How to scare birds away from berries in the garden - ways to fight. Protection of berries from bird raids

Merciless and destructive: a day, another and - goodbye, harvest. There are many ways to protect. Some, as it turns out, do not work, others are quite effective. End of July. We admire the pouring bunches of grapes and look forward to their final ripening, believing that all the troubles and worries are already behind us. But it was not there! August made his own adjustments to our plans, watering the grape bushes too abundantly with rain. As a result, the thin skin of the berries began to crack, and then uninvited guests came to us. Wasps. I didn’t want to give up the long-awaited harvest, I had to do something.

Experiment in anticipation of the harvest

However, insects prefer bottles with sweet bait to a more tasty delicacy - the grapes themselves. And then suddenly I remembered a publication in some publication, telling about the successful fight against striped predators.

How to protect berries from birds

Of course, there were doubts about the effectiveness of the method, but I didn’t want to share the harvest with flying villains! Yes, I remember, and it was said that in such a shelter the clusters feel great and continue to ripen for up to three weeks even at temperatures above 30 °!

The very next day something unusual could be observed. Wasps buzzed furiously in many packages, in some places - up to 10 pieces. I had no idea that these winged creatures could
crawl into narrow - no more than 1 cm! - slots. And the most savvy, right in front of my eyes, also managed to get out. Yes, we did not expect this ... Another minus also appeared - condensate formed in the packages.

The next morning, the "catch" was again found in the packages. Then the idea came that the punctures in the bags should be made smaller, no more than 3 mm, and their number should be increased. And so they did. But this did not in the least prevent the gluttons from climbing inside again, even the largest individuals did it masterfully. The question naturally arose: why did the wasps not penetrate the adviser's packages? Maybe they weren't as hungry as ours...

But the worst thing was that the berries in the bags began to deteriorate quickly. Now there was no doubt: the packages must be removed urgently!

That's when the wasp brethren arranged a feast for the whole world ... Hungry predators ... flocked thanks to our experiment from all over the area. Some clusters have become striped from the abundance of wasps. What was to be done?

And then the advice of an experienced winegrower came to the rescue.

And its principle is simple: the wasps are distracted by a very plentiful bait.

As such a bait, we used a mixture of fermented jam, honey, rotten grapes, fresh raspberries. This mixture was smeared on a sheet of plywood. The villains quickly found a fragrant delicacy and switched to it. Apparently, the actively evaporating sweet bait acted on them from afar, wasps flew at it much more readily than towards bottles. Gradually, the number of pests noticeably decreased, only a few came to “dine”. So the later varieties, ripening in mid-to-late August, remained safe and sound.

The experiment with plastic bags failed, and no one is advised
to repeat it. Unless grapes in bags ripen faster. But the bait on the "sweet leaf" is a completely different matter. As they say, live a century - learn a century ...

Soon we harvested almost the entire crop of sunberry. The last was the well-known Isabella. Her whips braided the arbor, stood, flaunted with tight blue clusters, as if chuckling: “But we are not afraid of either wasps or frost!”

In a previous blog about my redcurrant, I already told how I managed to find the most environmentally friendly way to deal with pests, but last summer the crop was again under threat - this time the birds became the problem. Previously, I did not notice that the birds showed interest in black or red currants - maybe they pecked at a berry or two, but it was unnoticeable. And in the last summer season, whole flocks of birds appeared on the territory of our garden partnership, which purposefully began to peck at the irga and red currants. It was necessary to find a way out of the situation again. Here, the aroma of birch tar (as in the case of pests) was absolutely useless.

To begin with, I “rummaged around” on the forums of summer residents, and they suggested one original piece of advice on scaring away birds. Its essence was to hang a shiny Christmas tree rain on the branches of bushes, which is used in New Year's decoration. As stated, the glare of the rain (from the wind) is very disliked by the birds, and they do not sit on the berry bushes. No sooner said than done. He took out a rain from a box with Christmas decorations and tied it in bunches on the tops of red currant branches. Indeed, after observing the behavior of flocks of birds, I noticed that they stopped landing on my bushes, preferring the neighboring ones.

But it was not there - the method suddenly stopped working. The reason was a complete lack of wind. The glitter of the rain had stopped moving, and the damage from the birds was visible again. Already 25-30 percent of the berries have gone to feed the bird flocks. Again, it took something to invent to protect the remnants of the crop. Then I decided to do something radical: completely close access to the bushes. I bought the thinnest covering material (width 3m) about 10 m.p. It cost a couple of hundred rubles. I took a stationery stapler and wrapped currant bushes with this material. To make it easier to wrap, I first pulled the currant bushes at the bottom with twine, reducing them in size. The only concern was whether there would be overheating for the bushes under this material, the days were still quite hot. But everything turned out well: after 10 days, when I opened the bushes for picking berries, all the berries were evenly ripened and the leaves on the branches were also intact - the ventilation under this material was sufficient and overheating did not happen.

So I also recommend it - the method has been "run-in" and whoever has problems with birds, you can try it. But I don’t recommend using a bird protection net - a neighbor on an irga tried unsuccessfully. Birds see berries through the net and stuff themselves into all the holes under it, and still peck at the crop. In my case, they don't see anything.

Instruction

Most summer residents, trying to protect strawberries or other bushy plants from birds, acquire a huge mesh with small cells. On the one hand, this is convenient, because the mesh will cover a large area of ​​the plant, while leaving the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits of nature. Yes, and insects - pollinators can easily penetrate under the grid. But if the mesh is strongly pressed against the bush and the berries are close to the surface, then the birds will often visit you. In addition, the mesh interferes with harvesting. And if we collect currants a couple of times a season, then strawberries ripen daily.

Birds are afraid of movement, sounds and glare. By playing on this, you can make a small carousel out of old CDs and magnetic tape. Install them close to the bushes and live in peace. Usually, a little noise from such a carousel and constant glare is enough to scare away those craving sweets. Perhaps it will look wild in the eyes of the neighbors, but it's up to you to decide: beauty or food.

From improvised materials, you can make a slotted spoon. It looks like this: cut the bottom of a half-liter bottle, then make small notches on the “body” of the bottle - wings and bend them. They need to create noise in the wind. The wings can be painted in bright colors so that the skimmer does not stand out in the flower bed. The disadvantages of this method, of course, abound. First, it does not work without wind. Secondly, it does not look aesthetically pleasing at all.

An old favorite way to scare away birds is a garden scarecrow. It is not at all difficult to make it: we knock together two sticks crosswise, a bag of straw and put a stick on one end - this is the head. Put some old clothes on the scarecrow and it's ready! Let the clothes be very “out of size”, with the wind it will swell so much that you will be scared yourself. But there is one minus of the scarecrow - over time, birds get used to it and cease to be afraid.

Many summer residents have discovered electronic repellers. These are devices with the voices of birds of prey, because of which you can lose all the birds in the area, including useful ones. Then you will have to deal with pests alone and also explain to your neighbors that you did not get yourself a hawk or a peregrine falcon. There are also ultrasonic repellers that do not interfere with people in any way, but create discomfort for birds.

Birds are also alive, they also grow and feed their offspring. Therefore, it would be an interesting idea to plant plants specifically for them - those berry bushes from which you will not harvest, for example, cherries, sea buckthorn, mountain ash. So you can painlessly for the birds to minimize their harvest costs.

Also a distraction is a small pond or fountain. In addition to eating sweet strawberries, birds also love to swim and splash around. It will be interesting for you to watch such a spectacle, and they will be distracted from your harvest and fly away to eat strawberries to their neighbors.

The heading is run by Radio Russia commentator Alexander Khaburgaev, host of the daily morning heading Palisade on the Mayak-24 radio station. Every Saturday from 10.30 to 12.00 in the programs "The Big Palisade" and "Home Ark" (103.4 FM) by tel. 247-21-83 you can always ask your questions live both to the author himself and to his guests. Comments and suggestions can also be sent by e-mail to our address: vvd@site

intimate story

One hot summer afternoon, the botanist Mikhail Maratovich Diev and I are walking along Mira Avenue. Suddenly he grabs me by the sleeve and drags me to the basement with a tempting sign "Intimacy": "Let's go together, otherwise I'm shy alone!" Nothing to do, let's go down. Maratych immediately rushes to the rubber beauties and asks the saleswoman: “We would like ... something more terrible ... with the most ferocious face, look for it?” The lady calmly began to explain what the advantages of each model were, as if they were talking about ordinary children's toys, and I felt that I was flooded with thick paint. "Maybe you want a black one?" - perked up the seller. "No, no ... - Mikhail Maratovich also toiled, but an interested eye gleamed under a raised eyebrow, - no, we don't need a dark-skinned one, we don't have them."

Why the botanist needed a rather expensive intimate product, I was embarrassed to ask, but the riddle was resolved by itself when a week later I arrived at his dacha. The first person I saw when I entered the gate was an old rubber acquaintance proudly towering over the beds. She was put on an orange tie-laying jacket, which was mysteriously found in a summer house, a police cap was pulled over her head, and a cunning thin plate was inserted into her wide-open mouth, therefore, turning on a pole like a weather vane, the young lady made chilling sounds. Thrushes and other feathered robbers simply fell on the fly from horror.

Abroad will "help" us

Who would doubt that starlings are beneficial? We hang birdhouses for them and tenderly listen to their chirping. Then they bring out the chicks, and those, like many teenagers, start just being naughty at first, and then they start acting hooligans and dirty tricks. At Diev, for example, they pecked all the tender tops of fresh growth from rare collection pines. However, starlings are mischievous not only at home, but also at a party - abroad. Ulyanovsk ornithologists, keeping a strict record of migratory birds, began to wonder - where do our starlings disappear, why do so few of them return? It turned out that zealous guards of European vineyards regularly beat the birds in flight. Although, of course, the benefits that these cute birds bring to our gardens and gardens are much more harmful from individual rascals. Therefore, make sure that next year everything is as it should be in Russia - "the starling flew home, the palace is ready for him." Remember, we already remembered. that birdhouses are our Russian invention? If irresponsible European farmers mercilessly shoot our "Russian glorious birds", then we will increase the number of starlings to spite them! Without us, they will simply die, because apart from birdhouses, they can nest only in deep hollows of old trees, which are almost gone in nature.

Recently, Maria Vorontsova, director of the Russian representative office of IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare), was in the Mayak-24 radio studio, and after the live broadcast she said that when you come to some countries of southern Europe, you are amazed at the silence - the complete absence of our usual bird noise.

"Where do they put all their birds?" - I ask, feverishly thinking about the possible reasons in my mind: agricultural chemicals, poison for rodents, ecology ... "They ate - Masha answers - they have small songbirds - a delicacy. According to our information, large deliveries of poultry meat from Russia to the network of European restaurants have already been arranged But we have just begun to work in this direction and we do not yet have comprehensive information.”

This is me so that you know - there is someone to take revenge for pecked currants, strawberries, currants, irga, cherries and chokeberries! If that makes it easier for you.

Feathered thieves

This year, red currants were especially successful. In the farthest corner of our twenty-hundredth site, two sprawling bushes were languishing under the weight of an unprecedented harvest. We figured that the berries would finally reach in 3-4 days and none of us went into this corner anymore. Then, literally for one day, I had to leave for Moscow. They returned, the wife took a basin, went for currants and returned upset: “They robbed all our bushes, they didn’t leave a single red berry!” The workers building a house on a neighboring plot were the first to be suspected. But all the same, somehow I couldn’t believe it: in broad daylight, pick two bushes, and none of the neighbors noticed? I'm going to the crime scene. Strange, very strange. The strawberries are whole, the strawberries tease with shameless red berries, the black currants are hunched under the weight of ripe clusters. Everything is whole. I go up to the bushes, squat down and discover even stranger things: the grass around is not crushed, the twigs are intact, but there are no ripe berries, only two or three small green ones dangle at the very tip. A person is not capable of such a jewelry work of harvesting. I get up, and then: “Fr-rr, f-rr-r-r” - two gray birds rushed out of the grass to the fence. Well, of course, thrushes! How did I not think of it before? These stray harvesters are much faster than us humans. A little gape, hesitated, and write wasted! No matter how much you run around the garden, don’t whistle, don’t wave your hands, but wait for your thieves’ hour and at dawn they will carry out another daring raid. A large gang robs a cherry orchard in a few hours! Moreover, during the raid, usually chatty birds act silently, so that the owners do not wake up. Most of all they like: irga, cherry, red currant and mountain ash. Although they do not disdain strawberries, they can also peck sweet fruits from the ripe side. By the way, at one time in the vicinity of Suzdal, where sweet ignorant mountain ash is often found, it was thanks to thrushes that I accurately identified trees with sweet berries. Birds remember them for life, and then show their children to their children. So the memory of thrushes, be healthy! So these same bandits will definitely visit my freshly harvested currant next year.

In addition to thrushes, other birds also mischief. Repeatedly caught red-handed among the strawberry beds of crows. They've been pissed off lately. And in the old days, any crow flew around the village a mile away - she knew, appear in front of people, immediately sticks and stones will fly at you. By the way, have you noticed that village crows are still much more careful than city ones? In one of the experimental gardens of the most famous agricultural institution, I once saw poles with the corpses of a defeated crow. In response to my reproach of barbarism, the employees immediately told me about the priceless collections of plants that guard these "gallows". Of course, such a primitive way of protecting crops and harvests is the least expensive, but, firstly, it is not so easy to get a crow's corpse (ask any hunter), and secondly, will such poles decorate pastoral pictures of your country life?

Well, then what to do?

First of all, understand the simple thing that there is no single panacea for all the troubles associated with birds. Only a COMPLEX OF MEASURES, and not one saving trick, will help to minimize (and not completely eliminate) losses! And now let's consider in order all the ways to deal with thieves. Let's start with the most ancient and least expensive - with a scarecrow. If I were in the place of firms specializing in gardening equipment and tools, I would seriously think about making serial stuffed animals. Or even arrange the release of several models. The cheapest one is an inflatable one that can be dressed up in old clothes. Then more expensive - a mannequin. And quite expensive - an electromannequin that waves its arms and whistles. Although the scarecrow has a very significant drawback: even the most stupid birds sooner or later get used to it, and smart ones (the same crows) instantly understand who they are really dealing with. After all, all animals are arranged in such a way that they cease to be afraid of something new if there is no danger from it. For example, a flock of common cranes, when you approach them, will rise into the air for three hundred meters, and a tractor can pass twenty meters from the birds and they will not even look askance at it. Not only that, they even distinguish between car models. When we were filming a television program about the "Crane Homeland" in the Taldom region, we still could not get close to the cranes themselves on the filming machine. And when the compassionate collective farmers put us in their UAZ, we drove up to a flock of 50 meters. What conclusions can be drawn from this information? That's right: move our scarecrow, the more often - the better so that it does not stick out in the same place for years. And it would not hurt to change his appearance from time to time, and radically, so that it was immediately noticeable. Yesterday our scarecrow stood here - in an old tunic and a wide-brimmed hat, and now here - in a white coat. In the West, life-size plastic birds of prey are sold for this purpose, very similar to real ones. They are recommended for warning to exhibit in the garden. Those of you who have seen small birds chasing owls, and hawks fleeing in panic from a flock of starlings, will doubt with me the effectiveness of such measures. Now, if you manage to get a well-trained hunting assistant (hawk or falcon), the birds will very soon realize that your site poses a certain danger to them. The fact is that the feathered gangs, operating according to the Panikovsky principle (remember: "Robbery, Shura! Only robbery!"), Before carrying out another raid, they send scouts ahead. If the harvest is guarded by a bird of prey, then the gunners will definitely inform the whole gang about this. But unfortunately, falconry is a delicate matter and it will take many years to comprehend all its wisdom (not to mention patience and talent).

A quarter of a century ago, I served at a military airfield. Even then, in aviation, the ornithological situation was monitored by special services. When large flocks appeared, the loudspeakers transmitted an alarm signal or the cry of a predator, which, amplified by the speakers, sowed real panic in the ranks of birds (indeed, what size is this monster if it screams so loudly). But the garden is not an airfield. Wouldn't you run to the tape recorder or even click the button on the remote control in your pocket every time you notice a thrush or a crow nearby?

Maybe barriers?

This is probably more reliable. Only if you create them, then you need to do it properly. Bushes and trees entangled in bright ribbons, as well as the aforementioned garlands, will not mislead the birds for long, and if at least one of them dares to dive into the loophole, then, be sure, all the others will instantly follow her example, as soon as they make sure that the girlfriend has emerged well-fed and satisfied. The barriers remain insurmountable. For example, I very often meet strawberry ridges protected in the following way: arches are installed above the bushes (as for greenhouses) and either nets or lutrasil, spunbond and other covering materials that let air through are stretched over these arches. All this is fine if you have only two or three beds in the garden, where berries ripen for the table, and if we are talking about other scales, then such measures are too expensive and troublesome. Now everything is in order: networks are generally a good way. You can buy fishing rods, but when using them, a whole series of big and small "buts" arise. To begin with, calculate how many square meters it will take to cover a dozen cherry trees and the same number of currant bushes, as well as strawberries (five or six beds), even if we leave the irgu with chokeberry to be torn to pieces by the enemy? Is it really sad?

In addition, if the cells are too large, then the bird can get to the nearest berries, and they are sweeter and larger than those that ripen in the thick of the crown. If you throw a net over strawberries, then, firstly, it will make it difficult to carry out regular activities to care for it (weeding, loosening, etc.), and secondly, it will not stop other thieves - mice.

Why did God create a mouse?

My son asked me to catch a mouse for him. On the third day of persuasion, I buried a bucket in the middle of a resting empty bed and poured a little bit of corn flakes on the bottom. In the morning, the child, to his delight, discovered a captive who, without any embarrassment, immediately accepted another portion of food from our hands. The mouse had a rather noticeable mark on its neck (a speck of gray hair), and after examining it carefully, we set it free. The next evening, the son again "charged" the bait, and in the morning the same mouse with a spot was caught. When she landed in the bucket for the third time, we decided to keep her there for a while to do some experiments. Now try to understand what a mouse is, in particular a vole. She gives from seven to ten (!!!) litters per year, each with 5 to 15 offspring! Females can mate before leaving their mother's breasts; at two months old, all animals are actively involved in the general process of reproduction, which is the only "national idea" for voles. In order to be fruitful at such a pace, remarkable energy is needed, which can only be given by abundant food. Even Lord Byron remarked: "Only hunger satisfies the attraction to the terrible vice of reproduction!" Therefore, each vole is forced to eat a huge amount of plant food every day (from your garden), almost equal to its own weight! Now, are you clear who you're dealing with? To top it all off, these cutest creatures, gravitating towards a colonial lifestyle, dig complex passages with numerous holes and chambers, which is also not good for plants, especially when their roots, instead of pumping the necessary substances from the soil, hang in the void. The Almighty created mice as a food base for a huge number of animals, so he did not give them brains. They feed exclusively on mice: vipers, owls, buzzards, small representatives of mustelids, to a large extent they make up the diet of foxes, wolves, and whoever doesn’t eat a mouse on occasion! With some intelligence, it's easier to dodge a predator, and you certainly won't hit the same bucket three times in a row!

So, while the vole was imprisoned, my son and I studied her culinary preferences. With great pleasure, she absorbed plant foods (strawberries, apple slices, cucumbers, cabbage), was indifferent to grains, cookies, cereals and crackers (this is winter food for her), and was completely not interested in cheese (by the way, contrary to a widespread misconception, brownies mice are absolutely indifferent to it). Okay, I won’t test your patience, because even a lot of interesting and useful things can be told about mice, so we’ll immediately move on to methods of defense and attack.

According to the laws of war

Alas, that's just the way it is with them. All our allies: cats, owls, weasels, hedgehogs can only slightly regulate the number of mouse-like rodents. Our task with you is not to exterminate all the hordes in the district, but only to keep the siege in our area. Some use special glue for this. The principle is that it is applied to plywood or cardboard around the bait and the victims plunge into the sticky mass. Since the prospect of extracting them from there and killing them by hand never appealed to any of my family members, we never used such a tool. Accordingly, I can’t say anything about them. If you break in buckets with bait near mouse passages, then I guarantee no less "harvest" than when using sticky traps. They go especially well on a piece of ripe fragrant banana. Then you will execute them to the best of your bloodthirstiness.

It's more humane to poison. Only, I beg you, if you use "grain" or other poisonous baits in the form of grains, do not scatter them all over the site, as grain-eating birds can peck them. It is best to pour poison directly into the mink or distribute it somewhere under the house. At worst, pipe trimmings are also suitable, spread them around the site, and further inside - poisonous bait. Birds will not climb there, and mice - easily.

Who is guilty?

Well, where are we going to get away from this second eternal question of ours? The answer will be simple and short: "We". In any case, no matter what tragic happens on our site (something died, withered, disappeared, something was eaten by pests, something was hopelessly ill), the blame and responsibility will lie ONLY ON OURSELVES. So, they didn’t guess, they miscalculated, they didn’t bother to find out the details, they were too lazy to take action, they considered it unimportant ... You can continue this series for a very long time.

Today we only talked about crop thieves, but there are also pests of gardens and orchards, about them sometime next time. Here I am writing these words and thinking: "I should have bought a rubber lady with Diev for company then!" It’s kind of embarrassing for someone to go to such a store. You look, and thrushes would not peck at our currants. So you still have doubts about the last question?

So immediately gluttonous birds fly in.
The most malicious garden pests that eat the berry crop in our garden are blackbirds and pigeons. I've caught them right at the scene of the crime many times.

After a couple of days, every single berry from a young sweet cherry disappeared, we faced the urgent issue of protecting the crop from birds.

To scare birds away from the harvest, they use bird nets (you can buy them at the garden center), as well as homemade rattles and other improvised means.

Bird net

If birds eat cherries, currants and gooseberries or take them away with them whole, leaving no traces, then strawberries are eaten partially, on the one hand. Apparently, a whole berry is too big for a bird. At first, watching feathered friends busily flying back and forth in the garden, I was glad that I could, and now they will actively destroy many - and. But after the cherries eaten by birds, there was no time for joy ...

And then I remembered the bird nets, which I had heard or read a lot about before, but didn’t really delve into - after all, there were almost no fruit trees and shrubs in our garden.
Fortunately, a couple of such bird nets were lying around in the barn, apparently left over from the old owners. I immediately hastily adapted these nets around a gooseberry, the ripening berries of which had already begun to disappear right before my eyes, and a cherry, on which the berries are still green (see photo). According to the rules, nets for protection from birds should be tightly pulled on a frame of pegs or bamboo sticks specially driven around the perimeter of the orchard, creating, as it were, a cage into which birds cannot enter. On one side of the perimeter, the bird net is attached not to the side of the frame, but to the top, so that it can be lifted up when you need to get inside.

We do not have a separate orchard, our fruit trees and shrubs are scattered here and there on the site. And there were only two bird nets. I had to adapt them, as it turned out. I hope they will still help us to keep the long-awaited harvest, or at least part of it.

Bird nets are the most effective method of scaring away birds and protecting crops in the country house or in the garden of a suburban home.
In addition to nets, there are other methods that can help scare away birds, although their effectiveness is not guaranteed. But such devices can be used both in the garden and in the country, and on the balcony, if the birds annoy you in a city apartment.

Shiny bird scarecrow

Unnecessary CD or DVD discs or foil molds connected and hung together (in a simplified version - just cut strips of foil). Such a simple design can be done with children.

Shiny moving objects brightly reflect the sun and scare away birds even when approaching a tree or shrub.

Rattle to scare away birds

A rattle to scare away birds can be made from any unnecessary items that can emit when colliding with each other. For example, empty cans of beer or other drinks tied together. Birds have excellent hearing, which helps them find food and water for drinking and bathing, warns them of competitors and of danger. Taking advantage of this natural quality of birds, you can try to scare the birds away from cherries, strawberries and gardens.

Some gardeners are wondering if it will work as a rattle to keep birds away from fruit trees and wind chimes. . This wonderful device received names in Russian - “wind music”, “wind chimes”, “air bells”.

In my opinion, wind chimes create a melody too euphonious to scare away the birds.
Bamboo air bells hung in our garden for a long time, they made a dull soothing sound, which, in my opinion, never scared anyone away. Only when a strong wind rises do the wind chimes begin to sway like crazy, creating a real cacophony of the wind.

Perhaps you have a successful experience of scaring away birds with the help of wind music - share it!

garden scarecrow, scarecrow

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