What is the BEST way to stop these damn birds eating our fruit?
nonumbers,
Feb 17, 9:28pm
What sort of fruit? Trees or soft fruit like raspberries? If the latter construct a fruit cage with small mesh netting, if the former - dunno really, park the cat up the tree?
nz_nicola,
Feb 17, 9:43pm
I've found tying plastic shopping bags by the handles to the edge of the branches helps as they move and rustle in the breeze, other wise netting over the tree/ bush
ricp,
Feb 17, 9:52pm
Bird netting
thea4,
Feb 17, 9:56pm
Put water out for the birds they may be after the fruit as it is so dry
groovie1,
Feb 17, 9:56pm
someone in another thread mentioned hanging cds.
ambo11,
Feb 17, 11:06pm
I've tried the water thing. have various pans/saucers/containers of fresh water close to our Tomatoes. yet the #@*^$#ing Blackbirds still peck small holes in our fruit.
wheelz,
Feb 18, 12:31am
I use bird netting, keeps the majority safe. BUT there needs to be no gaps whatsoever, they are crafty beggars! And if the netting is sitting on fruit, they can still get their beaks thru . My trees aren't ginormous. Covering a big old established tree could be a mission. The CDs don't work, I had enough for a light show one year. They soon learnt they were no threat. Same with plastic bags. useless.
hammer23,
Feb 18, 3:13am
here is what I did. I put down some grass seed recently and the packet said "Bird Proof seeds" ,so I pinned the empty packet to a post and when the birds read the message they stayed away,so what you want is a similar sign on your tree. It has to work and if the birds can't read the message then send them to specsavers.
books4nz,
Feb 18, 9:08am
We leave the fruit at the top of the tree for birds, and use and share the rest. works for us!
lythande1,
Feb 18, 11:36am
Birds are smart. IT takes them no time at all to figure out something like that - if they were so nervous, leaves, washing etc would scare them. Netting or a cat. that's it.
sanremo,
Feb 18, 2:18pm
I use netting to protect my strawberries, but the tomatoes I pick off as soon as they start showing colour (ie before they are red enough to attract birds) and ripen them indoors.
oh_hunnihunni,
Feb 18, 2:30pm
I fight the blackbirds every day for the cherry tomatoes. I guess they haven't understood these are mine despite me telling them so every time I spot one flying off with a ripe one in its beak. Now I pick them early.
rainrain1,
Feb 18, 3:03pm
Every year the pigeon Peter Poser, eats all the berries from the Rowan tree, I've given up worrying because him's and me's got a good thing going, he likes his photo taken, and I like taking his photo.
Air rifle is the way to go. Shoot a couple and leave them on the ground so that the rest can see them they don't like seeing their dead mates lying around.
oh_hunnihunni,
Feb 18, 4:28pm
Now that's a good idea. Does it work on people too?
rainrain1,
Feb 18, 5:07pm
like. haha
figjamto,
Jun 11, 4:42pm
Netting is the best. also hanging old CD's will work better we have found if you slightly overlap two and glue together, hanging up they look like eyes. birds did not seem to like that . worked for us
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