How well you secure your fruit trees determines your success and the rewards you get. Birds don’t regard the effort you put into growing your fruits, and if you must secure your investment and pave room to earn money from your fruits, you must know how to protect fruits from birds.
When birds infest your fruit trees, they destroy the fruits causing rot, leading to losses. Luckily, we will see how to protect your fruit trees in this post.
How to Protect Fruit Trees from Birds
You can use different options to protect your fruit trees from birds. However, their applicability and effectiveness differ. Here, we will discuss the most common useful methods you should try. Take a look!
1. Bird Netting
There are different types of fruit tree nettings you can use to protect your fruit trees. And bird netting is one type that you canuse it to cover your fruit trees so that birds, squirrels, and deer won’t reach your fruits to destroy them.
To install bird netting, you should drape it on the tree, and gather it at the trunk’s bottom to keep it in place and ensure no spaces are left at the bottom for birds to sneak in. These nettings are especially useful after pollination to protect growing and ripening fruits.
2. Predator Decoys
Predator decoys are a solution if you are looking for a cheap and simple way to keep birds away from your fruit trees. Identify what birds target your fruits, then find a predator decoy to place on your farm to scare away birds. For instance, using an owl as a predator is handy in keeping birds away. When birds see the predator decoy, they will likely fly away.
You must utilize a few predator decoys distributed inside your farm at different locations. Besides, a large decoy is easily visible to birds.
3. Ultrasonic Repellent Devices
You can place ultrasonic repellers on your fruit trees farm. That way, the bird repellers will reduce sounds similar to birds. Doing so scares away birds on your farm, securing your fruits. Besides, you can get a single unit covering an expansive backyard.
Alternatively, you can use chemical repellants. The chemicals will help keep off birds from your fruit trees. You just need to get a chemical that doesn’t harm your fruits while managing to repel off birds.
4. Utilize Wind Chimes
If you can access wind chimes, that is a great way of keeping off birds from your fruit trees. The wind chimes will reflect light to scare away birds. Moreover, the chimes will make noise when the wind blows to scare birds.
Although the method involves the cost of getting the wind chimes, you will find it effective once you have multiple wind chimes throughout your fruit farm or per fruit tree.
5. Shiny Objects
When you have shiny objects such as DVDs or aluminum trays, you can hang them on your farm. The goal is to make the objects reflect sunlight to scare away birds. Utilize strings to balance these objects; they will do the trick, especially when there is a breeze, as that will cause movements while reflecting sunlight.
The only drawback is that the method only works when there is sunlight.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What Are the Types of Bird Netting, and How to Choose?
When choosing bird netting, your goal determines what material to choose. Consider the cost of the bird nets, the company, customer reviews, aperture size, and durability. You can select the type based on your chosen material, such as wire crop coop, crop cage, wire cloche, etc.
Ensure you get a reliable brand or company offering the best bird netting for the right price. Moreover, seek counsel from their experts regarding usage, installation, and maintenance.
2. How to Install Bird Netting?
Once you have your bird nettings, start by installing corner fixings for each corner of your target area. Fit the intermediate fixings in a straight line, then run the wire rope the fixings starting with one side. Loop the wire ends on one side and strengthen the barrier to tension the wire. Do the same for all the other sides.
Use this link to watch a demonstration of how that works out.
3. What are the Best Materials to Use for Bird Netting on Fruit Trees?
There are three best materials you should use. Nylon bird nets are lightweight and ideal for agricultural applications, such as securing fruit trees. Stainless bird nets have the strongest material, while polyethylene is more durable and suitable for industrial settings.
4. When is the Best Time to Cover Fruit Trees for Bird Protection?
Birds are handy for fruit pollination. Thus, you should only cover your fruit trees after pollination when the flower petals fall. The trimming should align with when the fruit begins to appear on the trees, and they should remain covered even during the ripening period.
Conclusion
Protecting your fruits from birds secures your profit. This post has detailed the different ways to protect fruit trees from birds. Among the presented methods, bird netting your fruit trees is the most reliable and recommended. Find a reliable netting provider and get the best bird nets for your case. All the best!
