10 Ways to Repel Birds from Cherries and Other Berries

Grow and grow until one fine day a flock of birds flew in and swept away the entire cherry crop with a broom? If this situation sounds familiar, read on to find out who’s to blame for your berry loss, what to do about it, and whether there are effective ways to repel birds.

You will tame birds in winter – you will have problems in summer: really?

Cherries, cherries, cranberries, honeysuckle berries, strawberries – many delicacies are available in early summer. It’s not just us who want them: birds are happy to join the fans of these berries. However, some birds drop just one more berry (we don’t even notice), they also pick up a few worms, insects and at the same time reduce parasites. And if it’s nice in the evening, it’s a pleasure to have such company in your garden.

I can therefore immediately reassure skeptics who say that it is not worth feeding the birds in winter, as if they dropped our cherries in summer. The vast majority of birds we help survive cold, snowy winters are beneficial and help our gardens. We have already written about it – click to readwhat are the benefits of birds and how to attract them.

Who drops cherries and cherries

So who is the culprit? Very often these are cancellations. And if the neighbors say «ghosts ate my cherries», then those «ghosts» are common starlings. It is at the moment when the berries ripen that the starlings leave their nests and begin to gather. Starts gathering – starts feeding in groups. Woe to those berries that got in the way of a swarm of starlings…

Cherries in close proximity usually attract starlings. author of the photo L. Lubertaitė.

It happens that other actively feeding birds, such as thrushes, also cause a lot of damage.
Such active feeding in flocks is temporary, so if you manage to protect the berries at the most important moment, you have already won an extra point in your favor (and the birds’ sadness).

Therefore, there is no need to look for long-term solutions, there is no need to «fight». You can try simple home remedies to repel birds.

How to scare birds

1. Hang polythene bags on trees and bushes. Cut them into strips and tie them to the branches. The more corrugated polyethylene, the better. The more glitter, the better.

Polyethylene bags can temporarily protect your berry crop from birds. author of the photo L. Lubertaitė

2. Play Christmas: Decorate the branches with gift ribbons and glitter. Strange things that move, glow and make sounds are what you need. There are holographic glitter ribbons sold for this purpose, but you can get by with your own Christmas arsenal.

3. CDs: Destroy your old collections and hang them on the branches. They are very suitable because they are light (they do not bend the branches) and the central hole is very convenient for tying with wire. Furthermore, CDs are constantly spinning in the wind, and starlings certainly don’t like blinding reflections. Be kind, one record doesn’t help: to have an effect you will have to bind the entire collection, I’m not joking.

4. Film and other objects that have a large reflective surface. If these things are heavier, attach a bar along the trunk, from which you will hang. For example, here in the photo a cover intended for the car is used, so that its interior does not overheat. A large reflective area raised above the cherry tree – why not.

One of the ways to repel birds is reflective surfaces. author of the photo L. Lubertaitė

5. Artificial eagles. Or any other artificial bird. It definitely flutters in the wind!

Even a fake eagle in a tree can help repel birds. author of the photo L. Lubertaitė.

6. Accordingly, in strawberry beds you can use toy snakes made of plastic or rubber. They say the birds are afraid. Don’t be scared if you forget and accidentally see a tail near a red strawberry.

7. Returning to the theme of eagles, round scarecrows resembling a balloon or ball, with piercing predatory eyes painted on them, are now available. It is said to effectively repel approaching birds. I doubt such a tool, but until I can brag about having tried it, let’s leave it as an option for further experiments.

8. Sound devices: bells, windmills, other things that crackle, jingle, ring.

9. There are special devices that emit sounds similar to a shot. However, they are intended for large industrial gardens and are expensive, so we won’t stop at them this time.

The most effective tool

10. If you want to keep birds away, there is nothing better than a special net. It mechanically protects from hungry birds, because the berries of a reticulated tree or bush are inaccessible to birds. Furthermore, the net does not constitute any barrier to the sun or rain.

However, there are two important things to note.

First of all, I advise you to choose not just any network, but a special network. The eyelets of the special net are very small – this is important so that birds do not enter through a larger gap. Then not only will all the berries fall under the net (an even smaller problem), but they themselves will be in danger. They can become entangled, strangled or injured.

Secondly, a dedicated network is extremely lightweight. This is very important if you want to protect the berries of young trees. For example, a young cherry tree wrapped in netting for a week or two may bend its branches downward and is unlikely to recover successfully later. Therefore, I would suggest not covering young trees at all.

So what to do?

A special net for strawberries is definitely a solution if you are afraid of losing your harvest. It’s more complicated with honeysuckle, cherries, cherries.

The easiest and cheapest way is to apply home remedies that you can prepare yourself, which you can adapt from household items. Any shiny and sparkly product lasts a maximum of a week. Believe me, the birds have seen it all. Therefore it is normal that the remedy you invented only works for two days. Therefore, they should be changed every three days (or at least once a week).

In no case do not leave your scarecrows after picking the berries, so that the birds do not get used to the sight, because you yourselves will teach them not to be afraid anymore.

Please note that this period is temporary. If the prospect of being hawked by birds drives you crazy, you can choose to grow late-ripening berries. For example, late cherry trees are much less likely to be hit by flocks of flying birds.

Flocking birds only drop berries for a certain period of time, so everything is temporary. author of the photo L. Lubertaitė.

On the other hand, not all birds eat exactly this way. For example, chickadees are solitary eaters and are happy to eat both berries and pests in your garden. Therefore you would not want them, being so useful, to get caught in the nets.

It might seem hopeless, but that’s how it is with nature: we must pay homage to the birds. If we don’t give, they find a way to take. After all, even starlings, although they may not like gardeners during this period, at other times delight in their songs and their usefulness in killing pests. So look at the matter philosophically: if you don’t succeed this year, perhaps next year the neighbor’s cherries will be tastier for starlings.

This article has also been published Lrytas.lt portal.

Read also:

Articles related to planting and maintenance of fruit trees, can be found here.

Our latest article on growing blueberries – click this link.

Every spring we invite you to the «Yellow Wheelbarrow» courses. «Modern garden and vegetable patch» with Inge Auželiene, where, among other topics, we learn how to choose, plant and grow fruit trees.