And you feel blessed??

Why, yes, I do. Thanks for asking! :)

They're not only beautiful to look at, but they've provided me a whole new hobby that turned into a way to earn money. They're also very entertaining to watch, especially when the new chicks start showing up with their moms in the spring.

Yes, I absolutely feel blessed and lucky to have these amazing birds in my yard, and that they pose for me whenever I want and let me take closeup pictures. But that doesn't mean I enjoy them ruining my flower beds, or that I want to skip having flowers, you know?

Have you considered getting a flock of guineas for the benefits they can do in your garden? They tend to act as "watchdogs" and they have very good eyes and can see and eat almost microscopic insects. People with a tick problem sometimes resort to guineas. Our guineas eliminated a flea beatle outbreak in our garden a couple of years ago. I don't know for sure, but the guineas might be territorial enough to keep the peacocks off of your property. You might be interested in the book, Gardening with Guineas. Pitting the guineas against the peacocks might be a little like "fighting fire with fire."

ZM

Thanks, zenman. No, I can honestly say I'd never even THOUGHT about bringing in some guineas! However...I don't want to rid my property of the peacocks, so that's not an option. They're an important part of my life at this point, and I'd hate to see them go. But, as I've said, they make growing lovely flower beds a challenge!

I suspect you live near the arboretum, right? If so, call them to ask for any potential tricks, gimmicks or whatever else has worked for other folks.

Yes--a mile, to be exact! :) When I go there I see that they're doing NOTHING--in a physical sense, like fencing--to dissuade the peafowl from destroying their beautiful plants, and I don't believe for one moment that they're ONLY growing things peacocks don't like. So the mystery is...how DO they prevent the peafowl from destroying their plants?!

Good idea to ask them for tips. Thanks.

Friends of Peacocks, Palos Verdes, suggests both motion activated sprayer, and red pepper flakes scattered around your plants as deterrents.

I can't vouch for how effective, we don't have freely roaming peafowl here. A local nursery keeps a few but they don't have the run of the nursery, are contained...

Here is a link that might be useful: Contech Scarecrow - I have one for deer, robins&crows will trigger it

Thanks, morz8! The motion activated sprayer is a great idea. I'm looking at different models right now. This may be exactly what I was hoping for. Once set up, it'll be easier than continually spreading red pepper flakes around...two very large beds...and I think this will actually work, whereas with the pepper, who knows?!

As I suggested, call the arboretum. They have some suggestions because they've received of flack from nearby folks about the peacocks.

Jean who formerly gardened for 30-some years in Long Beach, CA.

I just stumbled upon this old thread, and thought I'd post an update. I bought two of the Contech Scarecrow sprayers, and they worked like a charm. In fact, I have since taken them down for the front bed. It's like, once the peafowl who were around then got used to being sprayed by it, they stayed out of the bed--and taught their youngsters to do the same! Because there are now lots of new, young peafowl who don't go in the bed, but they weren't even alive when the sprayer was there. This was a wonderful, humane solution.

Thanks, RioSeven! I haven't updated my blog lately, but it does have a lot of pictures, so take a look if you're so inclined: California Dreams Photography's blog

Be sure to scroll down to older posts.

I looked...fantastic! Love the shuttle photos too :-)

The peacock families are so lovely.

Thanks for the compliments, RioSeven! The shuttle experience was absolutely amazing. Hard to put into words, really.

Yeah, Peacocks are lovely to look at, but I never realized what a pain they are until I moved into a neighborhood where they roam free. Like into my yard, eating the flowers off of my plants - and destroying other plants. As soon as a plant gets a full bloom, they literally eat them off, petal by petal. I'm growing very tired of the peacock.

I'm wondering if anyone knows if vinegar mixed with water would kill the plants? I'm thinking seriously about spraying 2 plants. Will the vinegar kill or harm the plants/blooms? The plants are Gaillardia Blanket Flowers.

Vinegar will kill the top growth - it is used as a weed killer.

Thanks lisanti07028! It seems as though my plants are history 1 way or another..:)

thank you for all this info. we just bought a house with 5 peacocks on the property. I have many roses and a slew of other flowers. for sure we will get the motion activated sprayer. Thanks