Brightly colored ornaments can deter crows from landing in growing crops.
A flock of crows can devastate a farmer's field in just a few days. The pernicious birds swoop in and consume ripening fruits and vegetables that aren't ready to be harvested, but are more than ready for crows' meals. A number of simple devices are useful to scare these birds. Depending on the size of the garden, these tools can be set up with minimal planning and expense.
Scarecrows
Named for their purpose, one of the first devices used to scare away crows is an old-fashioned scarecrow. Farmers built scarecrows by filling old clothing with straw and burlap, and nailing the effigy to a tall stake in the middle of the field. Crows and other birds see the image of a human, and instinct keeps them away from what they believe is a human sentinel standing in the middle of the field. Although these rag dolls may be more popular in movies than in actual farmers fields, gardeners can have fun with a scarecrow in small to medium-size gardens.
Noise and Motion
Noise and motion disturb crows and deter them from staying in a garden. Colorful home-made devices can keep the birds away from ripening crops. A simple deterrent is made from a few used tin or aluminum pie plates tied to strings, which are attached to medium-height stakes in the middle of a garden. As the pie plates bang against the stake, and twirl in the summer breezes, the noise and motion unsettle the hungry birds. Similarly, brightly colored wind socks, wind chimes and similar lawn ornaments placed in a garden unsettle crows. Commercial devices are available that combine sound and motion to unsettle and deter crows from landing.
Bird Repellants
For larger gardens, and commercial farm crops, bird repellents are available to deter crows from picking a field's fruit. Biodegradable repellent chemicals and ultrasonic broadcasting devices keep the vegetarian predictors at bay in large fields. The chemical is applied with a garden sprayer, paint sprayer or paint brush. The audio devices are weather-proof and can be connected to motion detectors which activate only when birds threaten a garden.
Artificial Preditor Ornaments
Crows have a few natural predictors in the animal kingdom, and they will instinctively avoid areas when they spot these adversaries. Owl, foxes and even alligators will snatch up an unobservant crow for a meal. So strategically placed brightly colored replicas of these natural predictors in and around a garden will also scare off the pesky birds.
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