Bird Pest Control in the Organic Garden

Stop Birds from Eating Orchard Fruit and Vegetables

Jun 15, 2009

It's possible to achieve bird control in organic gardens with a variety of natural pest control products and repellents that are harmless to wild birds yet effective.

The respect most organic gardeners have for their gardens usually extends to birds and other wildlife. That doesn’t make it any less frustrating when birds get the best of the blueberry crop or happily gobble the grapes before they’re quite ripe. The U.S. government and the U.K. have passed broad laws that protect most wild birds, their feathers, nests, and eggs from trapping, hunting, or collecting. This means that gardeners must find effective pest control products that pose no harm to bird populations.

Bird Control Netting

Gardeners can use bird netting to protect their fruit trees, berries, and vegetables from bird damage. Gardeners should shop for polypropylene netting, which lasts for many seasons. The mesh should be no larger than ¾ of an inch to reduce the possibility of inadvertently snaring a bird. Check the mesh twice a day to ensure that no birds are trapped in the mesh.

Bird Repellent

Gardeners can shop for a bitter compound made from concord grapes to spray on fruit trees to repel crows, starlings, blackbirds, and other bird pests. Several manufacturers make this non-toxic repellent, but gardeners can look for the active ingredient methyl anthranilate, which is classified as GRAS (generally recognized as safe) by the FDA.

Bird Ultrasonic Devices

Bird sonic repelling devices use real recordings of bird distress cries, alone or combined with bird predator sounds, to keep birds away from an area up to an acre. These devices are most useful to organic farmers, who need to protect large berry patches or fruit orchards. Bird ultrasonic devices may come with different programs, each geared toward a different bird pest. Farmers may combine electronic bird repellers with different visual scare tactics for maximum control.

Bird Scare Products

Bird repelling ribbon uses holographic images to create a moving pattern that scares birds away from gardens. Gardeners can cut the ribbon into two-foot lengths, fastening the ribbons to trees or to a wire strung between two posts. The slightest breeze, combined with the sun’s glare, causes a blinding reflection that frightens birds away.

Replicas of the great horned owl can deter birds as well as other pests, like squirrels and rabbits, from the garden. Owl decoys have improved over the lifeless looking plastic models seen in many home improvement stores. Look for an owl decoy that appears to be flying in search of prey when mounted. These owls are costly, but gardeners can combine them with scary-eye balloons, which give the appearance of predator eyes and mouths to birds.

The copyright of the article Bird Pest Control in the Organic Garden in Organic Vegetable Gardens is owned by Jamie McIntosh. Permission to republish Bird Pest Control in the Organic Garden in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.