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Garf
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No More Mr. Nice Guy

Today I came home to find that the crows had damaged 3 tomatoes. I don't do all of this to feed the birds, so I got out my BB gun and used the last 2 BB's to kill one of them. I then strung up the bird by the leg to one of the stakes over the plants. When it starts to ferment, it should send a clear message to the others. I plan on adding to the collection as time goes on. I bought a fresh supply of BB's today. If that proves inadequate, I will upgrade my artillery.

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applestar
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Hmm... I don't know, that might be satisfying for some, but I'd be concerned that such a collection would signal "BUFFET" to carrion eaters and scavengers.... :?

Try stringing fishing lines or strings above the tomatoes instead. It should be visible but not thick enough for the crows to land on. The stakes shouldn't provide landing posts for the crows.

I'm not 100% that this would work for crows since they're pretty clever, but it does work for pigeons and seagulls.

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Someone I know with a farm puts netting or chicken wire over the vulnerable areas as well as surrounds them with chicken wire.

Killing the animals is a sisyphean task and for that reason not a solution since it does not solve the problem.

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Kisal
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Unfortunately, crows are carrion eaters, and they aren't above dining on one of their own. Where you once had a few, you may soon have an entire flock. ;)

cynthia_h
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Not to drag this thread too far off-topic, but does anyone know whether crows also attack/eat squirrels, or perhaps juvenile squirrels?

A family of crows (no, not a murder of crows; not that many of them) has moved into the very top of our redwood tree for the last year and a half or two. The, as it were, crow's nest. The neighbor across the street *was* feeding squirrels until approx. Fall 2008, when she realized that rats and mice were actually eating her "squirrel food." Good. The !$^&%# squirrels were eating MY garden work and messing everything up.

However, since the crows moved in, squirrel sightings have been very scarce.

Anybody have any information? thx

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

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Kisal
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Yes, crows and jays, especially, are well known for raiding squirrel nests. Of course, squirrels raid birds' nests, too, including those of crows and jays, so it all balances out.

Crows have also been reported to kill small kittens, but I personally would expect that to be rather rare activity. Most wild animals will prefer the easiest food that's available, since it doesn't make sense to expend more energy than is necessary to survive and reproduce. Crows are omnivorous, and there is usually enough roadkill around to usually satisfy their need for meat.

Snakes are also very effective in controlling rodent populations, as are foxes and coyotes. I used to occasionally see foxes here in town, but I haven't heard of any in recent years. I suppose their populations may increase, now that more people are keeping chickens and ducks in their backyards. :)

DoubleDogFarm
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I suppose their populations may increase, now that more people are keeping chickens and ducks in their backyards.
Oh, I'm not so sure. It really depends if it's your livelihood you are protecting. Farmers are allowed to even shoot dogs, cats if they become a problem.

Install fences. Train your dogs. Bird netting. Animal shelters.

Live and let live, and if it doesn't work, give them both barrels.

Eric

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Kisal
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I used to occasionally see foxes here in town, but I haven't heard of any in recent years. I suppose their populations may increase, now that more people are keeping chickens and ducks in their backyards.
As you can see, I was referring to city populations of foxes. I think one might ultimately regret giving anything "both barrels" inside the city limits. :lol:

DoubleDogFarm
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Oh! city Foxes, I prefer country foxes. :wink: LMFAO

Eric

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Kisal
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Ahh! That island air can be heady at times! (j/k :lol: )

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rainbowgardener
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Bird netting!! My tomatoes are in a raised bed. I wrap the whole bed including over the top and staked down at the bottom in bird netting.

Keeps off birds, raccoons, groundhogs, squirrels, all of which I have in abundance. If I didn't do the netting, I would never get to eat a single tomato....

Odd Duck
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I used bird netting the first year or so which worked fairly well. Then I put worm towers/tubes in place that I capped with plastic pots that happened to be a terracotta color. I watched carefully for the first sign of birds hitting the toms and never saw a single one! I think the birds got used to the "ripe tomato" color being in among the plants and didn't bother to look when the toms themselves started to color up. I did take the precaution of picking the toms before they got lots of color, but never got a single bird bite.

I've since heard about oldtimers using red Christmas balls hung in the vines well before the toms ripen and I presume this is the same theory I discovered accidentally. The birds don't realize that the ripening toms are food, they think they're just more inert decoration.

Anyone else tried this?

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rainbowgardener
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That may fool the bird-brains, I can't imagine it slowing down the raccoons or woodchucks!

Odd Duck
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I really couldn't believe that I didn't get any hits in either my spring or fall season this last year. I don't have a big garden, but my 5 tomato plants were hit HARD by the birds (particularly the mockingbirds) in spring '09, I had netting for fall '09, but not at all in '10. I had my bird netting ready and waiting at the first sign of damage/interest this spring and not a single peck. I have plenty of migratories, and loads of birds - I have water sources front and back yards. I had sunflowers growing in the SAME bed as the toms, and they got cleaned out (same as '09)!

I'm not really sure why the difference, but the worm tube "caps" were right in the middle of the vines. They are really more of a brick-red, ripe tomato color than a standard terra cotta, and were there starting in late fall '09. That's the only difference that occurs to me. I didn't put Christmas balls out, even after my somewhat eccentric neighbors mentioned it, because I know most birds see color and shape extremely well and didn't ever think any would be fooled by bright, shiny red. I have since read elsewhere, the Christmas balls theory expounded upon by the neighbors, but remain skeptical.

I just have no other explanation for the lack of bird hits on my toms. It's not like I picked them green (except the greens!), I did pick a couple days before full color, but the mockers were hitting them plenty green last year. Anybody have any other thoughts on why I wasn't cleaned out by birds even without bird netting?

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Garf
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That may fool the bird-brains, I can't imagine it slowing down the raccoons or woodchucks!
Here, besides birds, we have possum, and some squirrel, not many coons. We had iguana until the illegals found out they could eat them.

agongos
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With a squirrel that kept chewing on a real nice mule deer rack I had hanging on a shed wall. That stopped all squirrel chewing. That mummified squirrel has been hanging thee for 11 years!

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Garf
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There are no tomatoes left with any red on them. The BB gun has only been able to terminate one crow. The rest just fly off. I need to upgrade my artillery. Some of that gets expensive. The trick of stringing the dead bird up over the plants doesn't work. It just stinks and the birds keep coming.

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Kisal
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Garf wrote:The trick of stringing the dead bird up over the plants doesn't work. It just stinks and the birds keep coming.
That's because birds have little to no sense of smell. ;)

Bobberman
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I encorage birds to come to my garden. I plant plenty of sunflowers. I have never seen a crow in my garden only a few black sparrows & many caneries! Sparrows are bad for corn and lettuce when its young!

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Garf
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I have ordered an upgrade for my artillery. If this works as advertised, It should make a big difference.

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rainbowgardener
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We also encourage the birds to the garden, with bird baths, ponds, and bird feeders. I think lots of birds in the garden is why I have less trouble with insect pests. The netting protects the tomatoes and strawberries.

I'm guessing Bobberman's canaries might be goldfinches. Actual canaries are somewhat rare tropical birds in the wild. They don't exist in the states except as domestic pets and occasional escapees from same.

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Garf
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We had a lot of tropical parrots here for a while. They were escapees from the local zoo when the aviary was destroyed during a hurricane.

cynthia_h
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Once crows show up, the other birds go away. At least, that's what happened in my yard/garden.

We have a large redwood tree that occupies the back yard. Crows moved in about two years ago, taking over the tree from eleven other species I had previously counted. :( Now there are only the crows and the @#$%$:x squirrels.

Occasionally I will see a flock of bushtits whirl through early in the morning, or a random hummingbird. But it's nothing like it was before the crows moved in.

Cynthia H.
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Garf
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Sounds like as good a reason as any to have some target practice.

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The trick of stringing the dead bird up over the plants doesn't work. It just stinks and the birds keep coming.



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