Keeping It Green - Lawn Care and Landscaping Blog

So I’ve started a garden this year and the first sunny day, the birds were out there, perched on my neatly piled rows of dirt, picking away at the seeds I had just planted. Obviously standing watch 24-7 is not an option. As much as I love that garden, I do have a life and somehow being a real live scarecrow wasn’t sounding like my life’s calling.

Next thought? Ooh! Let’s make a scarecrow! But that was quickly thwarted by thoughts of finding clothes to stuff, something to stuff them with… this was starting to sound like more trouble than I was willing to deal with. So what did I do? I Googled “how to keep birds out of my garden.” And I might have slipped in a keyword or two about an eco friendly option. Hey, that’s what I do.

I read all sorts of home remedies from hanging aluminum pie plates to windchimes, to something shiny in the trees. I reminded myself that not everything you read on the internet is true, and decided to conduct a little experiment of my own. This could be interesting.

I gathered from the things I had read that some sort of unexpected or unexplained motion is what keeps the birds at bay. But even then, my little feathered friends are apparently quite smart and can eventually learn that the object is not harmful and they come back for more. Add to that my penchant for being environmentally concious, and what did I come up with? Hang CD’s in the trees.

Just about everyone has a stack of CDs laying around the house that are in need of some repurposing. Whether it’s those AOL CDs, a video game that you defeated, or driver installation CDs (you know you can always download the most recent drivers for anything online), you’ve probably got a few laying around the house. Tie some string on them and hang them in a nearby tree. If there are no trees around your garden, hang them from a stick perched on the corner of two fence posts. Or get creative and construct yourself something to hang a CD from. The idea is to get it into a location where the CD can sway and twirl freely in the breeze. The reflection from the sun and the random motion from the shifting wind casts random shadows and reflections on the garden.

Shown above: a perfect example of a CD wonderfully repurposed as a Bird Scarer. Courtesy of Flickr photostream by Gilgongo.

I have a magnolia tree close to my garden. I put three CD’s in the tree and it actually looked kind of decorative as well. Better than a tin pie plate that’s for sure. I haven’t seen a bird in my garden yet, and I’ve got a few things sprouting so I count this one as a success! I haven’t had to move the CD’s yet either because the wind seems to keep them swinging randomly enough that the birds haven’t figured it out yet.

So for now, I’m keeping the birds away and repurposing some old garbage. It’s a win-win! Well, for everyone except the birds. Do you have any eco-friendly home remedies that have worked for keeping the birds away? If so, share with us! I might need a back up plan if they get wise to my CD tricks.