Bird problems!
If you are lucky enough to have a fruiting tree in your yard, I am sure you get much enjoyment from it. There is something very satisfying about eating fruit that's growing in your own back yard. Looking out the window and seeing a magnificent tree covered in fruit is also a great pleasure. And people walking by your front gate will think what a fabulous gardener you are because, wow, look at that tree!
Who's eating from my fruit tree?
But along with the joys a fruiting tree can bring, there are a couple of things that can very quickly turn your wonder into annoyance and even despair. Fruit trees seem to attract more unwanted creatures than any other plant in the world. Do you have a nocturnal visitor noshing on your apples? Or is it the birds that are feasting on your prized crop? We can't really blame them, but it can also bring a gardener to tears, to see the hard work eaten up by a furry or winged fiend.
Feathered fiends
One of the main problems of course is birds. It's incredible how quickly a flock of birds can descend and decimate a tree. Here in Australia, we have cockatoos that love to do this, they can destroy an orchard of apples in next to no time. It can seem almost impossible to get rid of these pesky birds. Or it may not be a flock but just individual feathered visitors, sitting undetected in the branches and pecking away all day. However, there are several different ways you can deter the birds from your beloved fruit tree..
A flock of cockatoos can decimate an apple tree in minutes.
Photo credit morgueFile
An owl during the day?
One method of repelling birds is to place a plastic owl within the vicinity of the tree. On the edge of your roof overlooking the tree can effective. If you find any animal that usually eats birds and purchase a plastic version of it, this can be enough to deter certain birds from seeing your tree as lunch. You can try, owls hawks, cats, or scarecrows (ok, maybe they don’t actually eat birds....).
Ask at your local gardening store if there is a particular bird scarer they recommend.
Other plastic 'predators'
If you get a plastic animal of some sort,it may cure the bird problem for a while. But take care to move your 'animal' around from time to time so the birds don't wise up. However, some birds are really brave (or really stupid, they don't call them birdbrains for nothing) and will continue to ransack your tree.
Noisy or reflective objects
So something else to try is any reflective surface or noisy object. You can purchase reflective tape designed especially for scaring birds. Old cds hung on strings from the branches of your tree will spin in the breeze and catch the light. Wind chimes are a perfect combination of movement and noise, provided there is wind of some sort of course.
Net your tree
A last resort, which may be needed for larger, more incorrigible birds like cockatoos is of course netting your tree. A nuisance yes, but that may be what's required to save your crop. This is easy to do when the tree is small, not so easy when the tree is large. You may be able to hire someone to do this job for you every summer before the fruit sets.
This banana palm is growing in a cage to protect it from birds.
Photo credit morgueFile
Those with more space and /or more trees, may even consider building a cage for their trees. The upside of this, is that if you have chickens, you can let them into the cage also, and they clean up all the fallen fruit for you, whilst keeping the pesky birds out.
There's nothing like food from the garden, so it's worth figuring out a solution to your bird problem.
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