a large garden, or a number of fruit trees spread out over, say, an acre, you’ll want to invest in a Sonic Bird Deterrent. These devices emit bird distress and predator calls that convince pest birds that their natural enemy is hunting them in the area. The sounds resemble normal bird sounds, so they won’t irritate your pets, friends or neighbors. If more than one species of bird is attacking your garden, there’s one sonic system that emits distress and predator calls for 22 different species of birds. This unit covers up to an acre of land and can be programmed to turn on or off at night.

Hang Up Some Visual Bird Deterrents

An economical way to go, Visual Bird Deterrents can be most effective in deterring pest birds from your garden, especially when used together with other bird deterrents. They include Flash Tape and Reflective Banners, which reflect sunlight and rattle in the breeze. There’s also Scare Eye Diverters and Bird Scare Balloons. These bob and weave in the breeze and have huge large predator eyes to frighten birds away. You can attach a number of these deterrents in high visibility areas throughout your garden to spook pest birds.

Is Your Garden Overrun by Crows?

by Alex A. Kecskes

If you’ve been invaded by crows, you know the damage they can do to your garden.  When they’re looking for worms or nightcrawlers, they can dig dozens of holes in your lawn in just a few minutes. Crows can also damage your prized flowers. And they can be extremely noisy, even in small flocks.

New research has shown that crows are among the most intelligent animals on the planet.  They can recognize individual human faces and pick them out of a crowd. They will also work together to defend their territories and use “spotters” as lookouts to warn the flock of impending danger. Without effective bird control, they’ll quickly ruin your garden.

If your thinking of shooting or poisoning them, crows are protected by federal law. While they can be hunted in certain states during specific times of the year, it’s best to check with your local fish and game department before attempting to shoot crows, or you could be in violation of the law. Of course, unless you live in the wide open country, with no kids or pets around, these draconian measures are too dangerous and impractical.

The best way to keep crows out of your garden is to use the bird control devices today's professionals use. Here are three suggestions:

Sonic Bird Deterrents

If you have a large garden, Sonic Bird Deterrents will deter crows from a wide area. They work on a bird’s psyche by emitting pre-recorded distress and predator calls. Crows will react to these sounds and avoid your garden. If your garden is also being attacked by other birds, you might want to invest in the system that emits distress and predator calls for 22 different species of birds. This system will cover an entire acre and you can program it to turn on or off at night.

Bird Spiders

Ideal for protecting specific areas of your garden, Bird Spiders have long spindly legs that whip about threateningly in the breeze to discourage crows from landing. Place one or two on a pedestal in your garden, and crows will avoid landing anywhere near them. Bird spiders come in several arm lengths to offer wider and wider areas of protection.

Scarecrows 

Using a motion-activated sensor to detect any bird’s approach, Scarecrows deliver a harmless but quite convincing blast of water to keep crows out of your garden. The devices connect easily to any standard garden hose and will protect a 1,200 square feet area (or a 35-foot by 45-foot wide swath). You can also adjust the sensitivity and blast radius to you specific needs.

Scare Balloons

These balloons are covered with a large eye, and will bob and weave in the breeze to appear lifelike and intimidate crows. The balloons can be attached just about anywhere, but should be moved around often—remember, crows are extremely intelligent.

Keeping Pest Birds Out of Your Garden

by Alex A. Kecskes

If you’re growing fruits, nuts or vegetables, you know the kind of care it takes to produce something edible and pesticide free. But now that spring is here, there are things you must do to protect your garden from invading pests. One of the biggest threats today’s gardens face is pest birds. Without effective bird control measures, your garden will have to survive attacks by the following pest birds this spring:

The House Sparrow, an abundant song bird, is a destructive forager destroying crops and gardens as they feed on seeds, fruits, and nuts. Redwings and fieldfares are nomads that will attack your berries. Flocks of invading mistle thrushes will devour your berry-clad bushes in minutes. The siskin, a small green and yellow member of the finch family, which will quickly eat all your seed producing plants.

Another bird to watch out for is the bullfinch, which can rapidly chew away 45 buds off a fruit tree in a single minute, stripping off an entire branch before you spot them and shoo them away. Starlings, common grackles and robins can destroy your blueberries. Cherries fall victim to starlings, robins, orioles and common grackles.

The best way to keep pest birds out of your garden is to implement the following, proven effective pest bird deterrents:

Garden Bird Netting

Opt for high quality netting. The best plastic netting for gardens is fabricated from durable, U.V.-protected polypropylene. It’s strong, light, easy to handle and practically invisible. You can either wrap your individual plants in netting or suspend the netting around an entire garden area. For fruit trees, measure the circumference of the tree and cut the net to size (allow at least one foot extra around the circumference). Secure the netting with twine, zip ties, or hog rings.

Sonic Bird Deterrents

These can be extremely effective and they’re preferred by many gardeners and growers because they cover a wide area without a lot of installation labor. Sonic Bird Deterrents emit pre-recorded bird distress and predator calls, which make pest birds feel too threatened to stay in your garden. Consider getting a versatile sonic system that can emit more than one sound—one system currently on the market can emit distress and predator calls for as many as 22 different species of birds. This system will cover an entire acre and you can program it to turn on or off at night.

Visual Bird Deterrents

Birds get real edgy and anxious to leave if they see what they think is a large predator watching them. That’s the theory behind Visual Bird Deterrents. The best of these are Scare Eye Diverters and Bird Scare Balloons, which are covered with large predator eyes. You hang them from a tree branch, patio cover or trellis and they bob and weave in the breeze to give pest birds the creeps.

How to Protect Your Home Garden from Pest Birds

by Alex A. Kecskes

It’s that time agin. Time to check how all your new fruits and vegetables are almost ready for the picking and eating. Ready, that is, if you protected your garden from pest birds using an effective bird control strategy. If you didn’t, you may find much of your garden has already been (or will soon be) feasted upon. By pest birds. Theywon’t hesitate to nibble and chew your fruits and veggies until there’s nothing left for you to enjoy.

Various species of birds will prefer to attack different parts of your garden. For example, crows and blue jays will go right for your corn.  Grackles and starlings will pull out and bite off your newly planted tomatoes. Mocking birds love to peck holes in your large beefsteak tomatoes—they usually prefer the one-pound, very green ones.

In general, many birds love to eat seeds and seedlings, as well as your fruits, berries and nuts. Other problem birds include gulls, magpies, pigeons, robins, sparrows and starlings. Geese and ducks can also wreak havoc with your garden. Besides trampling all over your garden, these larger birds can create quite a smelly mess in droppings. These droppings can carry diseases, which is not something you want all over your edible veggies.

The best way to keep pest birds out of your garden is to implement some proven effective bird deterrents.  Here are three the experts recommend:

Sonic Bird Deterrents

Easy to set up and use, Sonic Bird Deterrents emit bird distress and predator calls, which make birds think twice about invading your garden. One sonic system can emit distress and predator calls for as many as 22 different species of birds. It protects large gardens up to an acre and can be programmed to turn on or off at night.

Garden Bird Netting

The idea here is to deny pest birds access to specific areas of your garden. Garden Bird Netting is strong, light, easy to handle and virtually invisible. The netting typically comes in 14 x 100-foot and 14 x 200-foot rolls and three different mesh sizes--1/4-inch, 1/2-inch and 3/4-inch—depending on the size of bird that’s attacking your garden. The best plastic bird netting is fabricated from durable, U.V.-protected polypropylene. You can protect your vegetables by wrapping individual plants in netting or suspend the netting around an entire garden area. To safeguard fruit trees, measure the circumference of the tree and cut the net to size (allow at least one foot extra around the circumference). Secure the netting with twine, zip ties, or hog rings.

Visual Bird Deterrents

It’s often best to use Visual Bird Deterrents along with other bird deterrents. Flash Tape and Reflective Banners reflect sunlight and crackle in the breeze to intimidate birds. You can also get Scare Eye Diverters and Bird Scare Balloons, which have large predator eyes to scare birds away.

Related articles

• Best Bird Control for Fruit Trees (birdcontrolproducts.blog.com)
• Two Popular Bird Control Solutions for Your Home Garden (birdpestcontrol.us)