Is there a humane way to stop birds eating seeds or plants?

Question

We have a small vegetable patch in the backyard, there are birds constantly eating the plants, and we see that the birds near our house are a lot more plump than the ones of the neighbours! Is there a humane way to stop this?

Answer 1

Yes there are many many ways to safely keep the birds from doing so.  Check out www.motherearthnews.com they have tops about this and many many more that will be of some use to you in one way or another.

Answer 2

1. Bird scarer was used in olden days. This produces sounds intermittently.

2. Protection using a net.

3. Presence of a dog is easy method to scare them away.

4. Use red colored metals, hanging on different places.

5. Place mirrors at elevated position.

6. Electronic motion detectors are available and connect it with sound producing devices.

Answer 3

What you may be seeing is your plants not so much eaten, but damaged from their foraging for insects, larvae, and worms. When you turn up the soil they are very appreciative and a great help to keep bad bugs out. They don't know they are causing damage. As above, cassette tape strung until the plants are larger will help a lot, as they are afraid to fly threw it. Also try  bottomless cups or cans (clear cups are great little green house) but the bottoms need to be off and the can't block out sun. Then birds can do their job and should be encouraged. If your plants are disappearing and you are thinking it is birds, it is probably not. It is rabbit, ground hog, or other rodent pulling the switch on you. You need a buried fence and that is still just a puzzle for them to sort out and usually that day. I learned the hard way and all my efforts one year many many moons ago was met with the rodent secret weapon of choice: they just moved into the garden so they had a lot to eat and a fence to protect them. I didn't even find the hole until I almost fell in it accidentally while weeding. So, in short, you probably don't have birds except as an accident of foraging and they can't cause that much damage. Put some bird feeders out on the other side of the property until plants come up. Mulch seeds and plants which they need for health as well as protection. Keep your eyes out especially in the earliest morning for little furred critters. If you want, put some hot pepper dust on the seeds, but it may not help much.

Answer 4

Hang old cd's up from the bushes,birds hate flashing lights and will fly away from them.

Answer 5

Give them something better to eat on. Keep some bird feeders around and keep them filled. They will soon switch to the feeders from your garden. You switch from disliking your birds to being a bird lover.

Answer 6

You can get material similar to mosquito netting and cover your veggies. Put in some wooden posts in rows to leave a gap from the veggies to the covering. Then when you need to work in the veggie patch you simply fold it back and when you are not there the birds and bugs find it hard to get in. also if you put plastic bottle lids on top of the wooden poles the material wont rip.

Answer 7

Have you tryed aluminum pie pans tied near the garden, or try spraying with pest spray. If they are larger birds like crows you may have to constinely scare them away.