How to Keep Birds Out of Garden

Typically, birds are welcome creatures in gardens. Birds are an essential part of the ecosystem. Sometimes, they may even benefit your garden.

Birds are excellent agents of pollination. Furthermore, they tend to devour all the insects that may pose a risk to your valuable crops. 

However, many times birds can also be a nuisance. Birds like bluejays, pigeons, and crows can destroy your crops, and they can entirely loot your crops and leave them utterly bare of fruit.

However, many gardeners wish to keep birds out of their gardens without harming them. 

You must also keep in mind that birds are not stupid creatures. They quickly realize the scaring tactics and conclude they are harmless, which is why you will have to tweak your ways to trick the birds. Here are some harmless ways to keep birds out of your garden.

11 Simple and Effective Solutions to Keep Birds Out of Your Garden

Scarecrows

For decades, scarecrows have been an obvious solution to keep away birds from the farms. However, if the position of your scarecrow remains stationary for a long while, birds might presume it to be harmless. 

For such reasons, it is essential to keep moving the position of your scarecrow every few weeks. If necessary, you can also change the scarecrow's appearance to convince the birds that it is not just a puppet. 

Garden Netting

Net barriers are the most effective way to keep birds out of gardens. To set up nets, you can use bamboo poles, tall stalks, and fence posts.

Moreover, there are several netting techniques to use. One of the most effective ones is butterfly netting. Butterfly netting is an excellent way to keep out the birds but also allow the small beneficial insects into the garden.

Moreover, always use holes smaller than a centimeter to avoid injuring small birds. Do not hesitate to invest in high-quality netting material because a good quality net will last you a lifetime and protect your garden.

Cheaper nets can quickly snag, hence allowing free entry to the birds. 

Chicken Wire

Chicken wire can protect the newly sown seed or plant tubers from pigeons and crows. Chickens or bluejays will not be able to scrape the soil.

Moreover, another benefit of chicken wires is that you can bend them around as the plant grows tall. 

Have A Party!

Vinyl balls and scary balloons tend to scare off birds. You can purchase them from your local store or the garden center. Hang the shiny balloons and secure them around the garden posts.

Furthermore, terror eye balloons are a popular way to scare pigeons. Light balloons can move slightly with the breeze, therefore startling the birds. 

If you cannot find terror eye balloons from a local store, you can craft them yourselves. Remember, keep moving the balloons from their positions after every few days.

You can tie shiny ribbons for an added effect. This is the perfect way to have fun while scaring the birds away!

Garden Fleece

In extreme winters, gardeners use garden fleece to protect the plants from frostbite. However, it can also be used as a protective measure to keep birds out of the garden. 

All you need to do is drape the white sheet over your crops to prevent the pesky birds from invading your green patches. To hold the delicate material in place, use rocks or heavy bricks. 

Toys and Plastic

Plastic predator toys can come in handy to keep the birds away from your vegetable patch.  A decoy owl or an eagle can do the trick and scare away the crows and sparrows.

However, keep moving the decoy frequently to have the maximum scaring effect on birds. 

Moreover, rubber snakes can also prove helpful. It is better if the decoys have lighting or sound effects. This fun trick will surely keep small birds out of the garden. 

Protective Plants

If you are not fond of netting barriers or garden fleece, you can confuse the pigeons with plants such as cornflowers, nemophila, and field poppies. Just sow these plants around the vegetable patches to keep the birds at bay. 

Typically birds do not cross through bushes, as they are alert to the predators that may be lurking underneath. 

CDs and Mirrors

Mosaic mirrors and CDs are a turn-off for birds. They are not fond of flashy lights or sudden movements. Hence, you can tie old CDs or pieces of mirror to the trees in your garden.

Further, you do not need to move flashy objects from one place to another. The light breeze can cause CDs to move in the air. 

Stick Jungle

To create a small forest of sticks and twigs, just push them into the soil around the field. The sticks should be tall enough to cover the length of the plants.

With a stick barrier, the birds will be confused and not reach out for the plants and berries. 

For instance, from an aerial view, a bird will only see a mess of twigs and sticks. However, this jungle of sticks makes harvest action difficult, which is why it is easier to use this method on a field of newly sown seeds. 

Windchimes

Wind chimes can also keep birds out of the garden. Their sudden movement and sounds are an effective way to frighten the small birds.

However, you should place windchimes in the middle of the field and not just on the outskirts. Also, wind chimes made of shiny metals are better options. 

Dogs and Cats

Perhaps the best way to scare birds is dogs and cats in the field. Dogs are better at guarding your green patch.

However, they may not stay in the garden 24/7, or maybe their attention can be diverted somewhere else. So you need to pair them up with any other scaring tactic on this list.

Final Thoughts

Here are the eleven effective ways for you to try out to keep birds out of your garden. You can try any of these tricks to save your vegetables; however, if those pesky birds become too much of a nuisance. You can always consider relocating your garden to a safer location. 

However, we are confident these eleven tips will do the work. Birds are loving and welcoming creatures. They play several vital roles in maintaining the ecosystem.

Therefore, it is essential to ensure they are not at risk. The mentioned tricks are entirely harmless and will not injure the small birds.