Any suggestions for protecting blueberry bushes from birds? Last year I
covered them with a net but it's rather unsightly and It's not clear that
it did any good (I had fewer berries last year then the year before when
I didn't do anything except rely on my cat to keep the birds away).

"B. Joshua Rosen" wrote:

Any suggestions for protecting blueberry bushes from birds? Last year I
covered them with a net but it's rather unsightly and It's not clear that
it did any good (I had fewer berries last year then the year before when
I didn't do anything except rely on my cat to keep the birds away).


Get some more cats? :-)
--
Susan N.

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who do not.

On Sat, 31 May 2003 18:18:03 -0400, "B. Joshua Rosen"
wrote:

Any suggestions for protecting blueberry bushes from birds? Last year I
covered them with a net but it's rather unsightly and It's not clear that
it did any good (I had fewer berries last year then the year before when
I didn't do anything except rely on my cat to keep the birds away).

Oh dear. We just planted blueberry bushes. Of course we
won't get any berries this year.

I don't care if a net is unsightly - I'll be using one when
the bushes have berries, or maybe I'll use floating row
cover. I think the floating row cover would probably work
better.

Pat

"B. Joshua Rosen" wrote in message
news
Any suggestions for protecting blueberry bushes from birds? Last year I
covered them with a net but it's rather unsightly and It's not clear that
it did any good (I had fewer berries last year then the year before when
I didn't do anything except rely on my cat to keep the birds away).

Seriously, plant a fig tree, if you can. We have had blueberries, for 11
years, we usually have more than we can use. But one year, our fig tree
failed to produce. It was hard to get enough berries to make one pie. Maybe
a net would work, but nothing we tried worked. And birds have all day to
strip your plant. Figs and blueberries come at about the same time, here and
the birds seem to prefer the figs. Which is alright with us, we still have
enough.
You should know that blueberries are a long term project. what i am
suggesting, is really not that far fetched. Another thing to consider, when
you raise fruit over the years, you are supporting wildlife of all sorts,
especially if hardly any of your neighbors are.
This is just our experiance. Best of luck. Len

I have 4"x4"x 10' post in the ground with 3/4 inch pvc pipe across the top
from post to post. than I use the netting to cover the whole thing (6
bushes), I than fasten the bottom to the ground using pins that are made to
hold weed block in place that landscapers use. This is almost bird proof I
say almost for one bird did get in last year.
It is kind of fun to watch them go round and round looking for an opening,
one bird last year I seen get down on the ground and try to crawl under the
netting, getting himself hung up in it, I did release him after a while.
Good luck.
--
Sam
Along the Grand Strand of Myrtle Beach SC
"B. Joshua Rosen" wrote in message
news
Any suggestions for protecting blueberry bushes from birds? Last year I
covered them with a net but it's rather unsightly and It's not clear that
it did any good (I had fewer berries last year then the year before when
I didn't do anything except rely on my cat to keep the birds away).

Any suggestions for protecting blueberry bushes from birds? Last year I
covered them with a net but it's rather unsightly and It's not clear that
it did any good (I had fewer berries last year then the year before when
I didn't do anything except rely on my cat to keep the birds away).

I havn't actually tried it, but I have heard people swear by it. You
know those CD's for AOL you get in the mail all the time (in the
states anyway) .. drill a small hole near the top, and hand them from
a string like mobil so they can turn in the breeze. the shiny side
catches the light, and the birds don't know what to do with it.

Like I said, I don't have any personal expirence with it, but the lady
next to me ties a thin white cloth on the tops of her tomato cages and
says it helps keep the birds away.. she seems to get nice toms..

Either way, I'm sure it can't hurt anything....

dave


email: daveallyn at bwsys dot net
please respond in this NG so others
can share your wisdom as well!

"Dave Allyn (Dave Allyn)" wrote in message
...
Any suggestions for protecting blueberry bushes from birds? Last year I
covered them with a net but it's rather unsightly and It's not clear that
it did any good (I had fewer berries last year then the year before when
I didn't do anything except rely on my cat to keep the birds away).

I havn't actually tried it, but I have heard people swear by it. You
know those CD's for AOL you get in the mail all the time (in the
states anyway) .. drill a small hole near the top, and hand them from
a string like mobil so they can turn in the breeze. the shiny side
catches the light, and the birds don't know what to do with it.

Like I said, I don't have any personal expirence with it, but the lady
next to me ties a thin white cloth on the tops of her tomato cages and
says it helps keep the birds away.. she seems to get nice toms..

Either way, I'm sure it can't hurt anything....

dave

It does't work, and is waist of time. In my experiance. len

in article 4MNDa.1807$2A2.558@lakeread05, len at wrote on
6/5/03 1:31 PM:


"Dave Allyn (Dave Allyn)" wrote in message
...
Any suggestions for protecting blueberry bushes from birds? Last year I
covered them with a net but it's rather unsightly and It's not clear that
it did any good (I had fewer berries last year then the year before when
I didn't do anything except rely on my cat to keep the birds away).

I havn't actually tried it, but I have heard people swear by it. You
know those CD's for AOL you get in the mail all the time (in the
states anyway) .. drill a small hole near the top, and hand them from
a string like mobil so they can turn in the breeze. the shiny side
catches the light, and the birds don't know what to do with it.

Like I said, I don't have any personal expirence with it, but the lady
next to me ties a thin white cloth on the tops of her tomato cages and
says it helps keep the birds away.. she seems to get nice toms..

Either way, I'm sure it can't hurt anything....

dave

It does't work, and is waist of time. In my experiance. len


For some reason, my berries have not attacked much by birds. Maybe they
prefer other fruits.

Bill

Two people recommended hanging shiny aluminum pie pans in my fig
tress, which is the same thing as those shiny CD discs. I hung about
8 in my 8 foot tall fig tree. The birds are still landing in the tree
& eating my figs. It's possible that they are not landing right next
to the pie pans, but I don't notice any difference in the
discouragement of the birds from my figs. So that didn't work. And
when you think of it, it wouldn't, would it? Don't people buy shiny
mirrors to put in the bird cages?

to the pie pans, but I don't notice any difference in the
discouragement of the birds from my figs. So that didn't work. And
when you think of it, it wouldn't, would it? Don't people buy shiny
mirrors to put in the bird cages?

yeah, but the mirrors don't blow around in the wind. It is soppost to
be the chaotic movement fo teh shine in the wind that tuns them off...




email: daveallyn at bwsys dot net
please respond in this NG so others
can share your wisdom as well!

I like the solution posted by Samuel I Crowe for using plastic pipe. I'd like to know more about this. For instance, how far apart are the posts and how is the plastic pipe attached to them?

Also, does anyone know how to construct a cage using all metal, plastic or a combination?

In the past, I've used 2x4 posts in holes in the ground, but it's always been a hassle with the net catching on splinters. This year some of the posts have rotted.

winng
My post go from 10 feet apart up to 15 feet apart. The ridge posts are 20
feet apart and on that I am using 1 1/4" pipe, the rest is 3/4"
They are all fastened to the top of the post by drilling a hole in the pipe
and using a large headed nail, once the nail is in keep tapping on the head
to flatting it down against the pipe, this will prevent the net from
catching. I tie the netting to the pipe with twine.
I am picking blue berries now and without the cover I would not get a one.
Yesterday one brown thrasher tried to get in while I was inside picking, it
funny to see him going from place to place banging into the net trying to
find an opening.
Good luck on your battle, you can win.
--
Sam
Along the Grand Strand of Myrtle Beach SC
"winng" wrote in message
s.com...
I like the solution posted by Samuel I Crowe for using plastic pipe.
I'd like to know more about this. For instance, how far apart are the
posts and how is the plastic pipe attached to them?

Also, does anyone know how to construct a cage using all metal, plastic
or a combination?

In the past, I've used 2x4 posts in holes in the ground, but it's
always been a hassle with the net catching on splinters. This year
some of the posts have rotted.
--
winng
------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk

Samuel -

Thanks for the speedy reply. The rain has just stopped and I'm on my way out to the garden to plant those posts. I noticed the first berry just beginning to turn blue. The bluejays haven't flown in yet, so I guess I'm in time.

winng