How to Keep Birds From Digging Up the Flower Pots on My Deck

It's not common for birds to create nests in pots or even in hanging planters, but some species might land in your pots and peck and dig at your plants' roots, damaging your flowers. Others can make a mess of your garden beds. You can use various types of deterrents to repel them, but be careful, as most birds are protected by federal law that prohibits trapping or killing birds, harming their eggs, or destroying their nests.

Chemical options for repelling birds do not include poisons, so killing birds is absolutely off the table. Further, some chemicals for managing birds are restricted for use only by USDA wildlife specialists. Options available to home gardeners are two primary repellents: a sticky, polybutene gel product that can be applied like caulk to surfaces and a grape-flavored extract (methyl anthranilate).

Birds avoid the sticky gel because it is, well, sticky. Apply this not to your soil but rather to the edge of your flower pots. This is not foolproof, of course, because birds may land directly on the soil rather than on the pot's edge, but it may be effective in many cases.

The grape-flavored extract is not easy to obtain and use in home gardens, as manufacturers tend to target large operations that require heavy spray equipment and large quantities of the chemical, such as airports or municipalities trying to control birds. However, in some states, you can purchase products containing methyl anthranilate that can be put into a regular garden sprayer and sprayed directly onto plants, grass, trees, or other surfaces. Some products come packaged as cartridges that you simply hang on your porch or deck to repel birds.

You can make your flower pots inaccessible and unattractive to birds by laying down chicken wire over the pot's edge or directly on the soil. You'll need wire clippers to cut the chicken wire to size and also to create a shape that allows your plants to grow.

Other physical barriers might include sticking toothpicks or even craft sticks in and around your potted plants. You don't necessarily need something sharp but just something that prevents birds from easily landing and hopping about inside your pot. A little steel wool spread around could also work or try small pieces of wooden lath laid in a criss-cross fashion over the rim of your pot.

Farmers commonly use scare tactics to repel birds. Consider the ubiquitous scarecrow. You don't need a large scarecrow to deter birds from your patio or deck's potted plants. Instead, consider the wide range of visual devices that are marketed to repel birds, such as pinwheels or reflectors or anything shiny, like vinyl balloons or ribbons. Some of these are decorative enough that they might lend a festive look to your patio while still doing their work to ensure your potted plants remain bird-free.