On 6/4/2015 11:09 AM, Bob F wrote:
Michael Evangelista wrote:
I love birds. So much that I don't mind sharing some of my cherries.
I also love cherries, and don't want the dang pesky birds pecking a
hole in each and every one the day before it gets good and ripe!

Other than pie plates, which seem to be keeping safe only the very
branches they are tied to, I'm looking for tried and true tips to
keep these lovely little creatures from greedily devouring my first
really good cherry crop.

Does the netting over the whole tree really work? (and can it be
removed without the aid of 4 ladders or lots of cutting?) Are there
any scents that would help? Sounds? Scarecrows? Plastic owls? How
about tethering a large hungry cat to the tree? (just kidding... sort
of...)

There used to be a tree in my neighborhood that would have a metal "bird cage"
over the tree (15-20 feet high) every spring, with a bird-net mesh pulled over
it. Without such a contraption, I suspect it would be very hard to so cover any
but the smallest trees.


Netting works and best to have a whole tent of it over the tree. I
imagine that birds would peck through it on any cherries it touched.

I know of some Amish that have a large blueberry patch, maybe an eighth
of an acre, and the whole thing is screened over, tall enough to walk
under. Neighbor used to put cages around his blueberries.