10 Ways to Protecting Garden From Birds

Birds can be a wonderful addition to our gardens. Listening to them sing and watching them nestle in the trees can be very therapeutic. But they can also be a nuisance, creating mess and destroying our gardens which makes protecting garden from birds essential. 

10 Ways to Protecting Garden from Birds

Birds can pose a risk to the surrounding areas of our homes. According to the British Pest Control Association, bird droppings are acidic and can corrode and erode metals, stonework and brickwork.

Not to mention they damage our plants and attack fruit and vegetable patches for food sources. To put a stop to our feathery friends from causing havoc, here are 10 tips on how to protect garden from birds.

1. Don’t Leave Food Out

If you’re used to putting out seed for the birds then they’ll know to expect this and will continue to return to your garden. Similarly, any general food waste that could be left outside such as during outdoor BBQs or even in bins, all encourages birds to visit. 

By removing any access to food, you’re drastically decreasing the chances of birds bothering you by cutting the problem off at its source. If you’re keen for smaller birds to continue visiting, you could invest in some hanging oriole bird feeders. 

These are small enough for little birds to access, but larger birds (such as pigeons) aren’t nimble enough to reach into these.

2. Wind Chimes and Bird Deterrents

Although birds are easily attracted to nestle in our gardens, they’re also easily scared away. Placing bird deterrents in and around your garden is another great way to combat nuisance visits from birds.

When it comes to bird scaring objects, the brighter the better! Amongst the list of items that seem to work best are statues and anything with movement or sound that can startle birds.

Wind chimes are a great deterrent because as soon as the wind blows the chimes act as an alarm, often frightening birds away instantly. 

3. Using Fruit Cages and Bird Netting

Birds can often swoop down into vegetable patches and use crops as a food source. A fool-proof way to prevent this is by using fruit cages and bird netting.

Bird netting is strong and durable enough to protecting vegetables from birds whilst ensuring there is plenty of growing space and exposure to natural sunlight. 

These nets are knitted with 20mm wide mesh holes, which is the optimum size to protect vegetables from birds from getting in and feasting on your fruit and veg whilst ensuring they don’t get tangled or stuck in the net! 

4. Use Chicken Wire on the Ground

Using Chicken wire pinned to the ground can safely help protect newly sown seeds plants and planted tubers. This will prevent birds as well as your chickens from scratching up the soil.

As plants start to grow and get bigger you can easily make adjustments and lift the wire up onto stakes or bend it around hoops. 

5. Build a Scarecrow 

Scarecrows work best if they are moved around and adjusted regularly so that they don’t seem like obvious fakes. Preferably, they should be built on a stake so that the scarecrow can be pulled and pushed around in your garden frequently.

It helps also to dress them in bright colours like red and yellow. It's thought that these colours work best at keeping birds away. 

6. Protect Crops with Garden Fleece 

Garden fleece works wonders for protecting crops against frost in addition it can be used all year round to protect short crops from birds. It’s a fine white material that’s perfect for lettuces, park choi, chard and other small green plants.

You should weigh the sides down with pegs and rocks. Other materials like hessian, bracken, straw, and polystyrene can be used similarly to insulate plants from the cold and wind.

It’s important to remember to prevent sweating and rotting, protective covers should be taken off when there are large periods of very mild weather. 

7. Bird Scare Lines

Bird scare lines are a humane and easy way to keep birds away from your garden crops. Made from polypropylene tape a bird scare line emits an ever-varying sound and vibration that scares the birds and keeps them away.

The reason the sound varies is so that the birds won’t get used to it and therefore they will keep staying away from your crops.

Safe, simple, durable, and easy to use, it's best to stretch it between two stakes/posts so that it’s kept close to the crops and is in the most effective place to protect your crops. It will also keep rabbits and pests away.

8. Using Terror Eyes Balloon 

One of the most widely used bird deterrent is the terror eye balloon. The large, inflatable, yellow ball moves easily in a light breeze. Painted on the ball are these big eyes that along with the movement of the ball in the breeze are enough to scare a bird away very quickly and effectively. 

You can easily make your own using a beach ball and replicate the eyes used on the ball. 

9. Pets Deter Birds

Your very own pets may be the perfect weapon for deterring birds away from your crops. Most dogs will have lots of fun chasing birds in the garden (supervised of course) An outdoor cat would work just as well too for this.

10. Make a Stick Jungle 

Push sticks and small twigs into the ground around your garden crops. Birds noticing these sticks from the ground will notice the sticks acting as a barricade to their tasty snacks.

A stick jungle may not scare birds or keep them away, but it will slow them down and stop them from being able to harvest your crops so easily.

Best used for protecting young developing plants and seedlings, then larger crops. Be sure to check out our guide on How to Keep Birds from Eating Grass Seeds.  

Start Protecting Your Garden from Birds

Whichever method you choose for protecting your garden from birds, you should test out different methods, that way you will find the perfect solution for repelling birds from your garden and keeping it safe.