A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Birds pulling up/eating seeds

The birds in my garden, although fed daily with birdfood, LOVE pulling up my sweetpeas and eating or just leaving them. I thought the morning glories were going to make it, but they are all gone now.

If I replant, is there anything I can try to discourage the birds? We built a chicken wire cover, but they got under it.

Should I get some hay somewhere and pile it over the seeds?

Thanks, Lori

i was going to say chicken wire!!
clever birds hey,
why dont you start them in pots or trays and transplant them later.
you could sart them indoors and plant out.

Hi LoriB!

I know exactly what you're going through because I've been there and done that! It's frustrating to say the least.

I read somewhere here about anti-bird netting. I guess I'll look into that, and also starting seeds in pots!

HI Lori they make a few things that you can just hang up to scare birds away there like a mylar balloon with eyes on them
BUT I would try a few pie tins and paint eyes on them first.place them on a pole or a stick where you have planted your seeds this should do the trick.your friend in gardening.Mike57

Lori

here is the method I use.. I take old sheer curtains and lay them over the plants till they are large enough to go on their own..
They love my strawberrys too.. I do the same for that.. I put rocks on the curtains to hold down the ends ......or boards.

dodge

Hey Dodge, that's a great idea for keeping the birds from getting the seeds, but it won't keep the my squirrels and rabbits from destroying all my plants. They are a bigger problem for me than the birds.

patches

Thanks all! I used burlap with metal U's to hold it in place, and so far so good!

Be VERY careful if anyone uses that black bird netting. I've seen dead birds stuck in that. They poke their heads in and get strangled
Floating row covers are good, similar idea to sheer curtains, it lets in light and moisture but keeps tweety off. Its commonly used on strawberry patches.
You can also save those junk mail CD's & hang them from fishing line. the reflection & movement keep birds away.

Hi, I have had pretty good luck using cayenne pepper to help discourage the squirrels from eating my bulbs. As far as the birds, I have a cat who does a great job of scaring the birds away.
I get the cheapest jars of cayenne pepper from my local walmart or cvs and its about .99$ for 4 ounces. Then I sprinkle it over the soil where the bulbs are planted.
Of course, if it rains, I have to go out and do it again. But, the squirells seem to hate the taste and keep away from my bulbs.
I forget where I read about this idea, but I had lost about 5 stargazer lily bulbs and they were about $12 each so I almost wanted to shoot the little hairy monsters!
I hope this works for you as well as it does for me.
Does anyone know how to kill brown beetles? They eat my hibiscus plants and cherry tree each year. I haven't found anything that helps kill them without having to use pesticides which I don't use.
Debra

CD's hung around the area has worked for me.

I had crows pulling up every seedling they could get to until I did that. Once I hung the cd's around I never had another wild animal in my garden!

It also works for deer!

Debra...I don't use chemical pesticides, but there are plenty of natural ones. Insecticidal soap, botanical pyrethrin, Neem are a few. Neem is a bit pricy, but very effective. Insecticidal soap works well and costs a little less.

Well, they won, I lost. I took the burlap off, thinking the plants were on their way, and now they are ALL GONE. Darn!!! Either birds or bunnies or both or neither, I don't know what eats them. Guess I'll have to look for some free AOL CD's this weekend, and try FOR A THIRD TIME to get morning glories to grow (after giving up on sweet peas for this year). Rats!