Your fruit and vegetable backyard is the pleasure and pleasure of your yard. Whether or not you’re planting tomatoes, squash, or berries, you need your backyard to thrive. In fact, pests and critters produce other plans. Actually, there are methods you possibly can detract insects and other creepy crawlies, however what about birds? When you’ve ever tended to your backyard to find your newly ripened strawberry bush had been ravaged by an invading flock, this backyard hack is for you.
Find out how to save your strawberry bush
Posted to the r/interesting and r/LifeHacks subreddit, this specific hack initially got here from Fb. The unique poster defined that whereas everybody had laughed at them, they’d painted rocks to appear like strawberries and positioned them across the berry crops and bushes earlier than the fruit appeared.
“The chook will peck the purple rocks,” the submit defined. “They hate pecking tremendous onerous issues so they may go away the fruit when it seems.”
The unique poster famous that whereas that they had eight crows within the yard day by day earlier than planting the faux rocks, by the point the berries appeared, there have been no extra crows.

Does it actually work?
Whereas some customers have been skeptical that the crows wouldn’t ultimately determine it out — citing how clever crows are — there have been plenty of others who vouched for this specific methodology.
“I began doing this in my strawberry patch the yr earlier than final. I additionally obtained made enjoyable of rather a lot by my household, however the Steller’s jays left my berry patch alone as soon as I had berries,” said Zipzifical.
All you must do is locate rocks concerning the measurement of a strawberry — it’s best to be capable of discover lots in your yard — and paint them purple. Add some black dots for seeds and inexperienced on the prime, and as soon as your rocks are dry, you’re good to go. Not solely do you may have a protection towards invading birds, however you’ve added an lovely aesthetic to your backyard landscaping. (Who wants gnomes and fairy gardens, while you’ve obtained strawberry rocks?)
If portray rocks isn’t your factor, Digital_Scribbles offered an identical answer: “My grandfather used to do that round his tomato crops. He would dangle vivid purple Christmas ornaments on his crops proper earlier than they beginning fruiting. After just a few damaged ornaments, the birds gave up.”
You doubtless have just a few spare ornaments mendacity round, no portray required.

What in case you have a squirrel drawback?
Whereas this methodology doubtless wouldn’t work on squirrels, Redditors had another recommendations:
“I’ve all the time scattered robust spices round my crops, like a border. Haven’t had any squirrel points since I began, and I believe it’s due to the spice odor,” oop-dere-it-is said.
SmileFirstThenSpeak offered, “I wrap my tomato crops loosely with tulle material. It retains squirrels and chipmunks away.”
Painted rocks are a tried-and-true methodology for holding birds out of your backyard so you may have a plentiful harvest to get pleasure from. It’s time to get DIYing, and shortly sufficient, you’ll be having fun with some homemade strawberry jam.
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