Design

How to stop birds from pecking strawberries. Bird net for strawberries: features of selection and installation, operating rules

Buy a mesh made of metal or plastic in the store, which has small cells in the form of squares or diamonds. The mesh prevents birds from reaching the berries, but allows water and sunlight to pass through. The net will not prevent the bees from pollinating the strawberries. You can easily do foliar feeding.

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Drive wooden pegs into the soil around the perimeter of the bed, stretch the net at a height of 35 cm from the strawberries. It can also be attached to a frame made of metal or plastic arches. The number of arcs is made based on the length of the bed. It is best to maintain a distance of 60-80 cm between adjacent arcs. You can collect fruits under the structure by slightly lifting the mesh, and then securing it again.

Scarecrow

If birds peck your berries, then build a stuffed animal:

Make a body, knock down 2 wooden boards crosswise.
Place dry hay, straw or newspapers in the bag; this will be the head. Combine the head with the body, put some old clothes, a hat on the scarecrow, and draw a face. However, birds can get used to the scarecrow, so improve it. Place cellophane bags, magnetic tapes, and unnecessary CDs on the scarecrow. They sway from the wind, shimmer from the sun's rays, rustle, this will protect the berries from birds.

Rattles and wind chimes

Make ratchets from any metal objects that make a rattling sound when they collide. Combine metal cans of canned food or drinks; they begin to rattle in the wind and cause fear in birds.

Stretch a small number of wires over the bushes and hang cans of cans close to each other. You can set up bells that will ring in the wind.

Although, this method has disadvantages:

Bells and jars begin to knock, ring and rattle only if the wind blows.
You will get tired of the noise that arises.
After some time, the birds get used to the noise and again begin to feast on the berries.

Colored repellers

It is believed that white color scares away birds; you can stretch a snow-white cloth near the beds. Attach white strips of fabric to the branches of bushes and trees. Also drive in pegs and hang red or blue flags on them.

Homemade turntables

Build a small moving mill, a turntable, from old plastic bottles.

Distracting Cultures

Plant rowan, cherry or sea buckthorn in your dacha. The disadvantage of this method is that birds can still fly in and peck the strawberries.

Onion

Birds do not like the smell of onions. Finely chop a few onions and place them in the beds.

Electronic devices

Record on audio media the screeching sounds of hawks, owls or the cries of blackbirds, starlings, magpies, warning of danger, and then play the recording. This method is perfect if you have a large area.

You can also purchase loudspeakers or electronic devices that produce sharp, deafening sounds such as gunshots, claps, or similar to the wail of a siren. Some of these devices may flash or glow brightly.

But if you constantly have loud noises, your neighbors may not like it, so this method is not suitable for everyone.

There are electronic devices on sale - ultrasonic repellers; they produce sounds that scare away birds that humans cannot hear.

If starlings and tits peck at strawberries, you can remove the tape from old unnecessary audio cassettes and unwind it around the garden. Stretch the tape over the bushes, pull the second layer at a height of 40 cm from the strawberries.

Then in the light the ribbon will shine, shimmer and cause fear in the birds. In addition, due to the wind, the film emits ultrasound. You can also use any shiny, wind-moving, sun-reflecting objects. For example, foil, cellophane bags, old CDs and DVDs.

Attach them near the beds. Buy an ultrasonic device that has an infrared motion sensor. This repeller will not allow any bird to fly closer than 10 m to the strawberry.

Video: How to properly protect strawberries from birds

Gardeners and gardeners grow strawberries (or, more precisely, garden strawberries) wherever the climate allows. This is a very tasty berry. Unfortunately, both people and birds know about this. Starlings, thrushes, sparrows, magpies, and even crows enjoy eating both ripe and unripe berries. Summer residents, especially those who do not live on the site permanently, have nothing left. Therefore, it is important to know what you can do to protect your strawberry crop.

How to protect strawberries: mesh and covering material

The most common solution is to cover strawberry beds with netting or covering material. All this can be purchased in construction and agricultural stores or on the Internet. Plastic, polypropylene or metal mesh with cells in the shape of diamonds, rectangles and squares does not interfere with access to sunlight and moisture to plants, as well as the process of pollination of strawberries by insects.

The mesh for beds is presented in stores in a wide range

Breathable, opaque covering material (Lutrasil, Spunbond, Agril, Agrospan) provides a greenhouse effect. Birds do not see the berries, and therefore do not try to get into the garden bed. But pollination in a natural way is impossible in this case. Without sun, strawberry bushes grow poorly, the berries take longer to ripen, and the harvest decreases. Excessive watering may cause plantings to rot.

Covering material allows you to hide the crop from birds

When closing the bed, pegs are driven in around the perimeter at intervals of 45–50 cm, onto which the material is attached so that it goes down to the ground. There it also needs to be fixed, for example, with bricks. Pull it quite tightly so that the mesh does not sag in the center. The height of the structure is 15–20 cm higher than the strawberry bushes.

Video: how to secure covering material to a garden bed?

Indeed, in this case it is problematic for birds to get to the berries, but the solution is not without its drawbacks:

You need to find a fairly dense fine mesh. An ordinary fishing rod will not work. Birds freely enter the cells. If the mesh is too thin, it will simply be torn. Consequently, finding the right material can take a lot of time and effort.
Price issue. If you have a small plot and 1-2 beds, you shouldn’t even think about it. And those who grow strawberries on an industrial scale must purchase covering material and netting in hundreds of square meters. It turns out to be quite expensive.
Caring for plantings becomes significantly more complicated. It is also impossible to walk through the garden, picking a couple of berries along the way. For any weeding, loosening, fertilizing, watering, or harvesting, the net and material must be removed and then the bed covered again. Such frequent use sharply reduces the service life of the material - holes are formed, which are immediately expanded by birds.
Birds that see tasty berries do not consider the netting a serious nuisance. Trying to get to them at all costs, they become entangled and stuck so that they cannot free themselves from the cells without outside help. We have to help people. Birds do not appreciate this and bite painfully.
An important factor is aesthetic. Just a net thrown over the beds looks very sloppy. This means you need to think about how to secure it beautifully. This means additional expenditure of effort, time and money.

The net stretched over the beds interferes with the normal care of strawberries and harvesting

The disadvantages can be partially mitigated by purchasing a set of special frame arches made of metal, plastic or bamboo. They are quite light, so no foundation is required. Their number depends on the length of the bed. The optimal distance between the arcs is 60–80 cm. They must be installed and the mesh secured on top - you should get a structure that resembles a section of a tunnel. If you find high enough arches, you can go inside, like into a greenhouse or greenhouse. This greatly facilitates planting care and harvesting. But the beds turn out to be very narrow.

When fruiting is over, the net is removed and the frame is dismantled until next year.

Therefore, the best solution is a net made of plastic, fine-mesh (so that the birds do not get confused), quite rigid (so as not to sag), attached to frame arches. Separate pieces will be needed to cover the resulting “tunnel” from the ends. Otherwise the design loses all meaning.

If you decide to use the mesh and arc method, the birds will not be able to reach the strawberries, and it will be convenient for you to care for the beds

Video: net for protecting strawberry beds

Boxes with mesh lids

Another option for protecting strawberries using a net does not have the listed disadvantages, but requires certain practical skills. If you have carpentry or joinery experience, build boxes with mesh lids for planting.

The algorithm of actions is as follows:

Select boards of suitable length and width.
Assemble a wooden box with crossbars every 60–80 cm, fastening the boards with screws and corner bars. There is no need to make it very high - ventilation worsens, the berries do not have enough sun. It is enough that the future cover does not touch the plantings. Other parameters are determined by the size of the bed.
Attach legs made of short bars to the box in each corner, sharpening them at the bottom. If the bed is very long, you will need additional legs on the long side. Since the legs will be driven into the ground, treat the tree with a special compound that prevents rotting. You can simply burn them.
Place the box on the bed and drive the legs into the ground, gently tapping the corners with a hammer.
Protect the structure from the negative effects of natural factors - rain, snow, cold, wind. A primer will help with this. It is sold in construction stores, but the composition prepared independently is no worse. 1 kg of slaked lime should be diluted in 2 liters of water and added 100 g of laundry soap shavings. All this is thoroughly mixed and filtered immediately before processing the boards.
Based on the dimensions of the resulting sections, assemble the frames for the lids from thin bars.
Attach the covers to the frame using hinged hinges installed on the outside so that it opens outward.
Cut out pieces of mesh of the required size and secure it with staples using a furniture stapler, bent small nails, and thin slats.
Attach a handle, loop or something else to each lid that allows it to be opened freely.

Beds in boxes look very neat and reliably protected

How can you scare birds?

Any methods common among people are not very useful. In the first few days the effect may be noticeable, but the birds are not stupid and quickly figure out what they are dealing with. Having discovered that something scary-looking poses no real danger, they boldly continue to destroy your berries.

Birds, flying into the garden in flocks, can destroy your harvest in a couple of days

Therefore, the methods described below should be alternated and combined as often as possible. This is the only way you will achieve a more or less permanent result.

Scarecrow

The “old-fashioned” method, used since time immemorial. Currently, the classic effigy of two cross-shaped poles or boards, dressed in old clothes stuffed with straw, with a bag representing the head, is practically not used for obvious reasons. The birds are not at all afraid of him. On the contrary, they happily rest on the “shoulders” of this structure after a delicious lunch. This is also an excellent position for looking out for the most delicious and ripe berries.

But your children will get great pleasure from the process of building a scarecrow. This is a great opportunity for them to show their imagination and creativity. You can use, for example, an old mannequin as a basis.

If you still decide to protect your beds with a scarecrow, regularly move it from place to place and change its appearance. The more radical, the better. It is also useful to secure the structure so that it rotates on a support.

Scarecrow is a traditional but ineffective method of scaring away birds

Somewhat more effective are plastic and rubber naturalistic models of birds of prey sold in agricultural stores, made in compliance with dimensions and proportions. Especially if they are “decorated” with something shiny and are accompanied by a device for reproducing and recording the sounds made by these birds.

An electrified mannequin equipped with a motion sensor, which would start making sounds and, for example, waving its “arms” when birds approach, would greatly help gardeners. But the introduction of such structures into production is a matter of the future. And the price will be appropriate. On small plots of land, such a “scarecrow” simply will not pay off.

Video: how to make a scarecrow?

Noise

Birds' hearing is much more subtle than that of humans. Therefore, they do not tolerate sharp loud sounds well. Try to save the beds like this:

Stretch several threads or thin wires over them and hang cans from them at different heights close to each other. A more aesthetic option is “wind music”. At the slightest breath, the jars and tubes will swing and hit each other, making noise. But you will have to endure it too. This is especially pleasing late at night or early in the morning. And every day, removing the cans and hanging them back will quickly get boring. In addition, the wind does not always blow.
Every day, turn on special audio recordings that reproduce the cries of birds of prey or the cries of feathered “pests”, signaling to relatives about danger. They are sold in gardening stores and online. If you want to save money, just turn the radio on loud. However, such sound will most likely not please your neighbors.

Color and shine

High posts are driven into the corners of the bed. A thin rope or wire is stretched around the perimeter and crosswise at different heights. They hang on it:

Old CDs and DVDs. Oscillating under gusts of wind, they reflect the sun's rays, throwing away “bunnies”. But in cloudy weather, birds hardly pay attention to them.
Unnecessary Christmas tree decorations, “rain” and tinsel, ordinary foil, as well as polyethylene or cellophane cut into “fringe”. In this case, the beds look elegant and festive. But if you overdo it with “decorations”, they are almost impossible to care for.
A tape extracted from an audio or video tape. It can be hung as a fringe and additionally pulled tightly around the perimeter, surrounding the bed several times. The tape not only shines and moves, but also makes a rattling sound that is unpleasant for birds at the slightest breath. It is almost on the verge of ultrasound, therefore it is almost inaudible to humans.
Bandages, white ribbons, flags and balloons filled with helium. There is an opinion that birds do not like the color white and are afraid of it. The balls can be made even more terrifying by painting something resembling an eye on them with red, blue or black paint.
Homemade pinwheels from plastic bottles. The plastic reflects light, and the structure rotates in the wind. This can be a spectacular addition to your garden decor.

Birds quickly understand that all this shine and rustle does not pose any real danger.

Old disks hanging over the garden bed glare in the sun, scaring away birds

Special devices

Science does not stand still, so special devices that scare away birds have appeared on sale. Most often, they are equipped with a built-in infrared or laser motion sensor, so they turn on only when a landing party of birds approaches.

The devices produce high-range sounds that are unpleasant to birds and inaudible to the human ear.

The device is equipped with a motion sensor

There are also devices that periodically emit loud, sharp sounds, reminiscent of a siren, claps or gunshots. Sometimes this is supplemented by flashing or glowing. On some, you can adjust the frequency and volume of the sound.

The sound gun makes loud noises when birds approach

Such devices are certainly effective, but are quite expensive. Therefore, owners of small plots of land do not even consider the possibility of such an acquisition. The harvest is not worth it; there are less expensive methods of protecting it.

Video: how to scare away birds

What to plant to distract attention?

Gardeners sympathetic to Greenpeace, IFAW and other wildlife organizations can offer birds an alternative source of food.

In a row with strawberry beds, berries are planted that ripen at about the same time as strawberries, the loss of which will upset you less. It can be bird cherry, sea buckthorn, serviceberry, chokeberry and red rowan, wild cherry. The method does not guarantee anything. Birds are not obligated to eat only the berries intended for them. It is very likely that they will destroy both them and the strawberries. But not a single bird will be harmed. Even morally, seeing the berries and not being able to get to them.

How else can you protect the crop grown with such difficulty?

The easiest way is to increase the planting area. This way there will be enough berries for both the birds and you. But not all summer residents are ready to share with the “freeloaders” the harvest, on the cultivation of which they spent so much time, effort and money. In fact, almost no one is ready, except for individual fanatical nature lovers.
Get a cat, or better yet several. Or at least periodically lure neighbor or stray animals to your place. To do this, you can, for example, plant valerian. Hunting, as a rule, is unsuccessful, but the very fact of the presence of natural enemies in the area will force the birds to be less impudent. A significant disadvantage is that animals carried away by the process of catching birds can trample the beds. And not only with strawberries. In addition, the presence of wild cats and small children on the property at the same time means the need for constant monitoring by their parents.
Birds of prey (hawks, falcons) are much better and more effective than cats. Crows are also useful in this sense. They do not trample the beds and do not feed on strawberries. Before visiting your site, a flock of birds sends “scouts” ahead. They will certainly inform others about those who protect your plantings, and will fly around the beds on the tenth route. However, maintaining one bird of prey is more expensive than ten cats.
Arrange a small stream, a waterfall, or a decorative fountain next to the strawberry plantings. Birds' hearing is much sharper than that of humans; they will certainly be attracted by coolness and murmuring water. There is a chance that, flocking to the water source, they will ignore the beds. But nothing prevents them, having rested in a pleasant place, then destroy your crop.
Place onion bulbs or onion feathers cut into several pieces on the strawberry beds. Birds really don't like this smell. The downside is that you have to endure it too. In addition, berries can also absorb the smell.
Before the strawberries ripen, scatter bright red wooden cubes, plastic bottle caps, and so on in and around the beds. Birds will try to peck them and find out that it is inedible. When the berries are ripe, the birds, remembering the absence of anything edible here, will pay less attention to your beds.
An option for the squeamish and strong-willed. Find a dead bird somewhere, bring it to your own plot and hang it next to the strawberry beds. This will help you get rid of birds not only for this season, but also for the next few years. It looks rather unaesthetic, in no way decorating the rural pastoral, and the smell is appropriate.
Placing poisonous baits on the site or total shooting of birds. An extremely unfortunate decision, even if you have the appropriate skills to prevent accidental hits on relatives, guests and neighbors, and the absence of pets, which can also be poisoned. Few people think about this, but in addition to the visible harm in the form of crop destruction, birds also bring significant benefits to the garden. In addition to berries, they feed on insect larvae and weed seeds. Now we have to fight them. By destroying birds, you will deprive insects of natural enemies, increasing their population significantly, and also doom yourself to endless weeding. This will require even more time and effort.

How to protect your strawberry crop from birds?

How to protect strawberries: mesh and covering material

: how to attach covering material to the garden bed?

Indeed, in this case it is problematic for birds to get to the berries, but the solution is not without its drawbacks:

You need to find a fairly dense fine mesh. An ordinary fishing rod will not work. Birds freely enter the cells. If the mesh is too thin, it will simply be torn. Consequently, finding the right material can take a lot of time and effort.
Price issue. If you have a small plot and 1-2 beds, you shouldn’t even think about it. And those who grow strawberries on an industrial scale must purchase covering material and netting in hundreds of square meters. It turns out to be quite expensive.
Caring for plantings becomes significantly more complicated. It is also impossible to walk through the garden, picking a couple of berries along the way. For any weeding, loosening, fertilizing, watering, or harvesting, the net and material must be removed and then the bed covered again. Such frequent use sharply reduces the service life of the material - holes are formed, which are immediately expanded by birds.
Birds that see tasty berries do not consider the netting a serious nuisance. Trying to get to them at all costs, they become entangled and stuck so that they cannot free themselves from the cells without outside help. We have to help people. Birds do not appreciate this and bite painfully.
An important factor is aesthetic. Just a net thrown over the beds looks very sloppy. This means you need to think about how to secure it beautifully. This means additional expenditure of effort, time and money.

The net stretched over the beds interferes with the normal care of strawberries and harvesting

When fruiting is over, the net is removed and the frame is dismantled until next year.

If you decide to use the mesh and arc method, the birds will not be able to reach the strawberries, and it will be convenient for you to care for the beds

: net for protecting strawberry beds

Boxes with mesh lids

The algorithm of actions is as follows:

Select boards of suitable length and width.
Assemble a wooden box with crossbars every 60–80 cm, fastening the boards with screws and corner bars. There is no need to make it very high - ventilation worsens, the berries do not have enough sun. It is enough that the future cover does not touch the plantings. Other parameters are determined by the size of the bed.
Attach legs made of short bars to the box in each corner, sharpening them at the bottom. If the bed is very long, you will need additional legs on the long side. Since the legs will be driven into the ground, treat the tree with a special compound that prevents rotting. You can simply burn them.
Place the box on the bed and drive the legs into the ground, gently tapping the corners with a hammer.
Protect the structure from the negative effects of natural factors - rain, snow, cold, wind. A primer will help with this. It is sold in construction stores, but the composition prepared independently is no worse. 1 kg of slaked lime should be diluted in 2 liters of water and added 100 g of laundry soap shavings. All this is thoroughly mixed and filtered immediately before processing the boards.
Based on the dimensions of the resulting sections, assemble the frames for the lids from thin bars.
Attach the covers to the frame using hinged hinges installed on the outside so that it opens outward.
Cut out pieces of mesh of the required size and secure it with staples using a furniture stapler, bent small nails, and thin slats.
Attach a handle, loop or something else to each lid that allows it to be opened freely.

Beds in boxes look very neat and reliably protected

How can you scare birds?

Therefore, the methods described below should be alternated and combined as often as possible. This is the only way you will achieve a more or less permanent result.

Scarecrow

: how to make a scarecrow?

Noise

Birds' hearing is much more subtle than that of humans. Therefore, they do not tolerate sharp loud sounds well. Try to save the beds like this:

Stretch several threads or thin wires over them and hang cans from them at different heights close to each other. A more aesthetic option is “wind music”. At the slightest breath, the jars and tubes will swing and hit each other, making noise. But you will have to endure it too. This is especially pleasing late at night or early in the morning. And every day, removing the cans and hanging them back will quickly get boring. In addition, the wind does not always blow.
Every day, turn on special audio recordings that reproduce the cries of birds of prey or the cries of feathered “pests”, signaling to relatives about danger. They are sold in gardening stores and online. If you want to save money, just turn the radio on loud. However, such sound will most likely not please your neighbors.

Color and shine

High posts are driven into the corners of the bed. A thin rope or wire is stretched around the perimeter and crosswise at different heights. They hang on it:

Old CDs and DVDs. Oscillating under gusts of wind, they reflect the sun's rays, throwing away “bunnies”. But in cloudy weather, birds hardly pay attention to them.
Unnecessary Christmas tree decorations, “rain” and tinsel, ordinary foil, as well as polyethylene or cellophane cut into “fringe”. In this case, the beds look elegant and festive. But if you overdo it with “decorations”, they are almost impossible to care for.
A tape extracted from an audio or video tape. It can be hung as a fringe and additionally pulled tightly around the perimeter, surrounding the bed several times. The tape not only shines and moves, but also makes a rattling sound that is unpleasant for birds at the slightest breath. It is almost on the verge of ultrasound, therefore it is almost inaudible to humans.
Bandages, white ribbons, flags and balloons filled with helium. There is an opinion that birds do not like the color white and are afraid of it. The balls can be made even more terrifying by painting something resembling an eye on them with red, blue or black paint.
Homemade pinwheels from plastic bottles. The plastic reflects light, and the structure rotates in the wind. This can be a spectacular addition to your garden decor.

Birds quickly understand that all this shine and rustle does not pose any real danger.

Special devices

The devices produce high-range sounds that are unpleasant to birds and inaudible to the human ear.

: how to scare away birds

What to plant to distract attention?

Gardeners sympathetic to Greenpeace, IFAW and other wildlife organizations can offer birds an alternative source of food.

In a row with strawberry beds, berries are planted that ripen at about the same time as strawberries, the loss of which will upset you less. It can be bird cherry, sea buckthorn, serviceberry, chokeberry and red rowan, wild cherry. The method does not guarantee anything. Birds are not obligated to eat only the berries intended for them. It is very likely that they will destroy both them and the strawberries. But not a single bird will be harmed. Even morally, seeing the berries and not being able to get to them.

Other ways to protect berries

How else can you protect the crop grown with such difficulty?

The easiest way is to increase the planting area. This way there will be enough berries for both the birds and you. But not all summer residents are ready to share with the “freeloaders” the harvest, on the cultivation of which they spent so much time, effort and money. In fact, almost no one is ready, except for individual fanatical nature lovers.
Get a cat, or better yet several. Or at least periodically lure neighbor or stray animals to your place. To do this, you can, for example, plant valerian. Hunting, as a rule, is unsuccessful, but the very fact of the presence of natural enemies in the area will force the birds to be less impudent. A significant disadvantage is that animals carried away by the process of catching birds can trample the beds. And not only with strawberries. In addition, the presence of wild cats and small children on the property at the same time means the need for constant monitoring by their parents.
Birds of prey (hawks, falcons) are much better and more effective than cats. Crows are also useful in this sense. They do not trample the beds and do not feed on strawberries. Before visiting your site, a flock of birds sends “scouts” ahead. They will certainly inform others about those who protect your plantings, and will fly around the beds on the tenth route. However, maintaining one bird of prey is more expensive than ten cats.
Arrange a small stream, a waterfall, or a decorative fountain next to the strawberry plantings. Birds' hearing is much sharper than that of humans; they will certainly be attracted by coolness and murmuring water. There is a chance that, flocking to the water source, they will ignore the beds. But nothing prevents them, having rested in a pleasant place, then destroy your crop.
Place onion bulbs or onion feathers cut into several pieces on the strawberry beds. Birds really don't like this smell. The downside is that you have to endure it too. In addition, berries can also absorb the smell.
Before the strawberries ripen, scatter bright red wooden cubes, plastic bottle caps, and so on in and around the beds. Birds will try to peck them and find out that it is inedible. When the berries are ripe, the birds, remembering the absence of anything edible here, will pay less attention to your beds.
An option for the squeamish and strong-willed. Find a dead bird somewhere, bring it to your own plot and hang it next to the strawberry beds. This will help you get rid of birds not only for this season, but also for the next few years. It looks rather unaesthetic, in no way decorating the rural pastoral, and the smell is appropriate.
Placing poisonous baits on the site or total shooting of birds. An extremely unfortunate decision, even if you have the appropriate skills to prevent accidental hits on relatives, guests and neighbors, and the absence of pets, which can also be poisoned. Few people think about this, but in addition to the visible harm in the form of crop destruction, birds also bring significant benefits to the garden. In addition to berries, they feed on insect larvae and weed seeds. Now we have to fight them. By destroying birds, you will deprive insects of natural enemies, increasing their population significantly, and also doom yourself to endless weeding. This will require even more time and effort.

The harvest of juicy strawberries depends not only on timely watering, fertilizing, and replanting the plant. Another important point in crop care is its protection from birds. Some gardeners, seeing sparrows, crows and blackbirds pecking at strawberries, do not know what to do. However, there are several effective methods that will help scare away uninvited guests.

Cultural information

Strawberries are one of the most popular crops in garden plots. Summer residents adore it for its excellent sweet berries. Another name for the crop is garden strawberry or pineapple. The plant belongs to the Rosaceae family. The height of the bush varies from 10 to 35 cm. The root system is fibrous. It lies shallow in the ground - approximately at a distance of 15-30 cm. The berries appear in the garden in early summer. They are collected already in June. Each berry contains a whole vitamin complex. It contains vitamins C, E, group B, as well as iron, calcium, fiber, folic acid, etc.

Note! Garden strawberries are good for the heart, immune system, and digestion. Calcium present in berries strengthens bones. Thanks to vitamin E, aging stops and tumors do not form.

Breeders have developed many varieties of this plant. Thanks to science, in gardens you can find not only red, but also white and decorative strawberries.

Known varieties

ü Avis Delight. A variety of red fruitful strawberries. One bush can produce 2-3 kg of berries. This strawberry is not afraid of cold summers and temperature changes. The berries are large and very aromatic. Increased percentage of sweetness.
ü Pineberry. A white variety with raspberry-colored seeds. The berries are quite small. Diameter is about 1-2 cm. The taste is sweet and sour. This variety is usually used to decorate dessert compositions.
ü Cascade. Decorative variety. The bushes are unusual. They resemble a vine. Just don’t wrap around the support, but simply hang down, forming a kind of curtain. The fact is that the Cascade grows a lot of whiskers; buds grow right on the whiskers, from which berries appear. The variety is planted in pots that are hung on the walls. This strawberry is suitable for growing in an apartment. Also used for garden decoration.

How to protect strawberries from birds

Ripe berries attract a wide variety of birds. Among the birds that love strawberries are the sparrow, magpie, tit, thrush, pigeon, and starling. Even a raven and a crow will not refuse dessert. Birds help fight harmful insects, but in the case of strawberries, they themselves become pests. At the same time, birds prefer to fly into plantings in whole flocks. Such an invasion can peck at all the ripe berries in half an hour, and return again a day later, because a new portion of strawberries will ripen. As a result, the bed is left without a harvest. Along with the berries, the birds remove other berry eaters, including slugs.

Protecting strawberries from birds (thrushes, crows, magpies)

Experienced summer residents have come up with many ways to save the harvest. All methods are quite simple to perform. Using one of them or the whole complex will not be difficult even for a novice gardener. Among the popular methods of protecting plantings from birds:

Mesh covering;
Shiny objects;
Loud rattles, bells;
Garden scarecrow;
Electronics;
Distracting bird crops.

Mesh shelter

A bird net for strawberries is the ideal protection for your garden bed. You can purchase mesh material at any garden or hardware store. A net made of plastic, metal or polypropylene is suitable. The cells should not be too large, but not small either. It is important that plants receive adequate amounts of sunlight and moisture. In addition, pollinating insects should easily fly through the cells. If all these conditions are met, then the farmer has chosen the right shelter.

Advice. You can arrange a garden bed for them using several techniques. For example, make a mini-greenhouse. Metal arcs are placed at different ends of the bed and in the middle. You need to put a mesh cover over them. The ends of the net are pressed to the ground with heavy objects. Usually bricks or heavy metal structures are taken.

In addition, you can drive stakes around the perimeter of the strawberry planting and cover them with a net. Provides shelter from birds. At the same time, the bed itself can be watered and fertilized without any problems. The berries are collected after the net is raised. After collection, it must be closed again.

Shiny objects

To the question “birds are pecking at strawberries, what should I do?” You can suggest decorating with objects that shine. For example, take unnecessary discs, Christmas tree decorations, foil, plastic bottles, video tape.

The decoration begins by driving stakes into the corners of the bed. They should not be too high. A ribbon or strong thread is pulled over them. You need to position the thread so that it appears crosswise over the bed. Next, a disk, a magnetic cassette tape, and then another disk are attached to this tape. You can occupy the entire space with only shiny discs or only with a dark iridescent ribbon. If desired, Christmas tree decorations and foil balls are added.

Gluing blades

A soda bottle can become a pinwheel. This item can be made in 20 minutes. So, the plastic frame is cut into strips. Then they bend in different directions. The wind will cause such an object to rotate. Such decorations will not only protect the harvest from annoying birds, but will also enliven the garden.

Loud rattles, bells

Loud noise can also scare away birds. Birds react negatively to crackling, ringing, and rattling sounds because they have very sensitive hearing. The gardener places bells and loud rattles near the garden bed. Such an original item as metal Feng Shui pendants will reliably protect the garden bed.

Additional Information. The simplest and cheapest means of making noise is empty beer cans. They are tied to ropes that are connected to each other. As a result, the wind will cause the cans to hit each other and rattle. For some time (as long as there is wind), this method will help protect strawberries from the invasion of hungry birds.

Scarecrow

A scarecrow is an ancient and effective defense against birds. You can do it without any problems. Take two beams or boards. One should be a little smaller. A frame in the form of a cross is prepared from them. Afterwards the frame is dressed up in clothes. A hat or panama hat is put on the top of the stick. To make clothes more like a person, they are stuffed with straw. Thus, the birds will be scared away by the scarecrow, which will seem to them to be the owner of the area. A good idea is to tie things that make loud noises to the stuffed animal. These could be beer cans, rattles, bells.

Electronics

Recently, a large number of unusual garden accessories have appeared on the market. These include electronic bird scarers. For example, you can find the following models:

ü Ultrasonic repeller;
ü Bioacoustic repeller;
ü Thunder gun;
ü Dynamic repeller.

The ultrasonic repeller produces sounds that do not disturb the peace of people, but which birds hear perfectly well. There are models that do not care about the size of the garden; they operate at high power and are capable of fighting both birds and mice and moles. If such a device appears in the garden, not a single rodent or bird will linger there any longer.

The bioacoustic repeller offers to save plantings with different noises. The device produces sounds and voices of forest predators and birds that birds fear.

Thunder Cannon

The thunder gun will easily scare away all the crows, sparrows, thrushes, and starlings that fly to the garden bed. This device beeps suddenly and quite loudly.

The dynamic repeller will come to the rescue both during the day and in the evening. It is an object that actively rotates and lights flash on it. There are options both electronic and those that do not require a network connection. In this case, the device is powered by the wind, and the lights are reflective elements.

Important! A dynamic repeller is a good answer to the question: “how to protect strawberries from thrushes?” Since these birds come to the garden from the forest and are quite shy.

Distracting bird crops

You can save strawberries by planting plants in your garden that distract the attention of birds. Among these crops:

Rowan;
Wild Cherry;
Bird cherry;
Sea buckthorn;
Irga, etc.

Which method is the most reliable?

It's difficult to say which method is the best. They are all quite reliable. However, each has its drawbacks:

Some gardeners do not use the mesh method because they do not see the point in it. Birds may become accustomed to the mesh and eventually try to open it. In this case, they will either get stuck tightly or make their way to the berries. In addition, the aesthetic appearance of the garden will be spoiled by the thrown cover. Another disadvantage of this method is that you have to buy the mesh in a store, spending money on it.
The downside of decorations with shiny objects is that the birds quickly guess whose hand made such a repeller. They quickly get used to the shine and begin to attack the plantings again.
Rattles protect the plantings for a short time. As soon as the wind subsides, the rattles will not make a single sound. Accordingly, they will not be able to drive away berry thieves.
As in the case of rattles and shiny objects, birds quickly get used to the garden stuffed animal.
The downside to planting distracting crops is that there is no guarantee that the activity will be effective. Perhaps the birds will feast on bird cherry and rowan, and then fly to the strawberries.
Electronics are, one might say, the most effective way to protect the territory from birds. But it also has its downsides. For example, high cost. Also, such devices can keep birds away from the garden for a long time, and this will be wrong. After all, birds destroy pests (caterpillars, beetles, moths, aphids, etc.).

Additional protection methods

A popular way to protect strawberries from birds is with a cat. The pet actively runs around the garden and scares away the pests. There are many examples where a cat saved strawberries and other crops from birds and rodents.

Some people practice keeping birds of prey in their garden house. Falcons and hawks will protect plantings better than any cats, rattles or stuffed animals. With them, you can refuse the offer to cover the bed with a net. However, maintaining such animals is very expensive and labor-intensive.

Advice. Experienced gardeners suggest organizing an impromptu pond, waterfall or stream in the garden. Then the birds will come to drink. They will satisfy the need for berries in other garden plots.

A creepy and original method of protection is a dead bird, which is tied to a stick stuck in the middle of a strawberry patch.

There are quite a few methods for protecting strawberries from birds. Each gardener decides for himself which one to choose. You can organize several events at once. For example, put up a scarecrow, cover a ridge with a net, get a cat. Then no one will get to the juicy berries.

How to protect strawberries: mesh and covering material

The mesh for beds is presented in stores in a wide range

Covering material allows you to hide the crop from birds

Video: how to secure covering material to a garden bed?

Indeed, in this case it is problematic for birds to get to the berries, but the solution is not without its drawbacks:

You need to find a fairly dense fine mesh. An ordinary fishing rod will not work. Birds freely enter the cells. If the mesh is too thin, it will simply be torn. Consequently, finding the right material can take a lot of time and effort.
Price issue. If you have a small plot and 1-2 beds, you shouldn’t even think about it. And those who grow strawberries on an industrial scale must purchase covering material and netting in hundreds of square meters. It turns out to be quite expensive.
Caring for plantings becomes significantly more complicated. It is also impossible to walk through the garden, picking a couple of berries along the way. For any weeding, loosening, fertilizing, watering, or harvesting, the net and material must be removed and then the bed covered again. Such frequent use sharply reduces the service life of the material - holes are formed, which are immediately expanded by birds.
Birds that see tasty berries do not consider the netting a serious nuisance. Trying to get to them at all costs, they become entangled and stuck so that they cannot free themselves from the cells without outside help. We have to help people. Birds do not appreciate this and bite painfully.
An important factor is aesthetic. Just a net thrown over the beds looks very sloppy. This means you need to think about how to secure it beautifully. This means additional expenditure of effort, time and money.

The net stretched over the beds interferes with the normal care of strawberries and harvesting

When fruiting is over, the net is removed and the frame is dismantled until next year.

If you decide to use the mesh and arc method, the birds will not be able to reach the strawberries, and it will be convenient for you to care for the beds

Video: net for protecting strawberry beds

Boxes with mesh lids

The algorithm of actions is as follows:

Select boards of suitable length and width.
Assemble a wooden box with crossbars every 60–80 cm, fastening the boards with screws and corner bars. There is no need to make it very high - ventilation worsens, the berries do not have enough sun. It is enough that the future cover does not touch the plantings. Other parameters are determined by the size of the bed.
Attach legs made of short bars to the box in each corner, sharpening them at the bottom. If the bed is very long, you will need additional legs on the long side. Since the legs will be driven into the ground, treat the tree with a special compound that prevents rotting. You can simply burn them.
Place the box on the bed and drive the legs into the ground, gently tapping the corners with a hammer.
Protect the structure from the negative effects of natural factors - rain, snow, cold, wind. A primer will help with this. It is sold in construction stores, but the composition prepared independently is no worse. 1 kg of slaked lime should be diluted in 2 liters of water and added 100 g of laundry soap shavings. All this is thoroughly mixed and filtered immediately before processing the boards.
Based on the dimensions of the resulting sections, assemble the frames for the lids from thin bars.
Attach the covers to the frame using hinged hinges installed on the outside so that it opens outward.
Cut out pieces of mesh of the required size and secure it with staples using a furniture stapler, bent small nails, and thin slats.
Attach a handle, loop or something else to each lid that allows it to be opened freely.

Beds in boxes look very neat and reliably protected

How can you scare birds?

Birds, flying into the garden in flocks, can destroy your harvest in a couple of days

Therefore, the methods described below should be alternated and combined as often as possible. This is the only way you will achieve a more or less permanent result.

Scarecrow

Scarecrow is a traditional but ineffective method of scaring away birds

Video: how to make a scarecrow?

Noise

Birds' hearing is much more subtle than that of humans. Therefore, they do not tolerate sharp loud sounds well. Try to save the beds like this:

Stretch several threads or thin wires over them and hang cans from them at different heights close to each other. A more aesthetic option is “wind music”. At the slightest breath, the jars and tubes will swing and hit each other, making noise. But you will have to endure it too. This is especially pleasing late at night or early in the morning. And every day, removing the cans and hanging them back will quickly get boring. In addition, the wind does not always blow.
Every day, turn on special audio recordings that reproduce the cries of birds of prey or the cries of feathered “pests”, signaling to relatives about danger. They are sold in gardening stores and online. If you want to save money, just turn the radio on loud. However, such sound will most likely not please your neighbors.

Color and shine

High posts are driven into the corners of the bed. A thin rope or wire is stretched around the perimeter and crosswise at different heights. They hang on it:

Old CDs and DVDs. Oscillating under gusts of wind, they reflect the sun's rays, throwing away “bunnies”. But in cloudy weather, birds hardly pay attention to them.
Unnecessary Christmas tree decorations, “rain” and tinsel, ordinary foil, as well as polyethylene or cellophane cut into “fringe”. In this case, the beds look elegant and festive. But if you overdo it with “decorations”, they are almost impossible to care for.
A tape extracted from an audio or video tape. It can be hung as a fringe and additionally pulled tightly around the perimeter, surrounding the bed several times. The tape not only shines and moves, but also makes a rattling sound that is unpleasant for birds at the slightest breath. It is almost on the verge of ultrasound, therefore it is almost inaudible to humans.
Bandages, white ribbons, flags and balloons filled with helium. There is an opinion that birds do not like the color white and are afraid of it. The balls can be made even more terrifying by painting something resembling an eye on them with red, blue or black paint.
Homemade pinwheels from plastic bottles. The plastic reflects light, and the structure rotates in the wind. This can be a spectacular addition to your garden decor.

Birds quickly understand that all this shine and rustle does not pose any real danger.

Old disks hanging over the garden bed glare in the sun, scaring away birds

Special devices

The devices produce high-range sounds that are unpleasant to birds and inaudible to the human ear.

The device is equipped with a motion sensor

The sound gun makes loud noises when birds approach

Video: how to scare away birds

What to plant to distract attention?

Gardeners sympathetic to Greenpeace, IFAW and other wildlife organizations can offer birds an alternative source of food.

Other ways to protect berries

Cats in the garden will help you cope with uninvited guests

How else can you protect the crop grown with such difficulty?

The easiest way is to increase the planting area. This way there will be enough berries for both the birds and you. But not all summer residents are ready to share with the “freeloaders” the harvest, on the cultivation of which they spent so much time, effort and money. In fact, almost no one is ready, except for individual fanatical nature lovers.
Get a cat, or better yet several. Or at least periodically lure neighbor or stray animals to your place. To do this, you can, for example, plant valerian. Hunting, as a rule, is unsuccessful, but the very fact of the presence of natural enemies in the area will force the birds to be less impudent. A significant disadvantage is that animals carried away by the process of catching birds can trample the beds. And not only with strawberries. In addition, the presence of wild cats and small children on the property at the same time means the need for constant monitoring by their parents.
Birds of prey (hawks, falcons) are much better and more effective than cats. Crows are also useful in this sense. They do not trample the beds and do not feed on strawberries. Before visiting your site, a flock of birds sends “scouts” ahead. They will certainly inform others about those who protect your plantings, and will fly around the beds on the tenth route. However, maintaining one bird of prey is more expensive than ten cats.
Arrange a small stream, a waterfall, or a decorative fountain next to the strawberry plantings. Birds' hearing is much sharper than that of humans; they will certainly be attracted by coolness and murmuring water. There is a chance that, flocking to the water source, they will ignore the beds. But nothing prevents them, having rested in a pleasant place, then destroy your crop.
Place onion bulbs or onion feathers cut into several pieces on the strawberry beds. Birds really don't like this smell. The downside is that you have to endure it too. In addition, berries can also absorb the smell.
Before the strawberries ripen, scatter bright red wooden cubes, plastic bottle caps, and so on in and around the beds. Birds will try to peck them and find out that it is inedible. When the berries are ripe, the birds, remembering the absence of anything edible here, will pay less attention to your beds.
An option for the squeamish and strong-willed. Find a dead bird somewhere, bring it to your own plot and hang it next to the strawberry beds. This will help you get rid of birds not only for this season, but also for the next few years. It looks rather unaesthetic, in no way decorating the rural pastoral, and the smell is appropriate.
Placing poisonous baits on the site or total shooting of birds. An extremely unfortunate decision, even if you have the appropriate skills to prevent accidental hits on relatives, guests and neighbors, and the absence of pets, which can also be poisoned. Few people think about this, but in addition to the visible harm in the form of crop destruction, birds also bring significant benefits to the garden. In addition to berries, they feed on insect larvae and weed seeds. Now we have to fight them. By destroying birds, you will deprive insects of natural enemies, increasing their population significantly, and also doom yourself to endless weeding. This will require even more time and effort.