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sockiescat · 10-04-2006, 03:27 PM

"AndyS" wrote in
oups.com:

Andy writes:

Well, I'm starting a new garden and stuff has sprouted
and things
seem to be going well. But I am apprehensive about my
tomatoes. I live in a very rural area and there are LOTS
AND LOTS of birds, including crows the size of owls.....
I am sure these critters love tomatoes, figs, and
grapes........

So, I am considering putting up a scarecrow.

go ahead, but it won't stop the birds for more than 10
minutes

seriously, birds are smarter than that. if it doesn't move,
it's not going to scare anything.
OTOH, crows eat carrion mostly, so they aren't in the least
interested in your tomatoes. i've never had a bird problem
with tomatoes (well, except the chickens). hornworms, yes.
birds, no.
as for the grapes & figs, it may be more useful to put
netting over those when they start to ripen. i only have
Concord & wild grapes here and they're mostly so the birds
leave the fruit i *do* want alone

oh, the crows don't want your grapes or figs either... the
only thing crows tend to bother is sprouting corn, because the
corn sprouts about the same time they're feeding nestlings.

Has anyone here had experience with scarecrows and would
you be willing to pass along any tips and techniques on
making it effective ?

crows are very intelligent. if you need to keep them away
from sprouting corn, things that are very shiny & move work
best, but don't leave anything in one place more than 24 hours
or they'll learn to ignore it.

lee
--
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the
guise of
fighting a foreign enemy. -James Madison, fourth US president
(1751-1836)

a scarecrow really doesnt work but is a cute garden decoration. we always used to have one in our garden when we were kids. the one thing that does help is the pie plates that devonshire mentioned. i used to put a stake at either end of my beans and tomatoes when they were sprouting and would put pie plates on a wire running from one stake to the other. just put a hole in the edge of the pie plate rim and then use a string (dont make it to long) to tie the pie plate tightly to your wire, put them not to far apart because u want them to hit each other a bit to make a banging sound so that it scares the birds away.
another idea is to use those little whirlygigs that they have for kids the birds dont like the motion of them spinning around either. u can get some at the dollar stores but there are larger ones available which i think would work a little better, maybe check out walmart or another dept store in your area for those. i know michaels craft store had some large ones here in canada maybe try there to if u have them in your area u might be able to get them at a reasonable price. good luck. cyaaaaa, sockiescat.