New gardener here. I am container gardening [rubbermaid totes]. I made self watering containers.
How will I keep the darn birds away? Please help. Thank you
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Me, either, MG! The only ones who are bothered by it seem to be the neighbors and the police. The birds don't care a bit.Marlingardener wrote:Personally, I've never found tossing shotgun shells at birds to be very effective . . . .
Not to mention that I appreciate the fact that the birds are doing me a service by eating insect pests.
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Yup, the people who write in here complaining about lots of insect pests usually don't have lots of birds in their gardens. Be grateful. Even the birds that come to seed feeders usually eat insects part of the time.
Bird netting works fine for me. I don't put it on the plants, things can reach through it then. I put it over a frame, hoop, etc or wrap it around poles around the outer edge of a raised bed. Yes, you do have to open it up to get to your plants, but to me it is worth it to have the plants and produce AND the birds and critters and we all co-exist.
Bird netting works fine for me. I don't put it on the plants, things can reach through it then. I put it over a frame, hoop, etc or wrap it around poles around the outer edge of a raised bed. Yes, you do have to open it up to get to your plants, but to me it is worth it to have the plants and produce AND the birds and critters and we all co-exist.
Are the birds being a real problem? As other have said, they are actually beneficial and many folks put up bird-houses to attract them.
If they are a nuisance, than I would say to go with the netting.
One class of repellents that I've heard isn't effective at all are the predator decoys. They work at first.....but after a while the birds get wise and just perch on them.
If they are a nuisance, than I would say to go with the netting.
One class of repellents that I've heard isn't effective at all are the predator decoys. They work at first.....but after a while the birds get wise and just perch on them.
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Thanks for all the replies. I won't have to worry about insects and other pests - I will be using self watering containers - the tops will be covered with black landscape netting to so bugs cannot enter at the same pace as ground gardening..
Don't want to hurt the birds [unless I was hunting for food].
I will go with shiny material - some homemade scarecrows..Some of these are very large though - in the desert we have birds that migrate through who can pick up a small animal [falcons-crows etc] main problems will be sparrows,pigeons,blackbirds,ravens,hummingbirds
Don't want to hurt the birds [unless I was hunting for food].
I will go with shiny material - some homemade scarecrows..Some of these are very large though - in the desert we have birds that migrate through who can pick up a small animal [falcons-crows etc] main problems will be sparrows,pigeons,blackbirds,ravens,hummingbirds
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Thanks, Lana. I think you accidentally PM'd this to me.Lana Willis wrote:Sorry for the late reply. I will be growing tomatoes,lettuce,jalapenos,squash,turnips,parsley,cilantro,onions etc
They haven't actually started - just all my supplies seem to have brought them out of no where - the types are: pigeons-ravens-little blackbirds-hummingbirds-sparrows-the occasional crows
Looks like you'll be OK on pollination with tomatoes and peppers if you take care to shake the plants once in a while (they do benefit from tiny pollinating wasps and hover flies), but the squash will need to be pollinated. When in bloom, cilantro and onion (if you let it flower), as well as parsley in 2nd year, will attract BENEFICIAL insects (such as the tiny wasps and flies) that prey on aphids and pest caterpillars.
Some people intentionally keep their squash covered to exclude Squash vine borers and squash bugs, then diligently hand pollinate.
Note that you'll want to sow lettuce, onions, parsley, cilantro, and I think turnips too while it's still cold -- about a month before last average frost.