Banish Birds Out Of Your Fruit Trees For Good With This Shiny Hack

While they say that gardening is a relaxing hobby that is good for your health in many ways, it sure doesn't feel like it after you've spent an entire season nurturing a fruit tree only for all your fruit to get eaten by birds as soon as it turns ripe. Unfortunately, in the world of gardening, you win some and lose some, and the only thing you can really do after losing is to move forward and find a way to prevent similar disasters in the future. However, the difficult thing with birds is that, unlike other pests, most of us enjoy bird watching and may have even spent time attracting certain birds like cardinals to our yards. On top of this, many birds actually eat bugs and are beneficial to have in the garden, so you may not want to get rid of them completely.

Luckily, there is an easy solution that can help keep birds away from certain areas of your yard while not harming them or scaring them away for good — and all you need is something shiny. In fact, some gardeners have successfully scared off birds by hanging a bunch of shiny and reflective objects in their fruit trees. The best thing about this method is that it is not only easy but can also be done using things you probably already have like aluminum foil, mirrors, and old CDs.

Although no one knows exactly why this trick works, some theorize it's because birds are afraid of their own reflections or that the sunlight bouncing off of reflective surfaces simply causes birds to become confused and disoriented. However, no matter the reason, to get this trick to work well, it is important that you hang plenty of reflective items all over the tree you want the birds to avoid. For the best results, it is also best if the items are hung in a way so that they can move in the breeze or even spin.

Also, while this method is often successful at first, it is also true that many birds are quite intelligent and may get used to your new reflective deterrents after only a few days. This means that the best time to hang up your reflective deterrents is the moment your fruit is about to become ripe or as soon as you see the birds take an interest in your fruit trees. This way, you can keep the birds away at the time that matters most. Alternatively, you may have longer success if you continue to move your reflective objects and add new ones to keep the birds on their toes.