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Birds are snipping off my corn seedlings one by one!
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Posted by takadi (My Page) on Mon, May 11, 09 at 15:35
| It's as if these little suckers are doing it just to get back at me or something! I'm planning on buying a plastic owl to scare them away, but does anyone have any tricks up their sleeves that they care to share? I have some mylar also, will hanging up strips of those scare them away? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Birds are snipping off my corn seedlings one by one!
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| Crows? Blackbirds? Starlings? They all do that kind of thing and I have watched them march right down a row just as the corn germinates and pull up every plant and eat them. Scarecrows, plastic owls, the ballons, old CDs flapping in the wind, etc. do not seem to be as effective today as they once were and about the most effective way to keep them away is with Floating Row Covers left on until the corn has rooted deep enough so they cannot pull them up. |
RE: Birds are snipping off my corn seedlings one by one!
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| I've stuck some stakes with flying mylar flapping in the wind...so far the rest of my seedlings have been spared but I don't think it will last. I see the crows watching from a distance and judging the situation, and sooner or later they'll find out. Does fishing line over the rows work for crows? |
RE: Birds are snipping off my corn seedlings one by one!
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| Alas, my largest seedling, 7 inches tall, was ravaged. Time to get the row covers |
RE: Birds are snipping off my corn seedlings one by one!
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| Do you guys think shot gun repellent will work? |
RE: Birds are snipping off my corn seedlings one by one!
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| Twelve or twenty gauge? Either would be effective but you must be sure to target the pest to produce the best results. |
RE: Birds are snipping off my corn seedlings one by one!
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| Well I was thinking of getting that too, but there's an actual organic repellent by bonide called "shot gun"...all purpose repellent that contains blood meal, "rotten egg solids", and garlic oil. But I'd probably just use the real thing just for satisfaction |
RE: Birds are snipping off my corn seedlings one by one!
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If you are out of well populated areas where the discharge of firearms is not illegal a shotgun may be of some help, however the crows will soon know when you are around and when you are not and they will come in when you are not.
You also need to be sure that you do not shoot at some of the blackbirds what are protected species. |
RE: Birds are snipping off my corn seedlings one by one!
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| Petzold! Kimmsr! Shot-Gun Repellent is a manufactured product! Takadi, I'm not familiar with this stuff, nor have I talked to anyone who is, but I will say that the ingredients are similar to some of the effective animal repellents out there. I'm just not sure how it would work on birds, which have an entirely different olfactory and taste sensory system going for them. |
RE: Birds are snipping off my corn seedlings one by one!
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| They are driving me insane, they are getting aggressive now. Sunflower seedlings, tomato seedlings, corn seedlings...they just rip everything out and leave it there to taunt me. For some reason though, they stay completely away from my butternut squash area.... |
RE: Birds are snipping off my corn seedlings one by one!
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| I'VE USED FISH LINE STRUNG ABOUT 6" APART TO PREVENT DOVES FROM ROUSTING IN RAFTERS. YOU HAVE NEVER MENTIONED THE BIRDS THAT ARE CAUSING THE PROBLEM. THEY MAY BE AFTER SOMETIME IN THE SOIL OTHER THAN THE PLANT. LIKE MAYBE INSECTS, LARVA OR WORMS. |
RE: Birds are snipping off my corn seedlings one by one!
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| I suspect Robins or sparrows, but I also see crows flying overhead. It most likely is a robin though |
RE: Birds are snipping off my corn seedlings one by one!
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| Does anyone know if predator urine will repel birds? |
RE: Birds are snipping off my corn seedlings one by one!
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