How to scare away starlings from cherries

Protecting cherries from birds is quite difficult. However, this must be done, otherwise the feathered robbers in pursuit of free prey can completely destroy the entire crop or most of it. After all, it is often birds that cause much more damage to berries than diseases and pests.

Do starlings eat cherries

The answer to this question is an unequivocal yes. Moreover, it is starlings that are the main reason that in Europe and around the world the number of areas occupied by cherry orchards has recently significantly decreased.

Flocks of voracious birds simply – simply forced farmers to abandon the cultivation of this berry, making its production unprofitable.

Is there any reason to worry

Cherry attracts not only starlings. Ripe berries are a welcome prey for sparrows, jays, and thrushes. Do not disdain to feast on delicious cherries and crows. Moreover, birds, looking for ripe fruits, peck and spoil a lot of berries, thus destroying the crop even before its final ripening.

What harm do birds do to seedlings and young shoots

The biggest damage that pliers can do to young shoots is to break them. Especially if a large flock sits on a young tree. Birds can also damage the bark of trees, pecking out insects from its folds.

How to save cherries from birds

There are quite a few ways to protect cherries from birds. They all boil down to two principles:

1. Restriction of access to birds.
2. The use of deterrent devices.

The first method includes various nets and shelters. To the second – various mechanisms and devices that cause fear in birds and force them to stay away.

What are starlings, sparrows and other birds afraid of?

Birds have quite a few natural enemies, so you can scare them in many ways. It could be:

• loud noise;
• Flash Light;
• Fire;
• motion;
• stuffed natural enemies;
• ultrasound.

They repel birds and strong unpleasant odors. However, over time, birds tend to get used to the same threat, as long as it doesn’t harm them. The feeling of fear is dulled or disappears altogether, so you can not rely on only one type of protection.

What are the ways to protect cherries from birds

The most common method of protection is to cover trees with a special fine-mesh net that isolates the tree. This method is good because it does not create unnecessary problems for the tree, the mesh does not prevent sunlight and air from reaching the leaves. However, it is rather difficult to apply it to adult tall trees.

To scare away birds, various movable and fixed scarecrows and stuffed animals are most often used. In addition, various mechanical devices are used that make loud noises, produce flashes or emit ultrasound.

How to protect young cherries from birds

Small trees are easiest and most reliable to cover with netting or other material. Polyethylene is often used for this, but it is airtight and must be used with care so that the wood does not suffocate. The use of non-woven covering materials has also proven itself well.

How to hide cherries from birds

Young cherries can be covered with a fine net, making a kind of bag out of it. At the same time, the cell should be such that the head of the bird does not crawl into it, otherwise the curious birds will simply get stuck in it and die.

The mesh must be thrown on top of the tree and fixed from below so that it is not blown away by the wind. It is not necessary to tighten the mesh strongly so as not to break the branches.

How to save a cherry crop from birds

To protect the crop, you can use any improvised means, both made independently and bought in a store. A variety of objects can be used, from empty cans hung on branches to modern ultrasonic repellers. You can use everything that moves and rustles, makes sounds and flashes of light. In the end, all means are good in war. And the more diverse the methods of protection, the more likely it is to save the crop.

How to scare birds away from cherries

Birds are quite timid by nature, and would rather retreat than put their lives in danger. And you can scare them in different ways.

How to save cherries from birds with rustling elements

For this method of protection, anything that makes rustling is suitable. Most often used old tape from tape and video cassettes. Hanging on the branches and swaying from the wind, the tape makes a constant rustling noise, which is very effective in scaring away birds.

The disadvantage of this method is that it is useless in the absence of wind, and the film eventually gets tangled in the branches and ceases to fulfill its function. Therefore, it is advisable to use this method in combination with others.

How to protect your cherry crop from birds with reflective, shiny and colored repellers

Bright sun glare perfectly repels birds. As reflective elements, old CDs are most often used, hanging them on threads all over the tree. Just strips of foil from chocolates, shiny tins, bright colored ribbons will do. At the slightest breath of wind, all this will shimmer wonderfully, scaring away all the birds in the area.

A scarecrow will help save cherries from birds

An old proven way to scare away birds is to install a scarecrow on the site. Usually it is made from improvised materials so that it resembles a human silhouette.

Everything is suitable for manufacturing: sticks, old clothes and hats, any attributes of everyday life. Fantasy is truly limitless here. If only the figure looked like a person.

Models of natural enemies of birds, such as owls or cats, can also be used as a scarecrow. They are placed directly on the tree in a zone of good visibility. The disadvantages of scarecrows are that birds gradually get used to them. Especially if the scarecrow is in one place and in the same position for a long time.

 How to drive away starlings from cherries with rattles, rattles, turntables, wind chimes

Homemade rattles and turntables are easiest to make from an ordinary plastic bottle. Such devices perfectly combine visual and sound effects, producing uneven noise and spinning under the influence of the wind. Empty plastic bottles can also be hung like Christmas decorations. Even a slight fluctuation of them under the influence of the wind will create a noise from rubbing against leaves or branches, which is always perceived by birds as a danger.

In addition to turntables, mills and rattles, wind chimes can be hung on cherry branches. Their melodic ringing for birds is definitely a signal of human presence.

How to protect the cherry crop from starlings using gadgets

Modern technologies make it possible to create almost exact copies of living beings and at the same time make them move, make various sounds, etc. To protect the garden from uninvited guests, it is enough to purchase such a product in a store and fix it on a branch. And it is unlikely that any starling or thrush will dare to sit on the same tree with an exact copy of a kite, which not only moves its wings and turns its head, but also makes sounds of aggression.

With their undoubted effectiveness, such gadgets have one significant drawback – the price.

Birds do not like loud and sharp sounds.

Loud noise or music is used by many as a deterrent. To do this, most often turn on a radio under a tree. It really helps. However, birds quickly get used to a constant sound, so it is better if the sound alternates with pauses and changes in strength and frequency. For this, special audio recordings are used, which periodically reproduce a variety of sounds, for example, shots or cries of animal danger.

Ultrasonic and infrared repellers will help drive birds away from cherries

Modern electronics allow you to reproduce ultrasound, it is this range that many animals use when transmitting a signal of danger. Ultrasonic repellers are widely used in industrial agricultural enterprises, for example, in elevators and feed mills.

This is a very effective technology that can protect the garden. As a rule, such devices are equipped with infrared sensors that respond to the approach of a bird. After the sensor is triggered, the ultrasonic emitter turns on for a short time and scares away the intruder.

The gas gun will protect cherries from birds

The principle of operation of this device is as follows. A gun with a connected gas cylinder periodically imitates a rifle shot, while a bright flash with a characteristic pop comes out of the barrel.

The device is programmed for the frequency of detonation (for example, 1 shot in 15 minutes). At the same time, a standard propane tank with a capacity of 5 liters will be enough for about 4000 shots.

Non-standard crop protection methods

Quite exotic things can be used as a bird repeller. For example, balloons filled with helium or kites that constantly hover in the air. A home-made stuffed animal made of feathers, resembling an owl, is tied to the branches, or an old fur hat is placed, imitating a cat sitting on a branch.

To save the harvest of cherries will help … ordinary threads

Some gardeners also use this method. An ordinary white thread from a spool is tied to the lower branches, and then the spool is thrown over the crown. Gradually, the whole tree is entangled in a kind of white net.

Distracting methods of protecting cherries from starlings

Distraction methods are considered the most humane. Its principle is to feed the birds with something else so that they are full and do not touch the desired culture. However, this method usually does not work on cherries. It is not for nothing that cherries are called “bird cherries”, and it is unlikely that birds will refuse a free delicacy for the sake of something else. Rather, on the contrary, the cherry itself will serve as a distracting culture.

Installing feeders on the site will also not solve the problem, but will only attract an additional number of birds.

How to keep cherries from birds with unpleasant aromas

You can ward off annoying birds from cherries by spraying trees with infusions of sharp and sharp plants, such as garlic or pepper. This method will make the berries tasteless to starlings, but only until the first rain. Then the processing must be repeated again.

How to get rid of starlings on cherries for a long time

Sometimes, driven to despair by the fight against annoying flying robbers, gardeners decide on extreme measures – shooting or treating trees with pesticides. Carcasses of dead birds are hung right there on the branches. The method is as effective as it is inhumane. The poison will kill even those who have nothing to do with spoiling the cherry. And the sight of dead birds can seriously injure the psyche of children walking in the garden.

Some facts about the benefits of birds in the garden

Most birds living in gardens eat not only cherries. Therefore, it is worth considering what they eat all the time while there are no berries on the branches. Meanwhile, it is estimated that a couple of starlings eat up to 300 different beetles and larvae per day, most of which are pests. Especially a lot of birds work during the breeding season, for example, a sparrow at this time collects from 500 to 700 (!) Different insects, beetles, caterpillars, larvae per day.

A short video on how to protect cherries from birds is below.

Conclusion

It is possible to protect cherries from birds, and extreme measures are not always necessary for this. Sometimes a couple of simple homemade products are enough for the birds to leave the berries alone for a long time. This will not only save the harvest, but also will not harm the birds themselves, who work daily to improve the garden and become pests only for a short time when the berries ripen.