Merciless and destructive: one day, another and - goodbye, harvest. There are many ways to protect yourself. Some, as it turns out, do not work, others turn out to be quite effective. End of July. We admire the filling bunches of grapes and look forward to their final ripening, believing that all the troubles and worries are already behind us. But that was not the case! August made his own adjustments to our plans by watering the grape bushes with too much rain. As a result, the thin skin of the berries began to crack, and that’s when uninvited guests arrived. Wasps. I didn’t want to give away the long-awaited harvest; something had to be done.
However, the insects preferred the most delicious delicacy - the grapes themselves - to bottles with sweet bait. And then I suddenly remembered a publication in some publication telling about the successful fight against striped predators.
Of course, there were doubts about the effectiveness of the method, but I really didn’t want to share the harvest with flying villains! Yes, I remember, and it was said that in such a shelter the grapes feel great and continue to ripen for up to three weeks even at temperatures above 30°!
The very next day something unusual could be observed. In many bags, wasps buzzed furiously, in some places - up to 10 of them. I had no idea that these winged creatures could
crawl into narrow ones - no more than 1 cm! - slots. And the most savvy ones managed to get out right before my eyes. Yes, this is not what we expected... Another disadvantage also appeared - condensation formed in the bags.
The next morning, the “catch” was again found in the bags. Then the idea came that the punctures in the bags should be made smaller, no more than 3 mm, and their number should be increased. That's what they did. But this did not stop the gluttons from climbing inside again; even the largest individuals did it masterfully. The question naturally arose: why did the wasps not penetrate into the adviser’s bags? Maybe they weren’t as hungry as ours...
But the worst thing was that the berries in the bags began to quickly deteriorate. Now there was no doubt: the packages must be removed urgently!
That’s when the wasp brethren threw a feast for the whole world... Hungry predators... flocked in thanks to our experiment from all over the area. Some grapes became striped due to the abundance of wasps. What was to be done?
And then the advice of an experienced winegrower came to the rescue.
And its principle is simple: wasps are distracted by very abundant bait.
As such bait, we used a mixture of fermented jam, honey, rotten grapes, and fresh raspberries. This mixture was spread on a sheet of plywood. The villains quickly found the fragrant delicacy and switched to it. Apparently, the actively evaporating sweet bait affected them from afar; the wasps flew to it much more willingly than to the bottles. Gradually, the number of pests decreased noticeably; only a few came to “lunch”. So the later varieties, ripening in mid-to-late August, remained safe and sound.
Experiment with plastic bags failed, and did not advise anyone
I want to repeat it. Except that grapes in bags ripen faster. But baiting a “sweet leaf” is a completely different matter. As they say, live and learn...
Soon we collected almost the entire harvest of solar berries. The last one left was the well-known Isabella. Its lashes braided the gazebo, stood, flaunted in tight blue clusters, as if laughing: “And we are not afraid of wasps or frosts!”
Instructions
Most gardeners, trying to protect strawberries or other bushy plants from birds, purchase a huge net with small cells. On the one hand, this is convenient, because... the mesh will cover a large area of the plant, while leaving the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits of nature. And pollinating insects will be able to easily penetrate under the mesh. But if the net is pressed tightly against the bush and the berries are close to the surface, then birds will often visit you. In addition, the mesh interferes with harvesting. And if we collect currants a couple of times a season, strawberries ripen every day.
Birds are afraid of movement, sounds and glare. Having played on this, you can make a small carousel from old CDs and magnetic tape. Install them close to the bushes and live in peace. Usually, a little noise from such a carousel and constant glare are enough to scare away those thirsty for sweets. It may look wild in the eyes of your neighbors, but it’s up to you to decide: beauty or food.
You can make a slotted spoon from scrap materials. It looks like this: cut the bottom of a half-liter bottle, then make small notches on the “body” of the bottle – wings – and bend them back. They are needed to create noise in the wind. The wings can be painted in bright colors so that the slotted spoon does not stand out in the flowerbed. Of course, there are plenty of disadvantages to this method. First, it doesn’t work without wind. Secondly, it doesn’t look aesthetically pleasing at all.
An old favorite way to scare away birds is the scarecrow. It’s not at all difficult to make: we knock together two sticks crosswise, a bag of straw and put it on one end of the stick - this is the head. Put some old clothes on the scarecrow and it's ready! Even if the clothes are very “out of size”, in the wind they will swell so much that you will get scared. But there is one disadvantage of the scarecrow - over time, the birds get used to it and stop being afraid.
Many summer residents have discovered electronic repellers. These are devices with the voices of birds of prey, because of which you can lose all the birds in the area, including useful ones. Then you will have to deal with pests alone and also explain to your neighbors that you did not get yourself a hawk or peregrine falcon. There are also ultrasonic repellers that do not interfere with people in any way, but create discomfort for birds.
Birds are also alive, they also grow and feed their offspring. Therefore, an interesting idea would be to plant plants specifically for them - those berry bushes from which you will not harvest, for example, cherries, sea buckthorn, rowan. This way you can safely minimize your harvest costs for birds.
Also a distraction is a small pond or fountain. In addition to eating sweet strawberries, birds also love to swim and splash. It will be interesting for you to watch such a spectacle, and they will be distracted from your harvest and fly away to eat strawberries with their neighbors.
The tree sparrow, which predominates in gardens, differs from the house sparrow in its smaller size, more graceful and thin “figure,” less pugnacity, and also in color.
People have long been accustomed to consider starlings to be the most desirable garden bird. It is the starlings that are welcomed in every possible way; artificial houses - birdhouses - are hung for them wherever possible. Therefore, the starlings almost forgot that they were forest birds and moved to the apartments prepared for them. At the beginning of summer, starlings feed mainly on insects. They arrive in the spring just when gardening work and digging of beds begins. Starlings run across the freshly dug soil and deftly catch the inhabitants of the soil that have been turned up to the surface. No matter how much the larva rushes to burrow back into the saving depths, the starling turns out to be more agile and in a split second manages to grab it with its beak.
During the summer, the starling lays eggs twice. It looks for insects to feed its chicks mainly on the soil surface, and less often on trees. Having finished feeding their chicks and having gained freedom, starlings often form large flocks that gather for joint overnight stays on several nearby trees.
The same joint overnight stays in large flocks are observed among other birds living near human habitation: rooks, jackdaws, sparrows, hooded crows. It's pretty important point in the life of birds, allowing them to exchange information about the presence of food. The overnight location is compared to an information center. Birds that have discovered places rich in food, for example, places of mass breeding of a pest or scattered grain, make this known by a certain behavior, and the next morning a whole flock flies out after them.
Perhaps the most useful and only useful bird that does not cause any harm is the great tit. It is almost exclusively an insectivorous bird, feeding primarily on fruit trees. Methodically inspecting every twig, every leaf, she destroys all pests living on the tree: adults, larvae, and eggs. The tit's need for food is very high. She lays eggs twice a season, 7-12 eggs at a time. The chicks are very voracious because they grow rapidly: in 2-3 days their weight doubles. Parents have to work tirelessly to feed their offspring. During the day, they approach their nest with food about 400 times, destroying about 10 thousand insects during the feeding period, of which 30% are pests, including codling moth caterpillars. During the breeding season of the codling moth, entire flocks of tits sometimes appear in gardens, flocking from all over the surrounding area. As a result, the codling moth is almost completely exterminated. One pair of tits can clear 40 apple trees of pests over the summer.
For the winter, tits do not fly away anywhere and continue their useful work, clearing the garden of wintering forms of pests, for example, pecking on the eggs of ringed silkworms, goldentail caterpillars, etc. The great tit is a forest bird that has not yet forgotten its forest skills. She prefers to nest entirely in her natural habitats - in forests. She flies to gardens only to feed. Fruit trees with their sparse crown, which poorly protects the nest from bad weather, do not seem to her to be a reliable shelter. But if you hang a titmouse house in your garden, then it is possible that the titmouse will settle in it.
In the fall, tits leave their nests, unite in nomadic flocks and fly closer to human habitation in the hope of finding food.
The blue tit, which got its name from its blue cap, has a short beak like strong tweezers.
It is very convenient for them to peck small insect eggs from branches and tear off scale insects stuck to the bark.
Northern flycatchers, coot redstarts, and white wagtails nest in human habitation or close to it.
Among the forest birds, rooks also found their way to human habitation. According to old memory, they make their nests in tall trees and often, like jackdaws, create large colonies with tens to hundreds of nests. Rooks feed mainly on insects, of which 50-70% are pests living in the upper layers of the soil: cutworm caterpillars, beetles, wireworms. Sometimes several dozen wireworms are found in the stomachs of rooks. The rook digs so hard in the ground with its beak that the feathers at the base of the black beak are wiped off and a characteristic light border is formed. During the period of feeding the chicks, a pair of rooks daily carries 40-60 g of insects into the nest.
In the event of mass reproduction of pests in fields or gardens, rooks can provide invaluable assistance to humans. In large flocks, they flock to places where insects accumulate and indulge in a feast until the garden is completely cleared. The rook is a rather large bird, and if he has the opportunity to profit from a vole, he will not miss this opportunity.
In gardens you can also find those birds that make their nests on the edges, in rare light forests, in bushes. These are the "whirlneck", several species of blackbirds, greenfinch, goldfinch, linnet, and warbler.
The sonorous trills of warblers can be heard late in the evening or at dawn, and sometimes even at night.
The gray warbler, which lives in the bushes, is an exclusively carnivorous bird and is also not the last songbird.
Some of the garden birds are so-called sedentary, that is, they do not fly anywhere, and some are migratory.
Residents include jackdaws, hooded crows, sparrows, tits, blue tits, and goldfinches. In winter, they all move closer to human habitation, where there is always something to profit from. Although they look for wintering insects on the trees, of course this is not enough for them. And here berry bushes, on which berries are preserved even in winter, can be of great help to them. Having survived the winter somehow, in the spring these birds find themselves in a better position than migratory birds, since in the early spring, in the absence of competition, they occupy best places for nesting. During the summer they manage to hatch two or three broods. Already from mid-February you can hear the tit's wedding song. It consists of two notes and sounds like a joyful bell, heralding the approach of spring (though they make nests much later).
Of the migratory birds, rooks return the earliest. They confidently fly to their old permanent nesting sites. They are followed by starlings, also early spring birds, flying to wintering not very far - to the Crimea, to the Caucasus, although some starlings prefer to spend the winter in North Africa. Chillwings, greenfinches, wagtails, gray flycatchers, and blackbirds fly away nearby and return early. Almost later than everyone else, barn swallows - killer whales - fly in from afar, from Central Africa.
In former times, their arrival served as a sign for peasants that the severe morning frosts had passed and they could begin sowing.
The ancestors of swallows lived in the mountains and made their nests under rock ledges. Among barn swallows, this ancient instinct is expressed in the fact that they stick their nests, made of clay and blades of grass, to the walls of houses under the overhangs of roofs, and sometimes even inside buildings.
Swallows can rightfully be called children of the air. They spend most of their lives flying and do not walk on the ground at all.
And they get food in flight, catching mosquitoes, horseflies, flies, butterflies, small beetles, and flying aphids in flight. They also feed their chicks with this flying midge. In bad weather, when living creatures hide in shelters and do not fly, swallows are forced to starve. Because of this, their chicks grow slower than those of other birds and sit in nests for up to 30 days (for other birds 12-16 days). It is calculated that during the period of feeding the chicks, one swallow consumes up to 130 g of insects, and over the summer it catches a total of 0.5-1 million midges.
In different species of garden birds, the time of laying eggs and feeding the chicks does not coincide and as a result, during the summer they seem to pass on the task of supervising the garden and catching pests to each other. At every moment of the summer season, birds of one species or another are in the stage of feeding their chicks and, therefore, in a stage of intense hunting.
The attitude of birds towards the KoloVrad beetle deserves special attention.
The bright coloring of the beetle and its larvae in itself indicates that they are inedible for birds. They have no need to hide, the birds won’t touch them anyway. Once a bird tries the Colorado potato beetle once and is convinced of its disgusting taste, it will not repeat this mistake a second time. Scientists conducted experiments with a large number of species of wild and domestic birds and did not find a single one among them that would be tempted by the Colorado potato beetle. In the Voronezh region, a family of turkeys and poults were released into a potato field, and they grazed there all day, looking for insects, but did not touch the larvae of the Colorado potato beetle, although the potato bushes were strewn with them.
American farmers note that their potato fields are often visited by wild partridges and happily peck the beetles. Obviously, the beetle, which is American in origin, is common to American birds and not common to European birds. After all, in Europe, including Russia, it appeared relatively recently. True, sometimes you hear that we also have a bird that does not disdain the Colorado potato beetle - the guinea fowl, but this needs to be verified.
If you have poultry, you can conduct the following experiment: add Colorado potato beetle grains to the food of chickens, ducklings, etc. Maybe then they will get used to its taste and they can be released to graze in potato fields infested with the beetle.
It has been known for a long time that birds protect gardens from pests, but when scientists set out to calculate how much of what birds eat, the numbers they got were mind-boggling. When eating insects, birds, of course, do not distinguish between harmful and beneficial insects. They eat everyone. However, as research has established, harmful insect species predominate in gardens. For example, in one of the gardens where such studies were carried out, 70 species of insects were found in the crown of an adult apple tree, of which 71% were pests, 17% were beneficial, and the rest were so-called neutrals. Therefore, for birds feeding in gardens, most of their food consists of pests, of which 60-90% are caterpillars and butterfly pupae, 10-30% are beetles.
Here are the results of research carried out in the gardens of MolVdavia. We will present only those that relate to the nesting period, i.e., the period of the most intense hunting of insects by birds. So, it was calculated that there were about 2 million insects per hectare of gardens with a total weight of 250-350 kg. Of this amount, birds destroyed 1.1 million insects with a total weight of 140-180 kg in three months, of which 42% were pests and 12.8% were beneficial insects. The birds ate 2–2.5 kg of insects per day. These numbers are very impressive. And yet, as we see, the birds are not able to cope with the entire armada that inhabits the gardens. This is explained by the fact that even in large gardens birds do not nest very willingly, and even more so in small garden plots. In garden plots, according to scientists, the number of nests is approximately two times less than in large gardens.
How to attract birds to your garden - this question has long occupied the minds of gardeners, and they have finally come up with something and are even using it. These are primarily artificial nesting houses. In such houses, the so-called hollow nesters willingly make their nests, i.e. birds that naturally make their nests in tree hollows: bluebirds, starlings, whirligigs, redstarts, flycatchers, sparrows. The simplest are titmice, which can populate not only tits, but also other hollow nesters of suitable size.
Tithouses are made from lightly planed boards of soft wood 1-2.5 cm thick. Bottom size 12x12 cm, height from bottom to roof 25 cm, taphole diameter 3-3.5 cm, distance from taphole to bottom 18 cm, hanging height 1- 3 m. The roof is made removable and protrudes above the entrance by 4 cm.
Wood or grass dust is placed at the bottom of the embankment in a layer of 1.5 cm. After the end of the season, the roof is removed and the remains of the old nest are cleaned out. The entrance can be round or square, facing west. Titbirds are hung at a distance of no closer than 15-20 m from each other, so as not to create competition between birds for food.
The dimensions of the birdhouses are slightly larger: the bottom is 16x15 cm, the height from the bottom to the roof is 30 cm, the diameter of the entrance is 5 cm, the distance from the entrance to the bottom is 24 cm, the height of the suspension is 3-5 m. The roof protrudes above the entrance facing southeast by 4 see. Under the houses they make protection from cats from barbed wire, thorny branches or a collar made of tin.
In the first year after hanging, sparrows mainly take up residence in bird houses, but later they can be replaced by those for whom they are intended - starlings and other birds. Female starlings are quite warlike and do not hesitate to drive sparrows out of their favorite birdhouse and even throw away eggs that have already been laid.
For birds that in natural conditions make open nests, the main condition for attracting them is living ones from hedges of bushes of varying heights, no more than 2-3 m wide, with unmown grass underneath them.
Fences should be varied in species composition to suit different bird tastes, and include thorny bushes (rose, hawthorn, barberry, blackthorn), berry bushes and trees (elder, elderberry, serviceberry, rowan, wild cherry and apple). In addition to attracting birds with food, berry bushes of wild species play another important role: they distract birds from cultivated fruit and berry plantings. Birds and humans don't have exactly the same tastes. Humans prefer juicy, sweet fruits, while birds love sour, small game fruits. Therefore, if enough wildflowers are planted around the garden to provide food for the birds, they will not touch the cultivated trees. All bird robbery is explained by a lack of food.
One American gardener tells how he was forced every year to enter into a competition with birds: who would harvest strawberries and cherries first, and often suffered defeat, since most of them went to the birds. However, having carefully studied the habits and tastes of birds, he began to plant wild berry crops that grew in those places in his garden among the fruit trees and around the garden. As a result, he received several benefits at once: the birds stopped pecking at cultivated fruits and berries, wild berry crops greatly decorated the garden with their blooms, and the birds that settled in the plantings cleared the garden of pests. To this we can add that among these birds there were also songbirds, which delighted his ears all summer. And lastly, flowering shrubs attracted a lot of pollinating insects to his garden.
Berry bushes are also beneficial because they to some extent replace the winter feeding of birds. Not all gardeners visit their gardens in winter and cannot regularly fill bird feeders. Anyone who can do this must ensure that the feeders are always filled, since birds forget about empty feeders and stop coming for food. The food contains sunflower seeds, wheat and rye grains, oats, millet, unsalted lard, pumpkin seeds, melons. Open feeders are placed under a canopy or special feeder houses with a roof are made. In summer, drinking bowls with water are placed in the garden. All these measures to attract birds - artificial nesting boxes, hedges and feeders - lead to an increase in the number of birds in the garden by 1.5-2 times and, accordingly, to an increase in the number of pests eaten by them. For example, it was found that in a garden where birds were attracted, the number of pests decreased by 50-60% in the spring.
In conclusion, let us note one more detail related to birds. Scientists have experimentally found that bird singing has a beneficial effect on plants, and it is no coincidence that bird trills sound loudest in late May - early June, when intensive plant growth occurs. Only males sing. Each species of bird has its own characteristic song, but the artistry of its performance by TseVkom depends on the individual abilities of the singer. Particularly talented singers diversify their simple song with many variations, short and long trills and knees. It has been noticed that with age, singers improve their singing talent. In addition to the nightingale and the aforementioned robin's warbler, warblers, finches, goldfinches, greenfinches, and linnets can delight with their beautiful singing. Birds can bring many wonderful moments and unforgettable experiences.
From the book by N.M. Zhirmunskaya “Vegetable garden without chemicals”
Our grandmothers, growing garden strawberries, or strawberries, as we used to call them, did not particularly worry about mulching. But today this agricultural technique has become fundamental in achieving high quality berries and reducing crop losses. Some might say it's a hassle. But practice shows that labor costs in this case pay off handsomely. In this article, we invite you to get acquainted with the nine best materials for mulching garden strawberries.
Succulents are very diverse. Despite the fact that “little ones” have always been considered more fashionable, it’s worth taking a closer look at the range of succulents with which you can decorate a modern interior. After all, colors, sizes, patterns, degree of prickliness, impact on the interior are just a few of the parameters by which you can choose them. In this article we will tell you about the five most fashionable succulents that amazingly transform modern interiors.
The Egyptians used mint as early as 1.5 thousand years BC. It has a strong aroma due to the high content of various essential oils, which are highly volatile. Today, mint is used in medicine, perfumery, cosmetology, winemaking, cooking, ornamental gardening, and the confectionery industry. In this article, we will look at the most interesting varieties of mint, and also talk about the features of growing this plant in open ground.
People began growing crocuses 500 years before our era. Although the presence of these flowers in the garden is fleeting, we always look forward to the return of the harbingers of spring next year. Crocuses are one of the earliest primroses, whose flowering begins as soon as the snow melts. However, flowering times may vary depending on the species and varieties. This article is dedicated to the earliest varieties of crocuses, which bloom in late March and early April.
Cabbage soup made from early young cabbage in beef broth is hearty, aromatic and easy to prepare. In this recipe you will learn how to cook delicious beef broth and cook light cabbage soup with this broth. Early cabbage cooks quickly, so it is placed in the pan at the same time as other vegetables, unlike autumn cabbage, which takes a little longer to cook. Ready cabbage soup can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. Real cabbage soup turns out tastier than freshly prepared cabbage soup.
Blueberries are a rare and promising berry crop in gardens. Blueberries are a source of biologically active substances and vitamins and have antiscorbutic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and tonic properties. The berries contain vitamins C, E, A, flavonoids, anthocyanins, microelements - zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, as well as plant hormones - phytoestrogens. Blueberries taste like a mixture of grapes and blueberries.
Looking at the variety of tomato varieties, it’s hard not to get confused - the choice is very wide today. Even experienced gardeners are sometimes confused by it! However, understanding the basics of selecting varieties “for yourself” is not so difficult. The main thing is to delve into the peculiarities of the culture and start experimenting. One of the easiest groups of tomatoes to grow are varieties and hybrids with limited growth. They have always been valued by those gardeners who do not have much energy and time to care for their beds.
Once very popular under the name of indoor nettle, and then forgotten by everyone, coleus today is one of the most colorful garden and indoor plants. It is not for nothing that they are considered stars of the first magnitude for those who are primarily looking for non-standard colors. Easy to grow, but not so undemanding as to suit everyone, coleus require constant supervision. But if you take care of them, bushes made of velvety unique leaves will easily outshine any competitor.
Salmon backbone baked in Provençal herbs provides tasty pieces of fish pulp for a light salad with fresh wild garlic leaves. The champignons are lightly fried in olive oil and then sprinkled with apple cider vinegar. These mushrooms are tastier than regular pickled ones, and they are better suited for baked fish. Wild garlic and fresh dill get along well in one salad, highlighting each other’s aroma. The garlicky pungency of wild garlic will permeate both the salmon flesh and mushroom pieces.
A coniferous tree or shrub on a site is always great, but a lot of conifers is even better. Emerald needles of various shades decorate the garden at any time of the year, and phytoncides and essential oils released by plants not only aromatize, but also make the air cleaner. As a rule, most zoned mature conifers are considered very unpretentious trees and shrubs. But young seedlings are much more capricious and require proper care and attention.
Sakura is most often associated with Japan and its culture. Picnics under the canopy of flowering trees have long become an integral attribute of welcoming spring in the Land of the Rising Sun. The financial and academic year here begins on April 1, when the magnificent cherry blossoms bloom. Therefore, many significant moments in the life of the Japanese take place under the sign of their flowering. But sakura also grows well in cooler regions - certain species can be successfully grown even in Siberia.
I am very interested in analyzing how people's tastes and preferences for certain foods have changed over the centuries. What was once considered tasty and was an object of trade, lost its value over time and, conversely, new fruit crops conquered their markets. Quince has been cultivated for more than 4 thousand years! And even in the 1st century B.C. e. About 6 varieties of quince were known, and even then methods of its propagation and cultivation were described.
Delight your family and prepare themed cottage cheese cookies in the shape of Easter eggs! Your children will be happy to take part in the process - sift the flour, combine all the necessary ingredients, knead the dough and cut out intricate figures. Then they will watch with admiration as pieces of dough turn into real Easter eggs, and then with the same enthusiasm they will eat them with milk or tea. How to make such original cookies for Easter, read our step by step recipe!
Among tuberous crops, there are not so many decorative deciduous favorites. And caladium is a true star among the variegated inhabitants of interiors. Not everyone can decide to own a caladium. This plant is demanding, and first of all, it requires care. But still, rumors about the extraordinary capriciousness of caladiums are never justified. Attention and care can avoid any difficulties when growing caladiums. And the plant can almost always forgive small mistakes.
We have prepared a hearty, incredibly appetizing and simply easy-to-prepare dish for you today. This sauce is one hundred percent universal, as it goes with every side dish: vegetables, pasta, or anything. Chicken and mushroom gravy will save you in moments when you don’t have time or don’t want to think too much about what to cook. Take your favorite side dish (you can do this in advance so everything is hot), add some gravy and dinner is ready! A real lifesaver.
The sowing season on our acres has ceased (June). The last radish is being eaten.
Saturday kebab dressed up in dill and salad brands.
Such a common application to the process of making ridges as radiculitis has almost been forgotten. And the first berries are pouring...
Honeysuckle fruit changes its color scheme from green to inky purple. Strawberries are not far behind, already sporting a white, and soon red, side. Alas! We are not the only ones waiting for the first gifts of summer...
Great morning! Dry, sunny.
“Surely the honeysuckle is ripe...” we think with coffee habits. Bucket in hand - and to the bushes. Yes, she is ripe. And she flew away... in the stomachs of blackbirds.
Well, what can you say!.. You can’t sit on the air all day long, waiting for feathered intruders. Yes, I feel sorry for them.
Classic scarecrows are not particularly effective in the fight for the harvest with birds.
The birds quickly get used to the lurid, motionless embodiment of the indignant gardener and stop paying attention to him.
A cat made from an old sock stuffed with sawdust, with bright button eyes sewn on, works better.
This “Watchman” can be placed under a bush or placed in a fork of branches. A real cat is certainly more effective, but it is difficult to agree with him on the vigilant protection of your crop.
The simplest thing is to cover the bushes with a special bird net or at least an old tulle curtain. The main condition: such an awning should not have holes and its edges should be well pressed to the ground. Otherwise, the birds will enter under such shelter as if through the doors of a dining room and will feast unnoticed by you or the cats.
Works well and scares away birds homemade “Argus” from a large, one-color inflatable ball, onto which contrasting eyes are glued along the “equator.”
Pay attention to their color: there should be a combination of red, yellow, white and black. These colors are common in the eyes of predators, and birds have excellent color vision.
You can put such a guard in the fork of branches, or better yet, hang it on a branch on a thread.
Then this big-eyed head, under the influence of the breeze, will spin around and look out for which bird to eat!
It’s quite easy to hang half-meter strips of foil on the branches. They sparkle, rustle, and do a good job of scaring off winged freeloaders.
My neighbor, a former Afghan, reached one of the pinnacles in the thankless task of bird scaring. He puts on the birds... tripwires!
Have you already imagined the side of a dusty road in Kandahar, a landmine crater and a burning armored personnel carrier? It's not all that dramatic. But the principle is the same.
A mousetrap-crusher works as a landmine, and a foam ball painted in a bright color acts as a damaging element (of a purely psychological effect).
In a waiting state, he lies on the cocked arm of the crusher, and the crusher is securely fastened to the ground with U-shaped metal brackets.
How all this works can be seen from the figure. A well-tuned and oiled system is extremely effective in planting strawberries, it just needs to be recharged periodically. Not often.
After one or two experiments, blackbirds no longer visit where the balls take off with a click.
The only “bird” morally damaged by the device. - a neighbor's mother-in-law who decided to weed the berries without being warned.
And if in your strawberry patch you see a hedgehog or a toad looking longingly at a berry, be happy! The toad does not look at the berry, but at the slug that eats it. And the hedgehog doesn’t collect berries for jam, but sniffs out shellfish and beetles!
© S. Tarasov, St. Petersburg. Drawings by the author
