"-db-" wrote in message
...
Rod Out back wrote:

Stuff Deleted Here

With your netting, what if you join a layer of it thats laid out on the
ground around the edge of the bed? So your vertical wall of mesh ends up
with a flat section laying along the ground. I use this setup to keep
goannas out of a cage. The dont see they need to go back to the edge of
the
netting to dig underneath to get inside. I regularly fidn them out at
the
point where the floor mesh meets the wall mesh, and trying like hell to
dig
through it.


Thanks

This really only works for individual beds, though. What sort of
blackbird?
A crow, or something smaller?

Just the common import garden variety blackbird you find in Victoria.
There are plenty of crows around but they don't make a nuisance of
themselves.

cheers
-db-

I forgot to say, I use a thing called a Gerrard Ring Fastener to join the
netting reasonably quickly. It is like a pair of pliers, but with a
magazine that takes a stick of C-shaped lengths of wire. Closing the pliers
crushes the end one around whatever you are trying to join. The pliers are
about $80, but not sure what the fasteners are worth. It makes life a lot
easier joining lots of netting. Plan B would be a bundle of Zip-Ties, if you
can find some outdoor ones.

Also, think about folding the ground netting up onto the wall netting, so
the join isnt at ground level. this will make it harder for anything trying
to dig (probably a bit hard for a bird...).

Reason I asked about the blackbird is that the only black ones we get are
crows. I didnt think crows would be doing that sort of behaviour, but I saw
fields full of them digging up grubs in Tasmania last year, so I wondered...

Another thought would be some of that hot-foot stuff that is to keep birds
from roosting in shed rooves. However, I dont know what effect it might have
on the soil. I understand it uses a chilli base to irritate the bird.
Maybe you could try some chilli paste around the bottom of your exisiting
netting??

Cheers,

Rod.......Out Back