Why Birds Are Attacking Your Garden and What to Do About It

If birds are continually attacking your garden and you’re at wits end, there are some very specific reasons why they’ve chosen your garden over others in the neighborhood.

First off, you may have ripening fruit that birds love to eat. Tomatoes, grapes, peaches, apples, pears, and the like are all invitations to any bird looking for an easy meal.

If you have lots of leafy trees in your backyard, birds can perch on them without being seen, and dive in for a meal the minute you leave your garden.

If you have a birdbath, that will attract birds. And once they see your ripening fruit, they’ll feast on it.

If you don’t have a dog or cat, birds will shy away from any neighbors who do and consider your garden a safe haven.

If you don’t have lots of children constantly playing in your garden, once again, birds will not free threatened and visit your garden.

If you do have children and they continually leave crumbs and food scraps on your patio table and underneath it, birds will dive in for the smorgasbord.

If you’ve tried poisons to get rid of the birds, they’ll still come, since you haven’t removed the other attractions of your garden, e.g., ripening fruit. You could try leaving the dead bird to rot in your garden. This may deter some birds, but the sight and smell of a dead bird ripening in the sun is a pretty stiff price to pay. Besides, your family and neighbors will start calling you “Cruella” if you go this route.

If you’ve tried trapping birds and they still invade your garden, again, you haven’t removed the initial attraction—the food source—so your garden still presents an inviting place to feast.

So what can you do to keep birds out of your garden? Some suggestions from the pros:

Garden Bird Netting

Lightweight, strong and practically invisible,  Garden Bird Netting can be draped over your small fruit trees and vegetable plants to deny birds access to your prized crops. The netting comes in 14 x 100-foot and 14 x 200-foot rolls and is easily trimmed to the desired size. It’s also sold in three different "mesh" sizes:1/4" mesh, 1/2" mesh and 3/4" mesh. Be sure to get the bird netting clips for hassle-free installation. The best netting is made from a durable, UV-protected polypropylene.

Sonic Bird Deterrents

Ideal for large gardens, Sonic Bird Deterrents broadcast bird distress and predator calls that create fear and panic in any approaching bird. The pre-recorded sounds resemble normal birdcalls, so they won’t irritate your pets, friends or neighbors. If your garden is being attacked by several varieties of birds, there’s one sonic system you can get that emits distress and predator calls for 22 different species of birds.

Visual Bird Deterrents

Used with other bird deterrents, Visual Bird Deterrents--which you can easily hang just about anywhere--include Flash Tape and Reflective Banners. These flagellate in the breeze and catch the sunlight to distract birds. You can also hang Scare Eye Diverters and Bird Scare Balloons from your trees and patio covers. These will twist and bounce in the wind and display their large predator eyes to intimidate birds.