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Birds

Birds

Class Aves

Bird

Welcome almost everywhere else in the garden, birds become a pest when they strip ripening berries and fruit or pull up just-sprouted seedlings. They are best handled by physically excluding them with netting rather than by trying to scare or harm them.

🔎 How to spot it

The usual culprits are robins, starlings, sparrows, jays, finches, and crows, and the damage pattern tells the story: pecked and half-eaten ripening berries and tree fruit, missing seedlings or seed scratched out of the rows, and torn young leaves. Watch which birds visit as the fruit colors up.

🥀 Damage it causes

Birds peck and carry off ripening soft fruit such as blueberries, strawberries, cherries, and grapes, often ruining far more than they eat. They also pull up sprouting seedlings, eat sown seed, and shred young leaves. Damage peaks just as fruit ripens, so a crop can be lost in a few days.

🛡️ Prevent it

Exclusion with netting is the most reliable protection. Drape fine bird netting, about 1/4 to 3/4 inch mesh (lightweight insect netting or tulle works too), over berry bushes and fruiting plants before the fruit begins to color, and over newly seeded beds. Support it on a frame or hoops so it does not crush the plants, and secure the edges all the way to the ground so birds cannot tunnel under.

🧯 If it is already here

If birds are already feeding, get netting on quickly and pick ripe fruit promptly so less is left to attract them. Visual and noise scare devices such as reflective tape, scare-eye balloons, and moving objects give short-lived relief at best, because birds soon learn to ignore them, so move them often and pair them with netting.

💡 Good to know

Most garden birds are protected by law, and many earn their keep the rest of the season by eating insect pests, so the goal is to keep them off the crop, not to harm them. Choose a mesh small enough that birds cannot reach through or get tangled, and remove the netting carefully after harvest to reuse it for years.

🌱 Plants it attacks

714 plants in the library can be attacked by this pest

Acorn SquashAdirondack Blue PotatoAdzuki BeanAfrican Blue BasilAfrican MarigoldAgapanthusAgeratumAgrimonyAji Amarillo Pepper🍓Albion StrawberryAlice du Pont Mandevilla🥔All Blue PotatoAlmondAloe VeraAmbrosia CornAmerican BasswoodAmerican Beauty Dragon FruitAmerican BeechAmerican PersimmonAmethyst Falls WisteriaAmish Paste TomatoAnaheim PepperAnemoneAngelique TulipAngeloniaAniseAnise HyssopAnjou PearAnnabelle Smooth HydrangeaAnnual VincaApeldoorn TulipApple MintApril Tryst CamelliaArbequina OliveArizona Sun Blanket FlowerArkin CarambolaArmenian CucumberAroniaArp RosemaryArugulaAshwagandhaAsian PearAsian PersimmonAtemoyaAtlantic Giant Pumpkin🥕Atomic Red CarrotAucubaAugust Beauty GardeniaAunt Molly's Ground CherryAutumn Joy SedumAvocadoBachelor's ButtonBalsam FirBalsam PoplarBanana PepperBarbara Karst BougainvilleaBartlett PearBay LaurelBayberryBeach PlumBeauregard Sweet PotatoBecky Shasta DaisyBee Balm🍅Beefmaster TomatoBenarys Giant ZinniaBengal Tiger CannaBetter Boy Tomato🥬Bibb Lettuce🍅Big Beef TomatoBig Boy TomatoBilberryBing CherryBitter MelonBlack BeanBlack Beauty EggplantBlack Beauty ZucchiniBlack Beluga LentilBlack Cherry TomatoBlack CrowberryBlack Currant🍉Black Diamond WatermelonBlack Kabouli ChickpeaBlack Krim TomatoBlack RaspberryBlack Sapote🥬Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce🥕Black Spanish RadishBlack Tartarian CherryBlack WalnutBlack-Eyed PeaBlack-eyed Susan VineBlood OrangeBloomsdale SpinachBlue Bird DelphiniumBlue Bird Rose of SharonBlue FescueBlue Lake Green BeanBluecrop BlueberryBocking 14 ComfreyBok Choy

For educational and informational purposes only. Pest control advice is general guidance drawn from university cooperative extension sources; always identify a pest positively and read and follow the label on any product before use, especially around food crops, children, and pets.