Keep the birds away from your garden
You spent hours this Sunday toiling in your garden planting small plants that will soon sprout flowers. You go to sleep smiling at the thought of how beautiful your garden will look. But when you check out your garden's progress on Monday morning, you see that hungry birds have eaten all your tiny plants! No more daisies, no more begonias: The only evidence of your work are a few stems. How do you stop birds from ruining your garden? Follow these tips to prevent future occurrences.
— Plant seeds in peat pots indoors. Once the plants have two sets of leaves, plant them outdoors. Birds often eat plants because of their sweet taste. But this taste wanes after the second set of leaves.
— Cover seedbeds with floating row covers. These covers allow light, water, and oxygen to seep through while protecting against insects and birds.
— Birds get scared easily, so use that to your advantage. On sticks, attach some old CDs and some flash tape (a Mylar tape). Place the sticks near your garden. The CDs and tape will flutter in the breeze and scare away some birds.
— Cover the seedbed with bird netting. Be forewarned that you may have to release birds from the netting if they get caught in it.
— Set the sprinkler system to go on and off at 15-minute intervals. The sudden bursts of water will scare off the birds.
— Plant individual seeds inside milk cartons. It will prevent birds from reaching the seedlings.
Whichever method you choose, keep at it. Birds will always want to eat your new plants. But with some extra effort, you will be able to keep the birds in the sky and your plants in the garden!
