Birds are the garden's most complicated visitors. They eat aphids, caterpillars, slugs and snails by the thousand, and a garden with birds is a garden with far fewer insect pests. They also eat your seedlings, peck your strawberries, strip your cherries and pull up your newly sown peas. The same blackbird that clears the slugs from the lettuce bed will eat the lettuce seed the day after you sow it. The answer is not to drive birds away — it is to protect the crops they damage while keeping the birds that do the pest control.
This guide covers how to recognise bird damage, which birds cause it, and humane protection in order: netting, timing, deterrents and diversion. There is no lethal advice here, and no advice that harms birds. In many regions wild birds are legally protected, and netting must be used carefully so birds do not become trapped — that is covered below.
How to tell it is birds
Bird damage has a distinctive look. Seedlings are pulled up or nipped off, often with the seed still attached, and peas and beans are dug up soon after sowing. Soft fruit is pecked — a neat hole or a series of pecks in a strawberry, cherry or grape — rather than bitten, and the fruit is often left half-eaten on the plant. Brassicas and lettuce are pecked at the leaves, and sweetcorn is stripped from the top of the cob. You may also find birds perched on the netting or the fence in the morning, and droppings on the leaves.
The damage is often confused with slugs or mice, but the clues differ: slugs leave slime trails and ragged holes, mice are nocturnal and leave gnaw marks, and birds work in the day and leave peck marks. If the damage happens in daylight and the fruit has neat peck holes, birds are the likely culprit. Watch the garden in the early morning — you will usually see them at work.
Which birds cause damage
The main culprits are familiar garden birds. Pigeons are the worst for brassicas, peas and beans — they strip leaves and eat seeds in quantity, and they are heavy enough to damage young plants by landing on them. Blackbirds and thrushes eat soft fruit, pull up seedlings and scatter mulch looking for worms. Starlings and sparrows eat seeds, grain and young shoots, and they feed in flocks, so the damage can be sudden. Crows and magpies take sweetcorn, fruit and eggs, and they are bold enough to work in the open. Jays and squirrels are often blamed for the same damage — see our squirrels in the garden guide for the comparison.
It is worth remembering that the same species also eat pests. Blackbirds eat slugs and snails, thrushes eat snails, and tits and warblers eat aphids and caterpillars by the thousand. A garden without birds would have far more insect pests, so the goal is to protect the crops, not to remove the birds.
Netting — the only reliable defence
Netting is the only method that reliably protects soft fruit and brassicas from birds, and it needs to be done properly. Use mesh with holes no larger than about 20 mm for fruit, and fine insect mesh for seedlings, and make sure the netting is taut and well secured, with no loose folds or gaps at the base where a bird can get underneath. The most important safety rule is to keep netting taut and to check it daily — loose netting traps birds, and a trapped bird will die if it is not freed quickly. In many regions there are legal requirements about netting and wild birds, so check your local extension service for the rules in your area.
For soft fruit, the most practical option is a fruit cage: a permanent or semi-permanent frame covered in netting, with a door for access. A fruit cage protects strawberries and other soft fruit all season, and it can be left in place year-round. For brassicas and lettuce, a mesh tunnel or cloche protects the crop until it is established, after which the plants can usually tolerate some pecking.
For sweetcorn, netting over the whole bed in the final weeks before harvest is the most reliable protection, or individual mesh bags over each cob. For peas and beans, cover the rows with mesh until the plants are well up, since the seeds are most vulnerable in the first few days after sowing.
Timing and sowing
Timing is a powerful tool with birds. Sow peas, beans and other large seeds a little deeper than usual, and cover the rows with mesh or fleece until the seedlings are up. Sow brassicas in trays and transplant them out once they are sturdy, rather than sowing directly where pigeons can find them. Protect newly sown beds with mesh for the first two weeks, and remove it once the plants are established. Plant soft fruit in a fruit cage from the start, rather than netting it after the first peck — once a bird has tasted a strawberry, it will be back for the rest.
Humane deterrents
Visual deterrents — reflective tape, old CDs hung on string, windmills and scarecrows — can reduce bird damage, but birds habituate to them quickly, so move them around every few days and combine them with netting. A scarecrow that never moves is ignored within a week; one that is moved, re-dressed and combined with reflective tape works for longer. Motion-activated sprinklers startle birds effectively and work in the day when they are active. A dog or cat that spends time in the garden is a deterrent, though cats also hunt birds, so it is a trade-off.
Sound deterrents, such as wind chimes or recorded distress calls, can help for a while but are unreliable on their own and may disturb neighbours. Scent deterrents do not work on birds, which have a poor sense of smell, so do not spend money on them for this problem.
Diversion and living with birds
Diversion works well with birds. A bird feeder stocked with seed at the far edge of the property, away from the vegetable garden, can draw birds away from the crops — though it may also attract more birds to the area, so it is a trade-off. A bird bath and a wild corner with berries and seeds give birds food that is not your crop. Some gardeners plant a sacrificial row of peas or a patch of sunflowers away from the main garden for the birds.
The long-term answer is to design the garden with birds in mind: a fruit cage for the soft fruit, mesh tunnels for the brassicas, and a wild corner with a feeder and a bath for the birds themselves. A garden that feeds the birds and protects the crops is a garden that gets the pest control without losing the harvest.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to protect strawberries from birds? A fruit cage, or netting that is taut, well secured and checked daily. Loose netting traps birds, so keep it tight and check it every day. Net before the fruit ripens, not after the first peck.
Will a scarecrow work? For a while, if it is moved regularly and combined with reflective tape or a motion sprinkler. A scarecrow that never moves is ignored within a week. It is a supplement to netting, not a replacement.
Are birds protected by law? In many regions wild birds and their nests are legally protected, and harming them or disturbing nests is an offence. Netting must be used carefully so birds do not become trapped. Check your local extension service for the rules in your area.
Do birds eat pests too? Yes, and this is the part gardeners often miss. Blackbirds eat slugs, tits eat aphids and caterpillars, and a garden with birds has measurably fewer insect pests. Protect the crops and keep the birds — the pest control they provide is worth more than the fruit they eat.
How do I stop pigeons eating my brassicas? Cover the brassicas with fine mesh from transplanting until harvest, or grow them in a mesh tunnel. Pigeons are heavy and persistent, and deterrents alone rarely stop them. Grow cabbage and other brassicas under cover as a matter of routine in pigeon-prone gardens.
Birds are a problem that rewards physical protection and a generous attitude. Cage the fruit, tunnel the brassicas, cover the seeds, and give the birds a feeder and a bath of their own — and the garden will lose less to them each year while keeping the pest control they provide. For other garden visitors, see our squirrels in the garden and deer in the garden guides, and browse the guides hub.