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julianna_il

Robins and birdscare flash tape?

19 years ago

Hope I'm posting in the right forum. I normally don't consider birds as pests, but I do have a problem with robins.

This will be my third year having to deal with them. First year, I didn't know and a robin/some robins (not sure, they're solitary) sheared most of my seedlings off at the ground level and I had to replant the whole garden.

I then made criss cross strings of foil squares throughout the garden and had no more bird problems, but I don't know if it was because the robins were done for the spring, or because the foil really worked.

Last year, I used bird netting (vinyl) thinking it would be easier than the foil strings. NOT. It was a nightmare and I continually got tangled up in it. The foil was easier to deal with.

But since I don't really know if the foil worked or the robins were just done when I replanted, I'm asking for advice. It made no sense to me that robins would shear my plants off because they eat worms and such, but a nursery man told me they do it to gather stuff for their nests. Many of the plants they didn't even like, just sheared them and left the parts where they killed them.

So...I'm thinking of trying the birdscare tape (link below) just because it sounds easier than foil and perhaps might work a little better.

Does anyone here have any experience with robins like I've had and what has worked for you? Has anyone used the birdscare tape and/or foil on strings?

I've read Robins are especially difficult to scare off, but if I can avoid it, I'd rather not mess with that netting.

Thanks!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Birdscare tape

Comments (4)

  • 19 years ago

    this post has been bothering me .. and i think i finally figured it out ...

    don't waste your money ....

    you want to change ma nature with few bucks of tape ... IT WONT WORK ... and there is a snake oil salesman around every corner willing to sell you a remedy ...

    NOTHING is going to stop the neighborhood birds from coming only into your yard .. think about it ... it wont work ... and if you remove the robins ... something worse might replace it .... everything you remove from nature will be replaced ...

    this isn't much different than another post that asked if she could train her cat to only kill voles ...

    if you have a problem with seedlings.. then you need protection for the seedlings .. not to change the structure of nature ...

    try a screened area ... bird netting... a simple leanto structure with common house screening.. cheap greenhouse .... etc ... there are a multitude of solutions to your problem from cheap to expensive .... but they all involve protecting your plants.. not changing the dynamic of nature ...

    good luck!!!!

    ken

    PS: if you really believe you can alter nature .... i have a bridge over some swamp land that i would like to interest you in ... lol ...

  • 19 years ago

    I'm not trying to get rid of the robins, just keep them out of my garden until their nest building is finished. It seems our schedules coincide. I want to plant my garden, they want to build nests.

    I don't think the scare tape (or foil) is any different than using a scarecrow...you're just trying to keep critters out of the garden. And that's no more messing with mother nature than using netting.

    But I guess I'll just use the netting and be safe, and complain about it. I'd hate to get the tape (which is only about five bucks) and then have it not work. Better safe than sorry.

  • 19 years ago

    link is for crop protection ... reemay might be what you need .... hopefully you can locate a piece smaller than 67 by 100 feet.. lol ....

    the other option at this location is shade cloth .....

    i have solved many a problem by calling this place [ i love 800 numbers]... they are in piqua OH ... and i think its a family run operation.. just nice people ... and i wouldnt be surprised if they will make pieces to your needs... reducing cost ...

    and it will probably last for a century or two.. if you take care of it ...

    good luck

    ken

    Here is a link that might be useful: a. m. leonard

  • 8 years ago

    I've also heard that shiny surfaces will scare away birds. I'm trying to keep the woodpeckers away from my house, so I've been thinking about trying something similar. Like you, I wouldn't consider birds to be a pest, but it is different when they become destructive like your robins have. Instead of tape, I want to find a more permanent, humane deterrent for my property. http://blunderbird.com