If you’ve spent the season pouring your heart and soul into your berry patches, the last thing you want is to hand over the entire harvest to a flock of hungry birds. Don’t get me wrong—I love seeing birds in my backyard as much as the next gardener—but the fun stops the second they start treating my fruit bushes like an all-you-can-eat buffet!
When do birds become a problem in the garden?
Look, if a little sparrow hops by and steals a single berry, I usually say “bon appétit.” With natural habitats shrinking, our feathered friends are having a tougher time finding snacks. But when a whole squad descends on your bushes, it’s a different story. Sometimes they’ll strip a plant bare before you even get your morning coffee! That’s definitely not the goal.
Before you go out and wrap every single tree and bush in mesh, take a second to look at your garden from a bird’s perspective. Ask yourself:
- Where is my garden located?
- Are there other food sources nearby?
- What’s the “bird buffet” situation in the rest of the neighborhood?
- When exactly are my different berry varieties ripening?
If your yard happens to be a popular pit stop on a major bird flight path, you’re going to have a challenge on your hands. In that case, you’ll definitely want to think about some serious plant protection.
Using bird nets the right way
If your garden is a high-traffic zone for hungry birds, getting some netting up before the fruit ripens is a smart move. You’ll want to look for fine-mesh netting so the birds don’t get tangled up in it—we want to save the berries, not hurt the wildlife! Also, pro tip: don’t just toss the net loosely over the bush. Birds are clever and will just hop underneath to get the fruit from the bottom. Your best bet is to create a bit of a barrier at the base (like a wire frame) and secure the net tightly to that.
What else works besides netting?
If setting up nets feels like too much of a chore, or if you’re worried about birds getting stuck, you can always try the classic scarecrow route. And no, it doesn’t have to be a giant straw man! You can find hawk silhouettes or reflective decoys that mimic birds of prey. If you’re lucky, these will be just enough to make those berry-thieves think twice before landing in your yard.