Plant Doctor Archive

Blackbirds in garden

I have such a problem with blackbirds in my garden. We have a great variety of fruit trees, but unless we cover them with netting - which is difficult on the larger trees - we do not get any fruit. The birds ruin much, if not all, of the fruit and even though I've dispatched more than 50 birds, but still they keep coming. People say to give them water, but there's plenty of that around. I've tried all sorts of bird scarers, even electronic ones, and yes, we do have a cat. They also scratch out everything I plant in the vegetable garden. Even the lupins I planted for green manure were absolutely decimated. They were uprooted and left to die - the birds didn't even eat them.

Birds can either be a menace or a joy in the garden, but blackbirds seem to come into the first category! They'll raid your garden for a couple of reasons - for food and a water supply from the fruit or for insects hiding in the leaves and fruit. There are many things to try and it seems that you have given most of them a go. Why not try putting out food and water for the blackbirds to redirect their attention away from your fruit trees? You can put out fruit, seeds and fat for them to eat. Try installing a bird bath, too.

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH.