In recent years, birds have become a real disaster for summer residents. Only the barrel of the strawberry turns red, and it immediately becomes the object of the encroachment of birds. And what can we say about the mass ripening of berries!

Strawberries are considered one of the most beloved and labor-intensive berries in growing. To get a good harvest, special care is needed for it: feed it in the spring and after fruiting, tear off the mustache growing in incredible quantities by leaps and bounds, water in dry weather, remove old yellowed leaves, cut the foliage after harvest. In addition, you need to update every 3-4 years so that the variety does not degenerate, and the berries do not become small. Having spent a lot of effort on caring for the strawberry beds, naturally I would like to get a good return, but the invasion of voracious birds can confuse all plans. And they choose the most ripe or reddened berries from one side. There have been a lot of birds lately. If a whole flock arrives, then there is a chance to remain completely without berries. Gardeners are forced to save their strawberry plantings from birds as much as possible. We offer several ways to protect strawberries from birds.

Using a covering material

This is a very efficient way. As soon as the berries start to turn red, you need to throw it on the garden bed. The birds do not see, and the neighbors do not envy. To collect strawberries, you need to pull out the stakes from one side, harvest and again hide from all eyes.

Net

This is the most effective method of scaring away birds and protecting berries. However, there are a number of disadvantages here. First, you need to find such a grid somewhere. There is not always a suitable one on sale. Then, when the harvest is ripe, the net can be removed for a while. Well, if you just want to eat a few berries from the garden? It is not very convenient to open the mesh every time. And from the aesthetic point of view, the bed with strawberries covered with a net does not look very good.

Other ways to protect strawberries from birds

A very interesting way is to scare away birds with old and unnecessary DVDs or CDs or cut strips of foil. To do this, holes are punctured along the edge of the discs, twine is threaded and then everything is hung next to the beds. Shiny objects moving from the wind, shimmering brightly in the sun, scare away birds.

Bird rattles

Another way to protect strawberries from birds with your own hands is to make a rattle. You can make it from any unnecessary items that are capable of making noise when colliding with each other. For example, tying together empty beer cans. In the wind they will rattle strongly and scare off the noise of birds. But if there is no wind?

Garden scarecrow

Consider how to protect strawberries from birds (photo above) using a garden scarecrow. There are tremendous opportunities for creativity for the whole family here. You can put on old unnecessary clothes on a frame made of two boards, knocked down in the shape of a cross. Then fill it with straw or old newspapers. Most often, a scarecrow is given the appearance of a person, but sometimes it is made in the form of a bird of prey, which will scare away birds and protect the crop. The most effective garden scarecrows are those in which, swinging in the wind, something moves. There are very funny sets on sale, which consist of a plastic owl and a CD recording the sounds that this bird makes. This double effect scares off birds pretty well.

Among other methods, how to protect strawberries from birds, there are various traps, from which birds can be later released from the garden further away, all kinds of chemical means of protection. Stores also sell electronic gadgets that make sounds that only birds can hear. They scare them away from the garden. How else to protect strawberries from birds? You can simply turn on the radio on the site - loud sounds scare away birds well.

And the last way to protect strawberries from birds (photo) is to plant more strawberry bushes so that there are enough berries for both you and the birds. This is the best method; alas, it is not possible for owners of small plots.

Strawberries (or, more precisely, garden strawberries) are grown by gardeners and gardeners wherever the climate allows. This is a delicious berry. Unfortunately, both humans and birds are aware of this. Starlings, blackbirds, sparrows, magpies, and even crows will happily feast on both ripe and unripe berries. Summer residents, especially those who do not live on the site permanently, have nothing left. Therefore, it is important to know what can be done to protect the strawberry crop.

How to protect strawberries: mesh and cover material

The most common solution is to cover the strawberry beds with netting or covering material. All this can be purchased at construction, agricultural stores or on the Internet. Plastic, polypropylene or metal mesh with diamond-shaped, rectangular and square-shaped cells does not interfere with the access of plants to sunlight and moisture, as well as the process of pollination of strawberries by insects.

The net for the beds is presented in the stores in the widest range

Breathable opaque covering material (Lutrasil, Spunbond, Agril, Agrospan) provides a greenhouse effect. The birds do not see the berries, therefore, and do not strive to get to the garden. But pollination in a natural way is impossible in this case. Without the sun, strawberry bushes grow poorly, berries ripen longer, and the yield decreases. With excessive watering, plantings may rot.

Covering material allows you to hide the crop from birds

Closing the garden bed, pegs are driven in at intervals of 45-50 cm around the perimeter, onto which the material is attached so that it descends to the ground. There it also needs to be fixed, for example, with bricks. They are pulled tight enough so that the net does not sag in the center. The height of the structure is 15–20 cm higher than the strawberry bushes.

Video: how to fix the covering material on the garden bed?

Indeed, it is problematic for the birds to get to the berries in this case, but the solution is not without drawbacks:

• It is necessary to find a sufficiently dense fine-mesh mesh. Regular fishing will not work. Birds freely enter the cells. If the mesh is too thin, it will simply be torn apart. Therefore, finding the right material can take a lot of time and effort.
• The price of the issue. If you have a small plot and 1-2 beds, you shouldn't even think about it. And those who grow strawberries on an industrial scale must purchase covering material and a net in hundreds of square meters. It turns out pretty expensive.
• Planting care becomes much more difficult. It is also impossible to walk through the garden, picking a couple of berries along the way. For any weeding, loosening, fertilizing, watering, harvesting, the mesh and material must be removed, and then the garden bed must be covered again. Such frequent use drastically shortens the life of the material - holes are formed, which are immediately expanded by birds.
• Birds that see the mouth-watering berries do not consider the netting to be a major hindrance. Trying to get to them by all means, they get entangled and get stuck so that they cannot free themselves from the cells without assistance. People have to help. Birds do not appreciate this and bite painfully.
• An important factor is aesthetic. A net just thrown over the beds looks very sloppy. So, you need to think about how to fix it beautifully. This means additional expenditure of effort, time and money.

A net stretched over the beds makes it difficult to properly care for strawberries and harvest

The purchase of a set of special frame arcs made of metal, plastic or bamboo can partially neutralize the disadvantages. They are quite lightweight so no foundation is required. Their number depends on the length of the bed. The optimal distance between the arcs is 60–80 cm. They must be installed and the mesh must be fixed on top - you should get a structure that resembles a section of a tunnel. If you find high enough arcs, you can go inside, like in a greenhouse or greenhouse. This greatly facilitates plant maintenance and harvesting. But the beds are very narrow.

When fruiting is over, the mesh is removed, and the frame is disassembled until next year.

Therefore, the best solution is a mesh made of plastic, fine-mesh (so that birds do not get confused), rather rigid (so as not to sag), fixed on frame arcs. Separate pieces will be needed to cover the resulting "tunnel" from the ends. Otherwise, the design loses all meaning.

If you decide to use the mesh and arches method, the birds will not be able to reach the strawberries, and it will be convenient for you to care for the beds.

Video: net for protecting strawberry beds

Boxes with mesh lids

Another option for protecting strawberries with a net is devoid of the listed disadvantages, but requires certain practical skills. If you have experience in carpentry or joinery, construct boxes with mesh lids for planting.

The algorithm of actions is as follows:

1. Choose boards of suitable length and width.
2. Assemble a wooden box with crossbars every 60–80 cm, fastening the boards with screws and corner bars. It is not necessary to make it very high - ventilation deteriorates, the berries do not have enough sun. It is enough that the future cover does not touch the landings. Other parameters are determined by the size of the beds.
3. Attach legs of short bars to the box in each corner, sharpening them from below. If the bed is very long, you will need additional legs on the long side. Since the legs will be driven into the ground, treat the tree with a special compound that prevents rotting. You can just burn them.
4. Place the box on the garden bed and drive the legs into the ground, gently tapping the corners with a hammer.
5. Protect the structure from the negative effects of natural factors - rain, snow, cold, wind. A primer will help with this. It is sold in hardware stores, but the self-prepared composition is no worse. 1 kg of slaked lime should be diluted in 2 liters of water and 100 g of shavings of laundry soap should be added. All this is thoroughly mixed and filtered immediately before processing the boards.
6. Based on the dimensions of the resulting sections, assemble the frames for the covers from thin bars.
7. Attach the covers to the frame with hinges installed from the outside so that it opens outward.
8. Cut out pieces of mesh of the required size and secure it with staples using a furniture stapler, bent small studs, thin slats.
9. Attach a handle, hinge or something else to each lid that allows it to be freely opened.

The beds in the boxes look very neat and well protected

How can you scare the birds?

Any popular methods are not very useful. In the first few days, the effect may be noticeable, but the birds are not stupid and quickly figure out what they are dealing with. Having discovered that no real danger comes from something terrible in appearance, they boldly continue to destroy your berries.

Birds flying into the garden in flocks can destroy your crop in a couple of days.

Therefore, the methods described below should be alternated and combined as often as possible. Only in this way will you achieve a more or less permanent result.

Scarecrow

"Grandfather's" method, used from time immemorial. At present, the classic effigy of two cross-shaped poles or boards, dressed in old clothes stuffed with straw, with a bag representing the head, is practically not used for obvious reasons. The birds are not in the least afraid of him. On the contrary, on the "shoulders" of this structure, they are happy to rest after a delicious lunch. It is also an excellent position to look out for the most delicious and ripe berries.

But your children will get great pleasure from the process of building a scarecrow. For them, this is a great excuse to show imagination and creativity. You can use, for example, an old mannequin as a base.

If you do decide to protect your garden with a scarecrow, regularly rearrange it from place to place and change its appearance. The more radical the better. It is also useful to secure the structure so that it rotates on the support.

Scarecrow is a traditional, but ineffective method of scaring away birds

Plastic and rubber naturalistic models of birds of prey, made in compliance with the dimensions and proportions, are somewhat more effective. Especially if they are "decorated" with something shiny and a device is attached to them to reproduce and record the sounds made by these birds.

An electrified dummy equipped with a motion sensor, which would start making sounds when birds approach and, for example, waving "arms", would greatly help gardeners and gardeners. But the introduction of such structures into production is a matter of the future. And the price will be appropriate. On small household plots, such a "scarecrow" simply will not pay off.

Video: how to make a scarecrow?

Noise

The hearing of birds is much more subtle than that of humans. Therefore, they do not tolerate harsh loud sounds. Try to save the beds like this:

• Stretch several threads or thin wires over them and hang cans close to each other at different heights. A more aesthetic option is “wind chime”. At the slightest breath, the cans and tubes will sway and bump against each other, making a noise. But you will have to endure it too. This is especially "happy" in the late night or early morning. And every day you will quickly get tired of removing the cans and hanging them back. In addition, the wind does not always blow.
• Every day, turn on special audio recordings reproducing the cries of birds of prey or the cries of feathered "pests", signaling relatives of the danger. They are sold in gardening stores and online. If you want to save money, just turn on the radio loudly. However, this soundtrack will most likely not please your neighbors.

Color and shine

High posts are driven in at the corners of the beds. A thin rope or wire is stretched along the perimeter and crosswise at different heights. They hang on it:

• Old CDs and DVDs. Oscillating under the gusts of wind, they reflect the sun's rays, discarding "bunnies". But in cloudy weather, the birds hardly pay attention to them.
• Unnecessary Christmas tree decorations, "rain" and tinsel, ordinary foil, as well as polyethylene or cellophane cut into "fringe". In this case, the beds look elegant and festive. But if you overdo it with "jewelry", it is almost impossible to look after them.
• Tape extracted from audio or video cassettes. It can be hung in the form of a fringe and additionally pulled tight around the perimeter, surrounding the garden bed several times. The tape not only shines and moves, but also makes a rattling sound unpleasant for birds at the slightest breath. It is almost on the verge of ultrasound, therefore, it is almost inaudible for a person.
• Bandages, white ribbons, flags and balloons filled with helium. There is an opinion that birds do not like white and are afraid of it. The balls can be made even more intimidating by painting something that resembles an eye on them with red, blue or black paint.
• Homemade turntables from plastic bottles. The plastic reflects the light, and the structure rotates in the wind. It can be a spectacular addition to your garden decor.

Birds quickly realize that all this shine and rustle does not pose any real danger.

Old discs hanging over the garden glare in the sun, scaring away birds

Special devices

Science does not stand still, so special devices that scare away birds have appeared on the market. Most often, they are equipped with a built-in infrared or laser motion sensor, therefore they turn on only when the landing of birds approaches.

The devices emit high-range sounds unpleasant for birds, indistinguishable to the human ear.

The device is equipped with a motion sensor

There are also devices that periodically emit loud, sharp sounds, reminiscent of sirens, pops or shots. Sometimes this is complemented by blinking or glowing. On some, you can adjust the frequency and volume of the sound.

The sound cannon emits loud sounds when birds approach

Such devices are certainly effective, but they are quite expensive. Therefore, the owners of small household plots do not even consider the possibility of such an acquisition. The harvest is not worth it; there are less costly methods to protect it.

Video: how to scare birds away

What to plant for distraction?

Gardeners sympathetic to Greenpeace, IFAW and other wildlife groups can offer the birds an alternative food source.

A row of strawberry beds is planted with berries that ripen at about the same time as strawberries, the loss of a crop of which will upset you less. It can be bird cherry, sea buckthorn, irga, black and red mountain ash, wild cherry. The method does not guarantee anything. Birds are not obligated to eat only the berries intended for them. It is very likely that they will destroy both them and the strawberries. But not a single bird will suffer. Even morally, seeing the berries and not being able to get to them.

Other ways to protect berries

Cats in the garden will help you cope with uninvited guests

How else can you protect a harvested crop?

• The easiest way is to increase the planting area. So there will be enough berries for both the birds and you. But far from all summer residents are ready to share with the "freeloaders" the harvest, on the cultivation of which so much time, effort and resources have been spent. In fact, almost no one is ready, except for individual fanatical nature lovers.
• Get a cat, and preferably several. Or at least periodically lure neighbors or stray animals to your place. To do this, you can, for example, plant valerian. Hunting, as a rule, turns out to be ineffectual, but the very fact of the presence of natural enemies on the site will make the birds less arrogant. A significant disadvantage is that animals who are carried away by the process of catching birds can greatly trample the beds. And not only with strawberries. In addition, the presence of wild cats and small children at the same time on the site means the need for constant surveillance of them by their parents.
• Birds of prey (hawks, falcons) are much better and more effective than cats. Crows are also useful in this sense. They do not trample the beds and do not eat strawberries. Before visiting your site, a flock of birds sends "scouts" ahead. They will certainly inform the others about those who protect your plantings, and will fly around the beds on the tenth road. However, keeping one bird of prey is more expensive than a dozen cats.
• Arrange a small stream, a waterfall next to the strawberry plantings, put a decorative fountain. Hearing in birds is much sharper than in humans, they will certainly be attracted by the coolness and murmuring water. There is a chance that, when flocking to the water source, they will ignore the beds. But nothing prevents them from resting in a pleasant place, then destroying your harvest.
• Spread the sliced ​​onions or onion feathers into the strawberry beds. Birds really dislike this smell. The downside is that you have to endure it too. In addition, berries can absorb the smell.
• Before the strawberries ripen, scatter bright red wooden cubes, plastic bottle caps, and so on in and around the beds. The birds will try to peck at them and make sure it is inedible. When the berries ripen, the birds, remembering that there is nothing edible here, will pay less attention to your beds.
• Option for the fastidious and strong in spirit. Find a dead bird somewhere, bring it to your own lot and hang it next to the strawberry beds. This will help you get rid of birds not only for this season, but also for the next few years. It looks rather unaesthetic, not at all decorating the rural pastoral, and the smell is appropriate.
• Unfolding poisonous baits on the site or total shooting of birds. An extremely unfortunate decision, even if you have the appropriate skills to exclude accidental hitting of relatives, guests and neighbors, and the absence of pets, which can also be poisoned. Few people think about this, but in addition to the visible harm in the form of destruction of the crop, birds bring significant benefits to the garden. In addition to berries, they feed on insect larvae and weed seeds. Now you have to fight them. By destroying the birds, you will deprive insects of natural enemies, increasing their population at times, and also doom yourself to endless weeding. This will require even more time and effort.

Blooms Strawberry... This means that soon, very soon, the first berries will ripen. And here many gardeners will face the problem of how to protect their strawberry plantation from gluttonous birds... Especially if there is a forest near the site, where the birds feel very at ease. I also faced such a problem a few years ago. ... They fly into the strawberry beds in a flock and choose the largest and ripe berries! I started looking for a cardinal way that you can do it yourself for protecting strawberries from birds.

I read a bunch of literature. I found a lot of proposals there. The most radical way, which is generally suggested, is to cover the strawberry plantation with a fine mesh. A good, effective method, however, it has several disadvantages. We need to find such a grid somewhere. On sale is not always the right one. Then, when enough berries are ripe for picking, the net can be removed for a while. And if you just decided to eat a few berries from the garden? It is inconvenient to open the mesh every time. And the aesthetically pleasing strawberry garden bed does not look very good. It is proposed to put a scarecrow on the beds. But our birds have long chosen the shoulders of this scarecrow in order to look out for sweeter berries. Another way is to hang empty cans in pairs. During the wind, they will thunder and scare away birds. And when there is no wind? In one place I found a very interesting way to scare away birds using old CDs! You need to pierce a hole along the edge of the old disc, thread the twine and hang it all next to the beds. Disks shimmering in the sun will scare away birds. I wonder where do I get a bunch of old CDs? Well, I have two or three. which it will not be a pity to make holes.

And this method gave me a pretty simple idea. Well, invented, done. I put small pegs about a meter high from the ends of the beds. I pulled a string between them. Then he rummaged in a box with Christmas decorations. I think that almost everyone has such a box at home in a cherished corner and is waiting for the next New Year's holiday. And I found an interesting thing. Christmas tree rain! Long, narrow strips of bright, shiny polyethylene. In! I tied the raindrops to the taut twine and began to watch. And it worked! The rains are very light and at the slightest movement of air begin to "stir" and sparkle. The robbers-sparrows flew in a couple of times, circled, circled, but did not dare to sit down. And that's all. I never saw any other bird on the site. And our strawberry beds looked festive and smartly decorated until autumn.

Gardeners spend a lot of effort to get a good harvest of berries, including strawberries. But even if it was obtained, if it was possible to avoid diseases and attacks of insects, if the weather was good - all the same, the collection of berries may turn out to be less than the norm. The reason is in such lovers of everything sweet as birds. And one of the most effective solutions against them is just a covering net for strawberries from birds.

Nuances of use

There is a whole arsenal of tools that are designed to protect plantings from beaks aiming from heaven. But nevertheless, it is the mesh structures that must be recognized as the most effective version of the "garden air defense". Almost all known species of birds living in Russia are dangerous to fruits. The only exceptions are predators. A high-quality protective solution should equally well stop crows and sparrows, rooks and cranes, pigeons and tits.

Compared to the grid, all other solutions to the problem lose:

• keeping birds of prey is expensive;
• cats and dogs trample the beds more than drive away crop destroyers;
• birds get used to scarecrows and sound signals quickly;
• tapes and old discs work only in sunny weather, and rattling cans - in the presence of wind;
• No one will continuously guard the garden, then you will have to devote your whole life to it.

How is protection organized?

To cover the garden from birds, polypropylene and steel nets are equally suitable. It does not matter what the configuration of the cell is: a rhombus or a rectangle. If the structure is made and designed correctly, 100% protection is guaranteed while allowing heat, water and light to pass through. Also, all insects carrying pollen can easily penetrate through the cells. There are several ways to install a bird netting.

Most often, they begin by driving stakes along the outer border of the bed. Already along them, a net is stretched, raising it 300–350 mm above the strawberry bushes, so as not to interfere with their growth. In another version, a greenhouse-like structure is created. In the same way, metal or plastic arcs are taken. They are already becoming the frame for the fence.

In addition to a simple mesh construction, often attempts are made to secure a cover material that is impervious to sunlight. Such materials are supplied, for example, under the brands "Spunbond", "Agrospan". Birds simply cannot see what exactly is in the beds. However, such protection, for all its effectiveness, cancels natural pollination and reduces the quality of the crop, because the insolation of strawberries also decreases.

When closing the beds, it is required to hammer in the pegs with an interval of 450–500 mm. At the bottom, the material is fixed using bricks or other holding product.

If a stretched agricultural material is used, it must be pulled tighter, otherwise the net will sag in the middle. It will be necessary to raise the mesh line 150-200 mm above the bushes.

You can hide strawberries from birds in this way, and it will be difficult for them to get to protected berries. But there are a number of downsides:

• you will have to use the most dense mesh with a fine mesh (fishing is unusable);
• finding the optimal material is very difficult;
• to protect a large garden, the construction will be expensive;
• it will be more difficult to care for the plantings;
• it will not work out just like that, walking along the path, pick a few passing berries;
• frequent lifts of the covering material during daily use quickly wear it out;
• many birds get entangled in the net, trying to get to the harvest, and when trying to free them, they can bite and scratch;
• The simplest sketch of a net over the beds may not seem aesthetically pleasing, and it can be more difficult to fix it in a more beautiful way.

Therefore, the use of special sets of arcs to form the frame is quite an attractive solution. These arcs can be made from:

• quality steel;
• bamboo;
• various types of plastic.

In any case, the arcs are light and are placed without preparation of the foundation. The number of arc elements is determined by how long the bed is formed. The distance between the individual arcs varies from 0.6 to 0.8 m. When the required fasteners are supplied, they can be used to stretch and attach the mesh. Ultimately, it should look like a fragment of a tunnel.

If arcs of great height are set, it will be possible to move inside, as in a full-fledged greenhouse. Then the subsequent care of the strawberries and the removal of ripe berries are greatly simplified.

In this case, a plastic net with a small cell is made (in which the birds will not get entangled). It is recommended to select a material of high rigidity, which sags a little. Several pieces are picked up, closing the end parts of the "tunnel". If this is not done, all work, in principle, loses its meaning, because the birds will simply bypass it on the ground, very quickly discovering an accessible loophole.

However, this design also has a drawback: it turns out to make only very narrow beds in it. After the harvest is completed, the net must be removed, and the frame must be dismantled in order to use it again next season.

Of steel

Bamboo

Box and mesh

There is a solution that is completely devoid of such shortcomings. However, in order to implement it, you will have to have specific skills. Those who know how to handle carpentry and carpentry tools will be able to do the job without difficulty. They start with the selection of suitable sized boards. A box is already being formed from them, in which crosspieces directed transversely are placed with a step of 0.6–0.8 m.

To connect the boards, angle bars attached to screws are suitable. The structure should be of moderate height so that the strawberries are not deprived of access to the sun and air. If the lid is not in contact with the tops of the bushes, this is already enough. Other sizes are selected individually each time, taking into account the dimensions of the garden. The corners are equipped with peculiar legs made of pointed shortened bars.

Important: with a very long bed length, auxiliary legs are placed, which are driven into the ground every 1-2 m on the long edge. Since the supports will go into the ground, they are lightly burned or (much more preferable) treated with drugs that stop decay.

When installing the box, the legs are driven into the ground with confident but accurate hammer blows. The wood is often protected with a primer. Frames are prepared to the exact size of the sections, they are attached to hinged hinges with outward opening. A mesh is already mounted on top of the covers.

For information on how to install a bird net, see the next video.

Berry plantings delight the eyes of farmers ... and not only them. Every time the harvest season approaches, the kitchen gardens and orchards are already gazed down with impassive gazes. And we must be ready to give a proper rebuff to the feathered "lovers of sweets".

Peculiarities

There are many options for saving sweet fruits. But it is important to figure out exactly how to protect, preserve Victoria and other varieties of strawberries most effectively. In recent years, the number of birds trying to nibble on strawberries and other berry crops, leaving people only naked shoots, has increased significantly. The most dangerous situation is when there are:

• pond;
• Lake;
• other gardens;
• cemeteries.

Who attacks landings and how?

It is important to understand that not only blackbirds peck at strawberries - other feathered creatures also share a passion for it. The dove and the drake, the sparrow and the tit, the starling and the nightingale, the goldfinch and the rook ... doesn't matter, they all love “dessert”. Moreover, birds often move from one plant to another. And soon their beaks will be aimed at raspberries, cherries and so on. Therefore, protection methods must be used without fail, especially if summer residents are on the site occasionally.

Basic ways to prevent attacks

First of all, if the birds eat berries, you need to make a mesh fence. This is the most effective technique and poses no danger to flying creatures. Special nets can be either metal or polypropylene. The difference between them is also related to the geometry of the cells: they are made in the form of rhombuses or rectangles. Mesh structures fully cover the landings from the inhabitants of heaven, but do not interfere with the flow of light and water. Pollinating insects can freely penetrate through the network, and it does not interfere with feeding the leaves.

It is important to consider several nuances here:

• the easiest way is to drive stakes around the perimeter and pull the net 0.3 m above the bushes;
• you can also make a kind of greenhouse when the network rests on arcs;
• during harvesting and other work, the edges can be slightly raised and returned to their place.

Alternatives

The use of CDs, as well as DVD media and the like for recording data is a great hint. Old unwanted blanks or tapes removed from cassettes for tape recorders and VCRs can be hung on well-lit places. But it is important to consider that the protection works mainly in sunny weather. There is a risk that the protective discs and belts will be cut off by wind and rain, or that small birds will bypass them. In addition, it will not be possible to hang all this on the strawberry bushes themselves (unlike cherries and other crops of sufficient height) - you will have to create additional supports.

You can also use everything that reflects light: unnecessary polished metal objects, shards of mirrors, aluminum foil, Christmas tree decorations. But excess brightness and glare can be exhausting to your eyes. Therefore, it is also worth thinking about sound means for scaring away birds. Ten to twenty cans of beer or canned food, tied to each other, can create a deafening noise for the winged. Additionally, it is worth hanging a small pocket mirror: it will complement the acoustic protection with optical effects.

The obvious disadvantage of all sound methods is that the noise quickly bothers the owners of the site themselves and can cause scandals with neighbors.

Banks show protective properties only in the wind. In addition, birds can quickly adapt to the rumble, and soon it will cease to interfere with them. A scarecrow, especially when combined with ratchets or ribbons, can also become ineffective pretty soon.

The equipment, broadcasting the calls of hawks and owls, other animals that hunt herbivorous birds, also helps to escape from rodents. But this is so far, especially considering the negative experience of some airports. They also tried to use this method, but soon the birds discovered the deception. In addition, very few people will like harsh sounds.

The general conclusion is this: until now, no method has been invented that would be as versatile, reliable and effective as covering strawberries with a net.

For another simple and interesting way to protect strawberries from birds, see the next video.