Yahoo News Stop pigeons plaguing your garden with a simple junk item they see dangerous
Pigeons are likely to feed on scraps of food, grains, seeds and plants which can make your garden the perfect restaurant or them to be regulars - but there's a simple way of keeping them at bay with junk that you would otherwise throw away. The big birds can be incredibly frustrating to deal with when they're digging up your plants and pooing on your fences - but you can keep them at bay by simply using reflective objects.
Dr Liessa Bowen, a wildlife biology expert from Epic Gardening, recently told The Express how to deter birds in humane fashion - by simply hanging pie tins around the garden. She said: "Pie tins are cheap, shiny, and can be easily hung in trees.
"Hang several in your fruit trees or along fences where they can gently twirl in the breeze. If they are close enough to touch each other, they will not only create flashes of light and movement but gentle clonking sounds as they knock against each other."
As tins reflect sunlight, birds will be randomly flashed by them in the summer months and be startled or confused. And when hung rom a tree, a pie tin will also move and create noise which birds can interpret as potential threats.
Dr Bowen, added: "Pie tins can be quite effective to deter birds from browsing in your fruit trees, but they work best when you can hang many of them. A single pie tin may not have much effect on a flock of hungry birds.
"But 10 pie tins twirling around will probably cause the birds to think twice before settling in your trees."
Other shiny objects it or use include old DVDs and CDs that you don't need any more, with Dr Bowen explaining: "The CDs will gently turn in the breeze and provide both movement and flashes of light. This would be a quick, easy, and free (if you have unwanted CDs lying around) method to help deter birds."
Meanwhile, shiny ribbons will have the same effect - and you can even buy special bird deterrent ribbons i you haven't got fabric around the home. Dr Bowen said: "One benefit of using shiny ribbons is that they are easy to install.
"You won’t need any sort of special post or hanger to mount some ribbons. Simply tie them to your fruit trees, garden fences, tomato cages, stakes, or poles that are near the plants needing protection."
She added: "There are many ways to deter birds from munching on your plants, but these techniques may not work equally well for all situations. You may need to get creative, stay attentive, and perhaps combine a few different scare tactics for the best results."
