It’s no secret that many find cherries to be a delicious treat but unfortunately, birds find them tasty as well. One of the most frustrating situations is when you have a great season of cherries and pest birds take over, therefore destroying your harvest. Want to know how to keep birds out of cherry trees? These helpful tips will help you to eliminate those pest birds for good!
Welcome to cherry picking season
When it comes to cherry picking season, you’re not the only one keeping an eye on your fruit tree. Cherries are a favorite for many birds, who will spend their days patiently waiting to take the first tart bite out of the season’s harvest. While this may not seem like a big deal, if you don’t protect your tree from hungry birds, you’ll quickly realize that their appetite is large enough to leave you with nothing.
Try one or more of these tactics to keep birds out of your cherry trees:
Use a tree net:
Draping a fine mesh bird netting over your tree adds a physical barrier between your cherries and the birds who want to eat them. Just make sure you are choosing the right size netting for the birds in your area and that the fruit is tucked safely inside so the birds can’t just pick through the netting. You may need to build a frame around the top of your tree to make a gap between the netting and the branches.
Set up a decoy:
Placing owls, hawks and other natural predators to nuisance birds will cause them to rethink their cherry dreams. Place your plastic statues somewhere that is realistic and visible, and make sure you move it around occasionally. If not, the birds will catch on to your trickier and swoop in for their meal. If your budget allows, you can purchase a bird with a speaker that plays occasional predator noises and distress calls that warn the birds to steer clear.
Hang reflective tape:
Birds tend to be cautious of bright, reflective materials because it mimics the eyes of their predators and other dangers. Because of this, hanging pieces of reflective tape, aluminum and other reflective materials from your branches may discourage birds from landing. Like your owl statue, you’ll need to move these around from time to time to maintain its effectiveness.
Feed the birds:
Most of the time we recommend to avoid doing this since it is an invitation to come and stay, but in this case, it may provide some benefits. It’s possible that your fruit tree is one of the few food sources available to local birds, so providing them with another option may at least reduce the impact. Just be sure to closely monitor its effectiveness and place the feeders a safe distance from your tree so that the cherries don’t become dessert.
Use a professional bird repellent:
The easiest way to handle problematic birds is to use a professional bird spray or fog that is proven to drive away nuisance birds. At Avian Enterprises, we’ve spent a lot of time researching, crafting and testing repellent formulas until we found the perfect recipe. Each of our EPA-registered bird sprays are great at keeping nuisance birds away without harming people, pets, plants or the birds they’re driving away.
Contact us or shop our line bird repellents to find a solution for your cherry tree this season.