How do I stop finches from eating my sunflowers?

Question

This morning I woke up to the surprise of finches clinging to the leaves of my sunflower. I already have a feeder for them. Will this kill my sunflowers?

Answer 1

The ONLY humane way to stop birds from eating your sunflowers is to put "covers" on the flower heads. You can use sheer nylons or perforated plastic bags. If they're only chewing on the leaves, they may actually be after BUGS on the leaves, and it shouldn't hurt the plant. Sunflowers are hardy.

Answer 2

When you grow things you are part of nature.  Don't fight it.   What could be more natural than your plants feeding the birds.

Answer 3

Enjoy the finches!  Seeing finches on your sunflowers is a good reason to plant them to begin with.

They are harvesting the seeds.  It will not kill the plants.  Sunflowers are annuals anyway, and once they have flowered and produced their seeds, the plants will gradually die back.

If you wanted to save the seeds for yourself, you must put a bag over the flowerhead to protect the seeds from hungry birds.