Content
- 1 Do starlings eat cherries?
- 2 How to save cherries from birds
- 3 How to protect young cherries from birds
- 4 How to save your cherry harvest from birds
- 5 How to scare birds away from cherries
- 5.1 How to save cherry fruits from birds using rustling elements
- 5.2 How to protect your cherry harvest from birds using reflective, shiny and colored repellers
- 5.3 A scarecrow will help protect cherries from birds
- 5.4 How to drive starlings away from cherries using rattles, rattles, turntables, and wind bells
- 5.5 How to protect your cherry harvest from starlings using gadgets
- 5.6 Birds do not like loud and harsh sounds
- 5.7 Ultrasonic and infrared repellers will help drive birds away from cherries
- 5.8 A gas gun will protect cherries from birds
- 5.9 Non-standard methods of crop protection
- 5.10 Ordinary threads will help preserve the cherry harvest
- 6 Distractive methods of protecting cherries from starlings
- 7 How to keep cherry fruits away from birds using unpleasant odors
- 8 How to get rid of starlings on cherries for a long time
- 9 A few facts about the benefits of birds in the garden
- 10 Conclusion
Protecting cherries from birds is quite difficult. However, this must be done, otherwise the feathered robbers, in pursuit of free prey, can completely destroy the entire crop or most of it.After all, it is often the birds that cause much more damage to the berries than diseases and pests.
Do starlings eat cherries?
The answer to this question is unequivocal - yes. Moreover, it is starlings that are the main reason that in Europe and throughout the world the amount of area occupied by cherry orchards has recently significantly decreased.
Flocks of voracious birds simply forced farmers to abandon growing this berry, making its production unprofitable.
Is there any reason to worry
Cherry trees attract not only starlings. Ripe berries are desirable prey for sparrows, jays, and thrushes. Even crows do not hesitate to enjoy delicious cherries. Moreover, birds, looking for ripe fruits, peck and spoil a lot of berries, thus destroying the crop even before its final ripening.
What damage do birds cause to seedlings and young shoots?
The greatest harm that plits can cause to young shoots is to break them. Especially if a large flock lands on a young tree. Birds can also damage the bark of trees by pecking insects from its folds.
How to save cherries from birds
There are quite a few ways to protect cherries from birds. They all boil down to two principles:
- Restricting access for birds.
- Use of repellent devices.
The first method includes various nets and shelters. The second includes various mechanisms and devices that cause fear in birds and force them to stay away.
What are starlings, sparrows and other birds afraid of?
Birds have quite a few natural enemies, so you can scare them in different ways. It could be:
- loud noise;
- Flash Light;
- fire;
- movement;
- stuffed natural enemies;
- ultrasound.
Strong unpleasant odors also repel birds.However, over time, birds tend to become accustomed to the same threat, as long as it does not harm them. In this case, the feeling of fear becomes dulled or disappears altogether, so you cannot rely on only one type of defense.
What are the ways to protect cherries from birds?
The most common method of protection is to cover trees with a special fine-mesh mesh that insulates the tree. This method is good because it does not create unnecessary problems for the tree; the mesh does not interfere with access to sunlight and air to the leaves. However, it is quite difficult to use it on mature tall trees.
To scare away birds, various moving and stationary scarecrows and stuffed animals are most often used. In addition, various mechanical devices are used that make loud sounds, produce flashes or emit ultrasound.
How to protect young cherries from birds
It is easiest and most reliable to cover small trees with mesh or other material. Polyethylene is often used for this, but it is airtight and must be used with caution so that the tree does not suffocate. The use of non-woven covering materials has also proven itself well.
How to hide cherries from birds
Young cherries can be covered with a fine mesh, making a kind of bag out of it. In this case, the cell must be such that the bird’s head cannot fit into it, otherwise curious birds will simply get stuck in it and die.
The net must be placed on top of the tree and secured at the bottom so that it does not blow away in the wind. There is no need to tighten the mesh too much to avoid breaking the branches.
How to save your cherry harvest from birds
To protect the crop, you can use any means at hand, either home-made or store-bought.A variety of items can be used, from empty cans hanging on branches to modern ultrasonic repellers. You can use anything that moves and rustles, makes sounds and flashes of light. In the end, in war, all means are good. And the more diverse the methods of protection, the greater the chances of saving the harvest.
How to scare birds away from cherries
Birds are quite timid by nature and would rather retreat than put their lives in danger. And you can scare them in different ways.
How to save cherry fruits from birds using rustling elements
Anything that makes a rustling sound is suitable for this method of protection. Most often, old tape from tape and video cassettes is used. A ribbon hung on branches and swaying in the wind makes a constant rustling noise, which is very effective at scaring away birds.
The disadvantage of this method is that it is useless in the absence of wind, and over time the film gets tangled in the branches and ceases to perform its function. Therefore, it is advisable to use this method in combination with others.
How to protect your cherry harvest from birds using reflective, shiny and colored repellers
Bright glare from the sun is a great way to scare away birds. Old CDs are most often used as reflective elements, hanging them on strings throughout the tree. Just strips of foil from chocolates, shiny tins, and bright colored ribbons will also work. At the slightest breath of wind, all this will shimmer wonderfully, scaring away all the birds in the area.
A scarecrow will help protect cherries from birds
An old, proven way to scare away birds is to install a scarecrow on your property.Usually it is made from scrap materials so that it resembles a human silhouette.
Anything is suitable for making: sticks, old clothes and hats, any attributes of everyday life. The imagination here is truly limitless. If only the figure looked like a person.
Dummies of natural enemies of birds, for example, owls or cats, can also be used as scarecrows. Place them directly on the tree in an area of good visibility. The disadvantage of scarecrows is that gradually the birds get used to them. Especially if the scarecrow stays in one place and in the same position for a long time.
How to drive starlings away from cherries using rattles, rattles, turntables, and wind bells
The easiest way to make homemade rattles and turntables is from an ordinary plastic bottle. Such devices perfectly combine visual and sound effects, producing uneven noise and spinning under the influence of the wind. Empty plastic bottles can also be hung like Christmas decorations. Even a slight vibration of them under the influence of the wind will create noise from friction against leaves or branches, which is always perceived by birds as danger.
In addition to pinwheels, windmills and rattles, you can hang windbells on cherry tree branches. Their melodious ringing for birds is clearly a signal of human presence.
How to protect your cherry harvest from starlings using gadgets
Modern technologies make it possible to create almost exact copies of living creatures and at the same time make them move, make various sounds, etc. To protect the garden from uninvited guests, it is enough to purchase such a product in a store and attach it to a branch.And it is unlikely that any starling or thrush will dare to sit on the same tree with an exact copy of a kite, which not only moves its wings and turns its head, but also makes sounds of aggression.
Despite their undoubted effectiveness, such gadgets have one significant drawback - the price.
Birds do not like loud and harsh sounds
Many people use loud sound or music as a deterrent. To do this, most often they turn on a radio under a tree. This really helps. However, birds quickly get used to constant sound, so it is better if the sound alternates with pauses and changes in strength and frequency. To do this, they use special audio recordings that periodically reproduce a variety of sounds, for example, gunshots or the cries of dangerous animals.
Ultrasonic and infrared repellers will help drive birds away from cherries
Modern electronics make it possible to reproduce ultrasound; it is this range that many animals use when transmitting a danger signal. Ultrasonic repellers are widely used in industrial agricultural enterprises, for example, in elevators and feed mills.
This very effective technology can also protect the garden. As a rule, such devices are equipped with infrared sensors that respond to the approach of a bird. After the sensor is triggered, the ultrasonic emitter turns on for a short time and scares away the uninvited guest.
A gas gun will protect cherries from birds
The operating principle of this device is as follows. A gun with a connected gas cylinder periodically imitates a rifle shot, while a bright flash bursts out of the barrel with a characteristic bang.
The device is programmed for detonation frequency (for example, 1 shot per 15 minutes).At the same time, a standard 5 liter propane cylinder is enough for about 4000 shots.
Non-standard methods of crop protection
Quite exotic things can be used as a bird repeller. For example, balloons filled with helium or kites constantly floating in the air. A homemade feather stuffed animal resembling an owl is tied to branches, or an old fur hat is placed to imitate a cat sitting on a branch.
Ordinary threads will help preserve the cherry harvest
Some gardeners also use this method. A regular white thread from a spool is tied to the lower branches, and then the spool is thrown over the crown. Gradually the whole tree becomes entangled in a kind of white net.
Distractive methods of protecting cherries from starlings
Distraction methods are considered the most humane. Its principle is to feed the birds something else so that they are full and do not touch the desired crop. However, this method, as a rule, does not work on cherries. It’s not for nothing that cherries are called “bird cherries,” and birds are unlikely to refuse a free delicacy for the sake of something else. Rather, on the contrary, the cherry itself will serve as a distracting crop.
Installing feeders on the site will not solve the problem either, but will only attract additional birds.
How to keep cherry fruits away from birds using unpleasant odors
You can ward off annoying birds from cherries by spraying the trees with infusions of sharp and pungent plants, such as garlic or pepper. This method will make the berries unpalatable to starlings, but only until the first rain.Then the processing must be repeated again.
How to get rid of starlings on cherries for a long time
Sometimes, driven to despair by the fight against annoying flying robbers, gardeners decide to take extreme measures - shooting or treating trees with pesticides. The carcasses of killed birds are hung right there on the branches. The method is as effective as it is inhumane. The poison will kill even those who have nothing to do with the spoilage of cherries. And the sight of killed birds can seriously traumatize the psyche of children walking in the garden.
A few facts about the benefits of birds in the garden
Most birds living in gardens feed not only on cherries. Therefore, it’s worth wondering what they eat all the time when there are no berries on the branches. Meanwhile, it is estimated that in a day a pair of starlings eats up to 300 different beetles and larvae, most of which are pests. Birds work especially hard during the breeding period; for example, a sparrow at this time collects from 500 to 700(!) different insects, beetles, caterpillars, and larvae per day.
A short video about ways to protect cherries from birds below.
Conclusion
It is possible to protect cherries from birds, and this does not always require extreme measures. Sometimes a couple of simple homemade products are enough to make the birds leave the berries alone for a long time. This will not only save the harvest, but also will not harm the birds themselves, who work every day to improve the health of the garden and become pests only for a short time when the berries are ripening.
