Plastic Bird Netting for Effective Garden Bird Control

Your garden will be flourishing soon. All those fruits and vegetables that you’ve been nurturing for months will finally be bearing the benefits of your hard work. Unless, of course, you failed to implement an effective bird control strategy. In that event, your efforts may prove to be in vain. For surely as the sun rises, birds will feed off your ripening fruits and veggies this spring.

Adding insult to injury, pest birds will also cover your garden with droppings, which are not only unsightly but can carry any of 60 infectious diseases. Instead of a garden richly scented with ripening fruit, you’ll have a smelly garden covered with bird droppings.

What to do? Most people who nurture gardens are reluctant to use lethal means to get rid of birds. Many will use water hoses to “shoo” them away. Others will rattle pots, pans and noise makers. But these measures have proven largely ineffective in the long run. Birds simply return minutes after you go indoors. The only real solution is to implement professionally recommended bird control measures. Among the most effective for gardens is Garden Bird Netting.

Lightweight and easy to handle, Garden Bird Netting will deny birds access to your fruits and vegetables. Ideal for fruit trees as well as garden plants, this netting will protect your blueberry bushes, grape vines and other plants from being attacked.  It's sold in 14 x 100-foot and 14 x 200-foot rolls, and you can easily cut it down to the size to need to protect specific plants or areas.  It’s also available in three different "mesh" sizes--1/4" mesh, 1/2" mesh and 3/4" mesh to protect your garden from a wide variety of pest birds. The netting is easy to install, and bird netting clips are available that make for effortless installation. The best Garden Bird Netting is made from a durable, UV-protected polypropylene. This netting is strong, light and virtually invisible.

Garden Bird Netting is also highly recommended to prevent birds from nesting. Birds who are in the process of nesting can be very territorial. They will return to previously established nesting sites and protect them. Plastic bird netting places your garden off limits so birds simply move on. You can install Garden Bird Netting temporarily if you have seasonal problem with birds, or you can install the netting permanently for year round protection.

Working effectively with Garden Bird Netting to achieve bird control are Visual Bird Deterrents. These include reflective foil and banner tape strung up on nearby trees, posts or fencing. By rattling in the breeze and reflecting sunlight, they create a distraction zone around your garden. Tear-drop shaped Bird Scare Diverters and Bird Scare Balloons accomplish the same result with their large, intimidating predator eyes bobbing in the wind. Visual distractors like these need simply to be moved around every so often to convince birds that they are an on-going threat.

How to Choose Plastic Netting for Pest Bird Control

by Alex A. Kecskes

When it comes to effective bird control, plastic bird netting is a humane, low-profile pest bird deterrent. It’s designed to physically exclude birds from damaging your home, garden and trees. The netting is easy to use and can be readily cut to size.

Most plastic bird netting is sold in two roll sizes: 14 x 100 feet and 14 x 200 feet. It also typically comes in three mesh sizes, depending on the bird species you wish to exclude. There’s a 1/4-inch mesh, a 1/2-inch mesh and a 3/4-inch mesh—to exclude pigeons, sparrows, starlings, swallows and other birds. The best plastic bird netting is made of durable, U.V.-protected polypropylene. This netting comes with a 1-year guarantee. It’s strong, light and virtually invisible. Today’s bird netting is even available in various colors to blend in with your trees, garden or home.

There are a number of ways to use plastic bird netting. It all depends on the type of bird and where they’ve become a nuisance. Here are some guidelines to help you from professional bird control experts:

To exclude eave-nesting birds

To prevent pest birds from building nests over your eaves, drape the plastic bird netting at a 45-degree angle over the eave.  Use a 1/4- to 1/2-inch mesh size to block out most eave-nesting birds. Make sure you have enough netting to run from the outer edge of the roof to the side of your house. Install the netting using tape, a staple-gun or hooks. Keep the netting taut and don’t leave any gaps for birds to work their way through.

To save your small fruit and nut trees

To protect small fruit and nut trees (no more than 8 feet tall), tie bird netting at the bottom to prevent birds from becoming tangled in the netting. Leave a space between the fruit and the netting to keep birds from sitting on the branch and eating your fruit through the holes in the netting. To properly install the netting, measure the circumference of the tree and cut the net to size, leaving at least one foot extra around the circumference. Secure the netting with twine, zip ties or hog rings. One manufacturer offers a bird netting kit for fast, easy installation. The kits include perimeter cable, cable crimps, turnbuckles, intermediate attachments, hog rings, and accessories and tools.

To save your bushes, vines and vegetable gardens

To protect your berry bushes, grape vines and vegetable gardens, suspend the plastic netting over these plants by at least 6 inches. This will prevent birds from sitting on the net and eating your fruit through the netting. One effective method of suspending the netting is by using a series of poles planted around the perimeter of the garden area to be protected. To exclude pest birds from your vegetable gardens, wrap each plant or group of plants in netting.