omg! been catching birds in my beds and dwindling lettuce plants (1" tall).

I never knew it could be the birds~

could it be that the birds are eating the bugs that are eating your lettuce?

Hoops covered with summer insect barrier.

Dan

Was in the yard after watering the garden and what did I see...7 birds descend on the garden for a lettuce feast!!

I looked closely and there are no holes through the leaves. The leaves are being eaten at the edges. They look the same as when you tear leaves smaller for salads.

I will definitely try some insect netting. Thanks for the advice.

Floating row covers are easy and should solve your problem. ..... took care of mine.

..or hoops covered with bird netting. You can hardly see the stuff, so it doesn't spoil the look of the garden. I use it to keep the little feathered f***ers from digging up seedlings in search of worm etc, and scratching the mulch out onto the grass, but it will stop their snacking habits too.

Interestingly, the only thing in my garden that I've seen birds nibble at is young kale seedlings.

This year, I'm trying something new & so far...it has worked like a charm.

If you ever go to a zoo & they have a pond with ducks/geese/etc....you'll notice they have wire criss-crossed above the pond. that keeps the ducks. etc. in or out. (Wild ones won't try to fly thru those wires & the ones in the pond won't either.)

This year, I've criss crossed white nylon braided string across my snow peas. The day before I did that, I saw a FLicker peckin' around in my little snow peas. Haven't seen it since, nor have I seen any evidence of it. Once the plants have grown up, I MAY remove the string...then again, I may NOT! :)

As soon as it's warm enough for my Lima's, I'll criss cross string over them, too. One year, the birds picked every seed. Boo-HOO!

Good luck!

Definitely get yourself some floating row cover. Thwarts birds, bugs, bunnies, and moderates the intense spring sunlight. Everything grows better under floating row cover.

-Diggity

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Imperative blog

Another vote for floating row cover. Goldfinches were eating my chard to the ground without protection, no damage using floating row cover (and no bug holes either).

Another vote for bird netting. I got real cheap at lows and constructed boxes over the raised beds and used zip ties to hold it in place. Works like a charm!

Finally! A solution to birds eating my lettuce. Built a frame of redwood 1x1 and stapled 1" chicken wire to it. Dimensions 5' x 2'. It is light enough to tip up with one hand while I weed or pick. Or just set it aside and go to town.

I chose chicken wire over bird netting because last year I found a lizard that was caught/trapped/died in netting. The wire is strong and will allow lizards to creep through without getting tangled. Love my lizards!

Here is a link that might be useful: Lettuce protection

You can avoid a lot of damage by birds if you give them a fresh water source. While there are birds who enjoy young green things, most of them are really just looking for water. My yard is full of birds and I can see no damage by them (including lettuce and greens). I clean and fill the bird bath every day.

I too have a birdbath that I clean and fill almost every day. It's about 30' from the lettuce. The birds still love my lettuce.

Cats work well ; )