How to Keep Birds Out of Fruit Trees
Fruit trees provide a delicious treat to gardeners, but they are not the only ones who enjoy them. Birds are notorious for eating ripe fruit before it gets picked. Gardeners do not want to hurt the birds, since they also eat dangerous pests. There are a few simple and humane solutions to keep birds out of fruit trees.
What You'll Need:
- Compact discs
- Monofilament fishing line
- Aluminum pie pans
- String
- Tie a piece of string to several compact discs. Choose blank compact discs without any designs or stickers for a more pleasing look. Hang these CDs at various intervals throughout the tree by tying them to the branches. For smaller trees, use about 12 CDs. Larger trees will need a couple dozen or more. Sunlight will reflect off of the compact discs, creating flashes of light. This will effectively scare away the birds.
- Hang strands of monofilament fishing line to the ends of the branches. Each strand should be approximately 18 inches long. Tie the fishing line to the majority of the larger fruit tree branches. The fishing line will look invisible to the gardener, but it will reflect light as the birds get near. The birds will fly away in fear.
- Purchase several disposable aluminum pie pans. Punch a hole near the edge of the pans, and tie a piece of string through the holes. Hang each of the pie pans in different places throughout the tree. Just like the CDs and fishing line, the aluminum pie pans will reflect sunlight to deter the birds. They are also very noisy in the wind, which will scare away any birds on an overcast day.