Little thieves

I don't usually think of garden birds as pests, but when they pull my fluffy hanging basket linings to pieces I get a bit narked. The only solution I've found is to cover the linings with plastic until the plants really get going, but the effect is less than beautiful. Any suggestions,(other than using stiff hanging-basket liners), please?

 

until the plants have covered the lining, try dangling some old CD's on the basket, or strips of plactic carriers, so they rustle and flap in the wind.

 

Thanks for the tip, Honeybee.
Perhaps I'll try some Des O'Connor cds, to make doubly sure of the fright factor!
If it works I'll adapt the technique to my runner beans... the little blighters have a taste for the flowers which depletes the crop I get from the plants.

 

Get a cat, all the best

 

print off and laminate a picture of anne robinson. should frighten your feathered friends away. i wonder if it'll work with slugs aswell??

 

If it's anything like my cat the end result is birds flying around your house when he brings them in alive and lets go :D (as happened only this morning )

 

Hi D1z. Sorry, should have said "get a cat but don't overfeed it". When they're hungry ther's not much left of the mice and birds they catch

 

They will be using the fluffy bits to line their nests. Should imagine their main need for that will soon be over. A cat would not stop them getting at a basket unless it was on the ground. You could brush the cat and let them have the fur that comes off. I brush my dog outside so the birds have access to her fur and put out hair trimmings for them as well. The dog is a German Shepherd and part of her job is to keep the pesky cats away from the birds.
My garden is always full of birds cause i feed them every day and have boxes for them. They make the garden come alive and they eat a lot of pests. Gardening would not be the same if I did not have a robin or backbird coming over when ever I am turning over the soil or moving a pot.
If they take off the runner bean flowers try putting out water. I was losing primrose flowers in one garden during a dry spell and I wondered whether they were after the moisture, so I put out a tray of water.

 

You could try hanging out some other nesting material. Put in a feeder (something with big spaces like a fat ball feeder) or you can get special hangers. fill with wool or cotton wool and the birds will take it for their nests. We used to groom and clip our very hairy dog and put the clumps of hair in the garden - the birds absolutely loved it! That said, I love watching birds and like to encourage them - you may not want to do that.

 

Just to let you know,
I tried the cds - the birds seemed to be admiring their reflections as they vandalised the hanging baskets.
My printer ( a new Epson!) is already refusing to print magenta ....but maybe a picture of Anne Robinson with green hair might do the trick.
Cat's too fat to bother about the birds...they come within yards of him while he's sleeping off his food.
Looks like I'll have to use bird-unfriendly liners in future.