How to Make An Easy and Effective Bird Deterrent

Don't let birds have first pick from your fruit trees.

When you garden in an area where fruits like cherries, blueberries and raspberries grow well and don't cover the trees and plants with netting, the birds may get more than you do. There are ways of scaring the birds away, without resorting to expensive and cumbersome methods like netting or caging each plant or tree. A straightforward bird deterrent that recreates the eyes of their predators -- jumbo size -- is effective when installed while plants are fruiting, can be made with little effort or cost.

Things You'll Need

• One or more old used aluminum pie plates
• Red and black metal paint
• Paintbrush
• Garden stakes or poles
• Nails or Screws
• Hammer or screwdriver

Instructions

1. Paint a large single, round red or black circle in the center of each side of an old metal pie pan. Use an outdoor-rated paint for use on metal and apply with a paintbrush. The circle or eye should be about one-third as large as the plate itself. Be sure to do this on each side of the plate.

2. Attach the plate or plates to a pole or tall wooden tomato stake once the paint is dry. You may attach it directly to the pole with a nail or screw, or you may attach a "T" across the top of the pole, and attach your plates to both ends of the top of the "T."

3. Attach the pole directly to your fruit tree if you don't have a pole long enough to use. This is not ideal, however, because the plate tends to blow in the wind and twist up. If you use this method, try to secure the plate well in place, which may mean that the birds can only see one side.

4. Mount one plate every 20 row feet to protect low-growing bushes or canes.

5. Mount the plates when plants and trees begin to fruit and remove them when fruiting season is over. If they remain in place, the birds become used to them and lose their fear of the "predator eyes."

Tips & Warnings

• Try not to hang the plates on long strings - the wind will twist them up badly, or if they are constantly moving around, they may not work well either.

• You may want to try some variations with your plates, like painting a white area around the outside of your eye - or a different colored pupil in the middle -- or different sized eyes -- or two eyes on each plate.

References

• Kansas State University Extension: Birds - Urban Wildlife Damage Control
• Cornell University Extension: Bye, Bye Birdie - Bird Management Strategies for Small Fruit