Are you sure it's birds?

Rats, squirrels, raccoons, and possums will all eat strawberries.

Add slugs to the list.

Why don't you want to use a net?

I'm sure you've seen the birds devouring your strawberries! In most cases, our feathered pals are the primary pest of strawberries. There are a host of scare tactics out there for you to try: aluminum pie pans, fake owls and snakes, intermittant sprinklers, etc. Most of the serious gardeners seem to rely on netting. I, too, am interested in why you do not want to use netting.

Sting wire from stakes so that you can make a tent around the berry patch.

For three years I have kept the birds out of my strawberries. No neting, no hanging reflectors, no fencinging. I have been using small red rocks to discourage the birds. See my page at http://hobbitat.com/rocks/

Here is a link that might be useful: The Hobbitat

Plant something that birds don't like..... I've tried it but birds love them and with floating row covers I notice sluggs have a field day.....

We put up posts with strings crisscrossed over them and hung aluminum pie pans and strips of mylar balloons the shiny kind and the birds stayed away for the whole growing season as opposed to last year when the robins ate them before i could get out there. When I got tired of strawberries this spring we took the shiny stuff off and shared with the robins lol