You could try mixing hot peppers, garlic, liquid soap and water in the blender, then spray the plants with it. But you'd have to do it nearly every day.

Bird netting??
Bird dog???
Hungry cat???

Not sure this can be adapted to your plants, but this is what I do to protect my peaches. These are two year old trees and I had one delicious crop last June. But towards the end of that first crop I noticed that the fruits were being mauled bad by the birds. As the fruits once again emerged a month ago, I decided to try something a friend suggested. I gathered about ten music CD's that I wasn't using anymore and hung 5 on each tree. Birds I was told, go berserk upon seeing their reflections, and fly away. It worked, - haven't seen one since hanging the CD's. Am a bit amazed ! Good luck !

Those metal alum plates also work. They don't have to be attached to the plant. If you don't want to do netting, go scarecrow and just drive some dowels into the ground high enough to hang the reflective objects so they blow around in the breeze. make sure they don't get stuck as a reflective shield and fry the plants though. works for squirrels too. Or, at least it did for my uncle and his peach tree's.

how about plant their natural food sources that use to grow there? night blooming jasmine, beauty berry, walters viburnum, raisins in your feeder, etc.
Lori

I've had good results w/ flash, a.k.a. Scare, tape - got mine @ superseeds.com (Pinetree Garden Seeds). We've even used it @ our city park to deter gulls & grackles from a picnic area.

I also use bird netting on my berries. I think I got mine @ Home Depot.

But I also have fresh water & native plants/habitat in my yard as well - to offer alternatives.

Here is a link that might be useful: animal deterrents @ Pinetree

thank you all! I'll check out the netting @ Home Depot first.

For tomatoes pick them when they just break off of green, take them inside and let them mature in shade, NOT in a sunny window. This is what I've had to do when we don't have Blue Jays around to run them off. Can't help you with the others, I gave up on blueberries due to the squirrels, which will also eat my tomatoes unless I keep their bellies full with cherry tomatoes...I live in a subdivision so killing the squirrels isn't an option, and we all know it's illegal to kill the state bird ;-) :-(

Tom

LOL- Tom...and a sin to kill them!

Good luck with the netting. One year I covered my grapes and somehow the mockingbirds still could find a way in. They couldn't ever seem to be able to find their way out, though.

FWIW, when I use netting, I put it over a sort of teepee frame, so it's not actually touching the plants, coz the birds will absolutely pick berries through the net if they can reach 'em...

The Home Depot nets work most, but not all, of the time. I more or less use them successfully.
The biggest problem with the nets is that they WILL catch and kill blacksnakes by the dozen, especially during mating season when they tend to follow each other around.
If you are lucky enough to find one still alive, it will be a two-person job to remove it. One to control the struggling snake, and the other to cut a lot of netting. There is no way to free them without cutting the net.
Been there, done that!