How to protect strawberries from birds. How to protect strawberries from birds: the most effective ways

Garden strawberries are a widespread crop grown throughout the world. Long years of selection (strawberries have been grown since about 1300) have led to the fact that the harvest can be obtained even in the most unfavorable climate. Different ones differ in color, size and shape of the fruit, aroma, degree of fertility, period of flowering and ripening of berries, and degree of susceptibility to diseases. However, even inexperienced gardeners can grow this crop.

It cannot be said that it is an unpretentious plant, but if you follow certain rules, it will delight you with a high yield. The question really arises: “How to save the harvest from birds?” All birds eat ripe and sweet fruits with great pleasure, and sometimes are content with unripe ones. In any case, there is practically nothing left for the person. Therefore, protecting strawberries from birds becomes a top priority. There are quite a few methods, it remains to determine which one will be the most effective.

How to protect strawberries from birds using a special net

Mechanical protection is the most radical and, perhaps, the most effective method. Bird netting for strawberries is available at any farm store. It is made of plastic, most often polypropylene, with square or diamond-shaped small cells. Such a network protects the crop from birds, while not preventing the penetration of water and sunlight to the plants. In addition, such protection does not interfere with plant pollination; the net does not need to be removed during spraying.

How to protect strawberries from birds using a scarecrow

Representing a straw bag with a hat and broom arms, it is practically not used today. Birds get used to it very quickly and soon stop reacting to it. A much more effective method of repelling would be thin cellophane tapes that sway with the slightest breath of wind. For the same purpose, you can use old cassette tapes, which not only sway, but also shimmer in the sun.

How to Protect Strawberries from Birds Using Noise

Garden rattles or carbide guns that fire at regular intervals work well at first, but over time the birds get used to loud and sharp sounds. You can periodically change the frequency of noise effects, but this technique requires constant human control.

How to Protect Strawberries from Birds Using Diversion Crops

This method of protection is the most humane in relation to birds, and all nature lovers should appreciate it. In order to distract birds from garden strawberries, you can plant several fruit trees: bird cherry, sea buckthorn, wild cherry. The disadvantage of this method is that there is no guarantee that the birds will choose to eat only the berries intended for them.

The most unsuccessful method was considered to be total extermination, when birds are poisoned or shot. The effect is either zero or leads to the exact opposite result - a lot of insect pests appear on the beds, which destroy all the fruits at an even greater speed.

Garden crops and their fruits are of interest not only to the owner of the site, but also to birds. To minimize the damage that the latter can cause, today there are a lot of effective methods and options that allow you to preserve the harvest without radical measures regarding the destruction of uninvited guests.

Ways to protect berries

Strawberries are held in special regard by gardeners, so their cultivation occurs everywhere and not only in open ground, but also in greenhouse conditions in regions where its cultivation is impossible in light of the climate. IN the latter case there is much less risk of losing the harvest, since the berries are reliably protected by being placed inside the greenhouse. As for the garden, there are quite a lot of people who want to eat strawberries. Sparrows, starlings, crows and many other species of birds quite often visit vegetable gardens and orchards, consuming not only ripe Victoria, but also unripe fruits.

As a result, summer residents who are irregularly present on their plots, and land owners who permanently live nearby, have to take measures to preserve the harvest. And since this issue has been relevant for decades, the owners of berry crops have a large arsenal of all kinds of effective methods to protect strawberries from birds and protect their harvest.

Summer residents and gardeners, along with folk remedies, use modern options, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages. Most effective methods are modernized, less effective ones are forgotten.

Most often they resort to covering the beds with netting or other similar raw materials. Such materials are freely available in markets and supermarkets; in addition, the selection of products allows you to choose a product to suit every taste. As practice shows, if you cover berry bushes with a plastic or metal mesh, the honeycombs will not become an obstacle to the penetration of sunlight, moisture and will allow insects to pollinate the crop, but will become a barrier for birds.

The cells can have different shapes, for example, a square or a rhombus, the main thing is to correctly determine the size.

Also, in order to save the beds, you can use a breathable, opaque material - Agril or Spunboard, which will hide the berries from birds and create the effect of a greenhouse inside. But in this option, natural pollination for plants will become impossible, and without sunlight, strawberries will noticeably lag behind in ripening.

The berry plantations are closed along the entire perimeter; to secure the material, pegs are driven into the ground in half-meter increments. As additional reinforcement, the raw materials are pressed to the ground with heavy objects. The tension should be as tight as possible to avoid sagging in the center. The recommended height of the structure should be an average of 20 centimeters higher than the bushes.

However, the work may be fraught with some difficulties when choosing a mesh, since the material must have maximum density, but at the same time a fine-mesh structure. You should avoid using a fishing net, since it will be ineffective in this matter.

In addition, the final cost of such a protective structure is important. If there is a need to cover a small area, then financially it will not be so expensive, but for those who cultivate the plant on an industrial scale, purchasing the material will seriously hit their pockets.

It is also worth noting that such a fence will bring some inconveniences associated with agricultural technology related to the crop, since for any work the question may arise of removing the mesh, which significantly reduces its service life.

To brighten up the negative side of the method, you can build a special frame structure using arcs made of metal or other material. This option does not require an additional foundation; the arcs are placed at a selected distance from each other based on the landing area, and a mesh is fixed on top of them. To solve the issue of comfortable maintenance work, you can think about the height of the structure, which would allow the summer resident to freely penetrate inside. This structure is seasonal in nature, so after the end of fruiting it is dismantled.

To prevent birds from becoming entangled in the net, it is still worth purchasing polypropylene material. Besides, similar option has a rather attractive appearance.

In addition to using netting and covering material, planting crops near ridges that will distract the birds' attention would be a good protection. The bait can be rowan, cherry or other plants with bright fruits. However, in this case, there is no guarantee that when planting a bush or tree you can guess the taste preferences of birds.

A good humane option for protecting strawberries would be to arrange a small source of water nearby, since birds will pay more attention to it and will be attracted by the sound of flowing water. However, the disadvantage of this method is that after resting water source birds can calmly go in search of food, and still peck at the beds of garden strawberries.

More in a modern way One way to save crops at the dacha is to use bird mordant. This method consists of treating berry plantations with special agents that negatively affect the taste of the fruit specifically for birds, but do not in any way affect humans or animals.

What can you do to scare away?

Various methods of scaring away birds act as a unique method of protecting strawberries.

This can be done using the sounds of birds of prey recorded on any media. This option is a win-win for owners of large plantations with berries. Nowadays there is no need to spend a long time searching for suitable audio recordings in pet stores, since audio files are freely available on the Internet.

Many gardeners prefer this option, since it makes it possible to scare away not only small birds from the area, but also rodents, which also eat the ripe berry crop.

A significant disadvantage of using loud sounds is the fact that in this way you can cause an unpleasant reaction from your neighbors, in light of which not everyone can use it. The way out of the situation will be the use of specialized electronic devices that produce low-frequency sounds that do not cause discomfort in humans, but have an effect on birds.

If birds eat berries in the garden beds, you can resort to using tape from old cassettes to scare them away. A stretched film in the form of a web on the site, with its shine from the sun, will help discourage those who want to feast on the fruits. In addition to the visual effect, the film will make sounds in the wind, which will also discourage birds from visiting the area.

A similar result can be achieved if you place any other shiny and rustling objects in the garden, for example, pieces of foil or cellophane bags. It will be enough to hang them on trees near berry crops.

You can also choose CDs or DVDs as objects on the surface of which bright and repellent glare from the sun's rays is created.

A proven way to combat bird infestations is to install a scarecrow. You can do it yourself. To do this, you need to connect two boards with a cross, which will act as a body. You can simply make a head from a bag or sack filled with lightweight material, such as newspapers. Having connected all the parts, you can put unnecessary things on the scarecrow and draw a face or put on a mask.

The disadvantage of such a “guard” will be that birds will get used to it quite quickly, as a result the stuffed animal will become a place for birds to be placed in the garden. To avoid this, the scarecrow can also be supplemented with bright accessories in the form of the same disks or ribbons, which will move in the wind and make sounds that are guaranteed to scare away the birds. Some more advanced summer residents and gardeners specifically purchase stuffed animals of large birds of prey for installation in the garden, which can make frightening sounds. Similar specimens can be purchased at garden stores.

Rattles or bells will also serve as a deterrent. You can make similar ratchets yourself. Any unnecessary things will do for this, but it is better if they are made of metal. Homemade rattles can be made from tin cans. Such things will make quite a lot of noise, which will help drive out the birds, but the disadvantage of this method is that they can only function in windy weather.

Sometimes bells are placed in areas, but their sound will become a nuisance for the birds only for the first time; gradually they will get used to it and stop reacting.

While studying birds, scientists noticed that they are wary of the color white, so gardeners often wear light-colored textiles near strawberry beds. Sometimes branches of trees growing in the garden are tied with white film or pieces of fabric. As color options for scaring away birds, flags painted bright blue or red are used, which are usually placed between rows.

Another homemade item that allows you to save your harvest is making windmills from plastic containers. If you add elements to such mills that produce sounds during movement, moving multi-colored blades and noise are guaranteed to bring the expected result. In addition, such items can become a decorative element to decorate the garden. The downside of the products will be that birds quickly get used to such things in the garden.

The list of items and inventions that gardeners use to scare birds away from their crops is quite large, so we can highlight the most effective of them.

• It has been established that birds cannot tolerate the smell of onions. If you place chopped heads near the beds with garden strawberries or fasten them on tree branches, you can protect the berries. In addition, there are special products on sale in the form of a gel, which are characterized by the aromas of plants that have a repellent effect.
• The presence of a cat can make some adjustments to the behavior of birds that eat strawberries on garden plots. The animal is unlikely to be able to catch all the birds that peck at the beds, but its presence will be beneficial.
• Today on sale you can find various devices with infrared sensors, which will not allow even a small bird to approach the garden bed.



The work scheme consists of the following sequential actions.

• A box is made from the boards with jumpers every 50-60 centimeters. It is important to make it of such a size that the structure is not too high, as this will negatively affect the ventilation of the beds. However, the size largely depends on the area of ​​plantings and the variety of garden strawberries.
• Legs made of treated or fired timber are nailed to the bottom of the box. Wood processing is mandatory, as this will avoid rotting of the raw materials.
• The box goes deep into the ground, after which the material must be treated from the effects of negative factors environment such as precipitation, freezing temperatures and wind.
• Next you need to assemble the frames for the lids. They are secured with hinges so that they open outward. For convenience, each one should have a handle attached.
• After this, work is carried out with a covering material - mesh. It is necessary to cut pieces of the appropriate size from the total roll and secure them to the frames using small nails and a stapler.

Strawberries ripen earlier than others, so they are in great demand among children, and are also considered an additional source of income for many gardeners. Strawberries can be considered a demanding crop, because in order to obtain good yields and large berries, it is necessary to constantly loosen the beds, remove weeds, fertilize and water the plants. The gardener can do everything right, but ripening strawberries are often damaged by voracious birds. Now we’ll find out how to protect the berries.

The fight against birds is considered a pressing problem for many gardeners, so their arsenal is being replenished with new and promising means of protection. If earlier summer residents used stuffed animals, various rattles, scraps of foil and cassette tape to scare away birds, now they can purchase special devices for scaring birds in the store. The main pests of strawberries are starlings, sparrows, and pigeons. In addition to the described berries, they also harm other crops, such as black currant, cherries, raspberries and many others. In large numbers, birds can destroy a crop in a matter of hours, so every gardener should know how to deal with them. Next, we describe the main devices for protecting berries.

Electronic bird repellents

Such devices are considered one of the most promising, but they are very expensive. Electronic device capable of producing the sounds of birds of prey (hawk, owl) with a certain frequency. Note that it is more advisable to use this method of scaring away birds on large berry plantations away from populated areas, since loud screams can cause indignation on the part of neighbors. There are also electronic devices, which can drive away birds without affecting humans.

Using cassette film and CDs to protect strawberry plants

The use of the described protection methods is considered one of the most economical options. They take old cassettes, remove the tape and secure it on pegs throughout the area. The tape can be attached to supports in several layers. To enhance the effect, old, unnecessary CDs are attached to trees growing nearby. You can also hang multi-colored New Year's rain on threads.

Birds are afraid of shiny objects and noise. In sunny weather, the surface of discs and tapes will reflect Sun rays. In case of strong wind, the film will emit low-frequency sounds that scare away birds.

Protecting strawberry plants with a special mesh

A special mesh made of plastic or polypropylene is considered one of the most popular means of protecting the harvest of any berries from voracious birds. The mesh protects strawberries from pests, but allows moisture and light through, as well as bees that pollinate the flowers of this plant. The shelter also does not interfere with various work on caring for strawberries, for example, watering or fertilizing with liquid fertilizers.

Covering crops is quite simple. First, wooden pegs are driven into the area, then the mesh is stretched and its edges are pressed. You can also mount the shelter using a frame of branches or metal arches. Some gardeners make a mesh shelter similar to a greenhouse, which allows them to penetrate inside and carry out all the necessary agrotechnical measures to care for the plant.

Scarecrow

The garden scarecrow reminds birds of a human figure, so in the first time after its installation they will not risk flying up to the area with berries. To construct the scarecrow, a board is driven into the ground, the second one is fixed a little higher to form a cross. Next, take a small bag, fill it with straw and secure it at the top of the scarecrow (this will be the head). Now you need to put on the mannequin, fasten the hat, hang CDs to beat off sunlight and various rattles that will make a sound when the wind blows.

Gardeners spend a lot of effort to get good harvest berries, including strawberries. But even if it was obtained, if diseases and insect attacks were avoided, if the weather was good, the berry harvest may still be less than normal. The reason is such lovers of everything sweet as birds. And one of the most effective solutions against them - just a covering net for strawberries from birds.

Nuances of use

There is a whole arsenal of means that are designed to protect plantings from beaks aiming from the sky. But still, it is the mesh structures that must be recognized as the most effective option"garden air defense". Almost all known bird species living in Russia pose a danger to fruits. The only exceptions are predators. A high-quality protective solution should stop crows and sparrows, rooks and cranes, pigeons and tits equally well.

Compared to the grid, all other solutions to the problem are inferior:

• keeping birds of prey is expensive;
• cats and dogs trample the beds more than drive away crop destroyers;
• Birds quickly get used to scarecrows and sound signals;
• tapes and old disks work only in sunny weather, and rattling cans - in the presence of wind;
• No one will continuously guard the garden, then you will have to devote your whole life to it.

How is protection organized?

Polypropylene and steel nets are equally suitable for protecting the garden from birds. It does not matter what the cell configuration is: rhombus or rectangle. If the structure is made and designed correctly, 100% protection is guaranteed while allowing heat, water and light to pass through. Also, all pollen-moving insects can easily penetrate through the cells. There are several ways to install bird protection netting.

Most often they start by driving stakes along the outer border of the bed. The net is already stretched along them, raising it 300–350 mm above the strawberry bushes, so as not to interfere with their growth. In another option, a structure similar to a greenhouse is created. Arcs made of metal or plastic are taken in the same way. They are already becoming the frame for the fence.

In addition to a simple mesh structure, they often try to secure a covering material that is impenetrable to sunlight. Such materials are supplied, for example, under the brands “Spunbond” and “Agrospan”. Birds simply cannot see what exactly is in the beds. However, such protection, while effective, cancels natural pollination and reduces the quality of the crop, because the insolation of strawberries also decreases.

When closing the beds, it is necessary to hammer in the pegs at intervals of 450–500 mm. At the bottom, the material is fixed using bricks or another holding product.

If tensioned agricultural material is used, it must be pulled tighter, otherwise the mesh will sag in the middle. It will be necessary to raise the mesh line 150–200 mm above the bushes.

It is possible to hide strawberries from birds in this way, and it will be difficult for them to get to the protected berries. But there are a number of disadvantages:

• you will have to use the most dense mesh with a fine mesh (fishing mesh is unsuitable);
• finding the optimal material is very difficult;
• to protect a large vegetable garden, the design will be expensive;
• It will be more difficult to care for the plantings;
• You won’t be able to just pick a few passing berries while walking along the path;
• frequent lifting of the covering material during everyday use quickly wears it out;
• many birds become entangled in nets trying to get to the crop, and when trying to free them, they can bite and scratch;
• The simplest mesh thrown over the beds may not seem aesthetically pleasing enough, and securing it in a more beautiful way can be more difficult.

Therefore, the use of special sets of arcs to form the frame turns out to be quite an attractive solution. These arcs can be made from:

• quality steel;
• bamboo;
• various types of plastic.

In any case, the arches are lightweight and are installed without preparing the foundation. The number of arc elements is determined by how long the bed is formed. The distance between the individual arcs varies from 0.6 to 0.8 m. When the necessary fasteners are installed, you can use them to tighten and attach the mesh. The end result should be something like a fragment of a tunnel.

If arches of great height are installed, it will be possible to move inside, as in a full-fledged greenhouse. Then the subsequent care of strawberries and the removal of ripe berries are noticeably simplified.

In this case, a plastic net with a small mesh is made (in which the birds will not get entangled). It is recommended to select a material of high rigidity that sag little. Several pieces are picked up, closing the end parts of the “tunnel”. If this is not done, all the work basically loses its meaning, because the birds will simply walk around it on the ground, very quickly finding an accessible loophole.

However, the disadvantage similar design there is also: it can only make very narrow beds. After harvesting the fruits, the net must be removed and the frame dismantled in order to use it again next season.

Of steel

Made from bamboo

Box and mesh

There is a solution that is completely devoid of such shortcomings. However, to implement it, you will have to have specific skills. Those who know how to handle carpentry and carpentry tools can do the job without difficulty. They start by selecting boards of suitable size. A box is already formed from them, in which crosspieces directed transversely are placed in increments of 0.6–0.8 m.

Corner bars attached with screws are suitable for connecting boards. The structure should have a moderate height so that the strawberries do not lose access to the sun and air. If the lid does not come into contact with the tops of the bushes, this is already enough. Other sizes are selected individually each time, taking into account the dimensions of the bed. The corners are equipped with peculiar legs made of pointed shortened bars.

Important: if the bed is very long, auxiliary legs are installed, which are driven into the ground every 1–2 m along the long edge. Since the supports will go into the ground, they are lightly burned or (which is much preferable) treated with preparations that stop rotting.

When installing the box, the legs are driven into the ground with confident but careful blows of the hammer. Wood is often protected with a primer. Frames are prepared exactly to the size of the sections, they are attached to hinged hinges with an opening outward. A mesh is already mounted on top of the covers.

To learn how to install a bird net, watch the following video.

Strawberries (or to be more precise, garden strawberries) gardeners and gardeners grow 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 small area and 1-2 beds, you don’t even have to think about it. And those who grow strawberries on an industrial scale must purchase covering material and netting in the hundreds. 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:

1. Select boards of suitable length and width.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Place the box on the bed and drive the legs into the ground, gently tapping the corners with a hammer.
5. Protect the structure from negative impact 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.
6. Based on the dimensions of the resulting sections, assemble the frames for the lids from thin bars.
7. Attach the covers to the frame using hinged hinges installed on the outside so that it opens outward.
8. Cut out the mesh pieces required sizes and secure it with staples using a furniture stapler, bent small nails, and thin slats.
9. 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 ones personal plots such a “scarecrow” simply won’t 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 them at different heights close to each other. cans. 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 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 advocacy organizations wildlife, can be offered to birds alternative source nutrition.

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 over the beds and next to them, plastic stoppers from bottles and so on. 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.