Bird Deterrent Products

Birds will soon be hovering around your vegetable garden. Just when your veggies are ripening and ready to eat—birds will beat you to them. They’ll peck and eat and, yes, poop on your prized crops.  If you’re like most gardeners, you won’t have the patience or the time to stand guard over your garden with a hose to disperse the birds. Nor will you have the cruel indifference to use poisons or other lethal means to harm the birds. What you need are humane, effective bird deterrents. Here are three bird control measures the pros recommend that will keep birds from eating what you worked all year to grow:

Sonic Bird Deterrents

Ideal for larger gardens, the Sound Bird Deterrents will intimidate any bird within earshot. The device emits bird distress and predator calls that make birds believe their safety may be threatened. The sounds broadcast are perceived as natural enemies of most birds (peregrine falcons, for example). While these sounds may strike fear in the hearts of most birds, they resemble normal bird calls to humans and pets. If your garden is being attacked by a variety of bird species, the Bird Chase Supersonic “covers all bases,” emitting distress and predator calls for 22 different species of birds. By the way, bird control experts suggest you stay away from ultrasonic bird deterrents. Birds can’t hear them and they are mostly ineffective.

Garden Bird Netting

Virtually invisible and easy to handle, Bird-B-Gone Garden Bird Netting will block birds from specific patches of your garden.  It provides effective bird barrier protection for your prized fruit trees, berry bushes and vegetables. The netting comes in 14 x 100-foot and 14 x 200-foot rolls and can easily be cut and shaped over plants and small trees. Garden netting comes in three different mesh sizes—1/4" mesh, 1/2" mesh and 3/4" mesh—depending on the specific bird you want to exclude. Unlike some netting, Bird-B-Gone high quality netting is made from a durable, UV-protected polypropylene. This is why it's so strong and light.

Visual Bird Deterrents

Birds avoid areas that are noisy and visually distracting. They hear better and react faster to danger than we do. That’s why Visual Bird Deterrents can be so effective—if they are frequently moved around so birds don’t get used to them.  Bird-B-Gone Visual Bird Deterrents include Flash Tape and Reflective Banners, which snap and crackle in the breeze and reflect sunlight. Equally effective are Scare Eye Diverters and Bird Scare Balloons, which twist and bob in the breeze to make their lifelike mock predator eyes appear threatening to any bird.

Red-Tail Hawk Decoys

Another highly effective visual bird deterrent, Red Tail Hawk Decoys are feared as predators by most birds. The Bird-B-Gone Hawk Decoy is made of heavy duty plastic to remain realistic looking through season after season of rough weather.  Just remember to move them about from time to time, or birds will eventually get to used to them.

As recently reported in The Huffington Post Green, crows have been attacking Seattle-area police in the parking lot of an Everett Police Department precinct station.

The aggressive black birds have been swooping down and dive-bombing officers on their way to and from their cars. One officer who was attacked by a crow, noted that the birds were behaving like velociraptors. In an effort to scatter the crows, officers turned on their sirens to frighten them. Not only did this strategy of bird control fail, the crows “decorated” police cars with droppings.

A wildlife department biologist noted that the crows are merely protecting baby crows that were ejected out of their nests and learning to fly. It’s a known fact among bird experts that crows are highly intelligent, so much so that the birds can actually recognize the individual features of people. Crows have also been known to hold grudges. So it stands to reason that if these crows perceive police officers as threatening to their young, they will attack them—or anyone else wearing a similar uniform.

Clearly, what the Everett Police Department precinct station needs to do is implement an effective bird control strategy. Fortunately, there are a number of effective and humane bird control deterrents currently on the market. Here’s what the pros recommend:

Stainless Steel Bird Spikes

Large birds like crows simply can’t get their wings around Stainless Steel Bird Spikes. The spiked strips are easy to install and can be glued down, nailed or screwed onto most any surface. They come in a variety of widths --1”, 3”, 5” and 8” --to match the area you want protect. The best stainless steel bird spikes are made in the USA and will have their spikes securely embedded in UV-resistant unbreakable polycarbonate. Approved by the US Humane Society and PICAS, the spikes are blunted at the tips and won't injure crows or installation crews.

Bird Chase Super Sonic

Easy to place on precint buildings, garages, and similar open areas, the Bird Chase Super Sonic exploits a crow’s alertness to sound threats. The device continually broadcasts pre-recorded bird distress and predator calls. These sounds resemble natural bird sounds, so humans won't be bothered by them. Because of the socail nature of crows, they will hear the distress and predator calls and send the message along that there is a threat, and the birds will flee the area.  The quality-constructed device is weather resistant and designed for outdoor use. It's easily programmed for day or night operation.

Bird Jolt Flat Track

A low-profile, electrical bird deterrent track system, Bird Jolt Flat Track imparts a mile electric shock to the feet of crows (or any bird for that matter). Birds are quickly “instructed” to avoid the surface and will move on. The shock produced is harmless to crows, yet it creates an inhospitable area to the birds. Flat Track is made in the USA and comes in six colors to match the surface onto which it is installed. The track can be easily glued down to most surfaces.