Author Topic: Bird tape?  (Read 4252 times)

zephian

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Bird tape?
« on: May 08, 2018, 12:35:29 PM »
Quick question:
Does bird tape work? How much should I use? My cherries are starting to redden, pluots will be next and my persimmons will be growing soon and I need to keep the birds off my fruits.

Please share your thoughts.
Thanks,
-Kris

Triloba Tracker

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Re: Bird tape?
« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2018, 02:56:49 PM »
You can search the forum and probably find a lot. I have done similar research.
My take-away was that the "scare tape" is almost universally considered a waste of money.

About the only way to keep birds off is actual physical exclusion via netting or a cage.
short of that, I seemed to have some success making a scarecrow on a tall shepherd's hook - i moved it around at least once a day. I even scared myself sometimes out of the corner of my eye, thinking someone was stalking me! It seemed to work pretty well.
Cats might help :)

I have muscadines in their second year and i'm nervous about bird damage when they start fruiting. Not sure what I will do but i'm preparing loose ideas for possibly caging the whole trellis in.


zephian

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Re: Bird tape?
« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2018, 03:38:49 PM »
My husky (12) spends alot of time in the back yard (I can' never get him in!) but he's always asleep.... lol. When he's awake it works out well though!
-Kris

spaugh

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Re: Bird tape?
« Reply #3 on: May 08, 2018, 04:45:05 PM »
Scare tape does work if it's windy.  In the morning when it's calm or if you live in a sheltered location, its useless.

What works is bird netting on small trees.  Fruit protection bags work also.  They sell 100 bags for 22$ on amazon.  They work really well if you have smallish size trees and don't mind going an putting bags on the fruit.  If you have monster trees you can share some fruit anyway.
Brad Spaugh


zephian

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Re: Bird tape?
« Reply #5 on: May 08, 2018, 04:57:53 PM »
The persimmons are very well established, as such I leave the top fruits for the birds... I can't eat them all anyways.
The cherries though... those are different. My tree is on it's way out and doesn't produce more than 100 cherries. this is a 25+year old tree which had a lot of dead wood in it before I cut it back. now it's only semi-dead. I may try some bags for the pluots. I didn't try any last year and they quickly went to the birds after that... thanks guys.
-Kris

Yorgos

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Near NRG Stadium, Houston Texas. USDA zone 9a

zephian

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Re: Bird tape?
« Reply #7 on: May 14, 2018, 01:10:04 PM »
I welcome the birds to eat my persimmons.... I gave away bags and bags of them last year from one tree alone... I now have two setting fruit and they are very well established. My wife's going to be busy making pies for a while this year.
-Kris

z_willus_d

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Re: Bird tape?
« Reply #8 on: May 14, 2018, 02:02:50 PM »


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LX5579M/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525812374&sr=1&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=6840225482829252734&pd_rd_wg=rLkOc&pf_rd_r=AZMHHFTE44NA7FKFEHAM&pf_rd_s=mobile-sx-top-slot&pf_rd_t=9701&pd_rd_i=B01LX5579M&pd_rd_w=0rNsP&pf_rd_i=fruit+protection+bags&pd_rd_r=1962680c-b444-4b9a-aceb-a10e9ebba537&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65
Don't you run into mildew, mold, fungal issues on the fruit when you have them in the sauna for days on end like that?  I had problems with a mouse or mole or ?? eating all my watermelon in the garden last season.  I tried bagging the fruit, but it just got nasty/slimy/rotten after a few weeks bagged up.  I tried poking holes in a few bags, but it didn't help much.

Several years back, my wonderful mom sewed me several satin type bags that cinch at the top. They have micro-holes so the fruit can breath, they're white, and they worked well.  They wren't big enough for the watermelon though.

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Re: Bird tape?
« Reply #9 on: May 14, 2018, 03:28:13 PM »
The bags in the pic look breathable....i haven't pulled them up on amazon.
Others on the forum here turned me on to organza bags. I have ordered them from papermart.com. Definitely nothing big enuf for a watermelon :)

I have used them to "catch" passionfruits (maypops) I have never used them, however, to try to protect fruits from varmints. Not sure they'd do the trick or not.

spaugh

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Re: Bird tape?
« Reply #10 on: May 15, 2018, 12:50:17 AM »
No issues with rotting the bags are very breathable.  Every peach comes out big and perfect.  I wouldnt recommend them otherwise.
« Last Edit: May 15, 2018, 12:52:47 AM by spaugh »
Brad Spaugh

z_willus_d

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Re: Bird tape?
« Reply #11 on: May 15, 2018, 11:08:41 AM »
Very cool.  I'll have to grab some for the tomatoes, apples, and any peaches that deserve a bag.  I thought the opacity of the bag was moisture, but I see now it's the porousness.

Thanks.

Yorgos

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Re: Bird tape?
« Reply #12 on: May 23, 2018, 04:44:20 PM »
The bags did get a little mildewy, but the fruit was fine.  Squirrels learned to gnaw the branch off where the bag was tied and I'd find the bag across the yard.  Perhaps these won't work on the ground.  I could see they would trap moisture even though they are a fine net.  Again, an occasional spay with cayenne pepper helped.  Squirrels got some, but I got a few.  Last year is was me 4, squirrels 3.  Other years I got zilch.
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spaugh

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Re: Bird tape?
« Reply #13 on: May 29, 2018, 01:43:49 PM »
Their ad says its a new bag material for 2018. 
Brad Spaugh

z_willus_d

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Re: Bird tape?
« Reply #14 on: June 05, 2018, 08:31:11 PM »
I just got 200 bags in the mail this past Sunday.  They don't really look like the picture, more paper-based.  They're a bit tricky to attach to trees where the leaves and smaller fruit are well integrated.  I'm using them all the same.  I'll post back if the results are worth noting one way or the other.