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| Scarecrow in a field, image courtesy of HGTV.com |
I think we've posted about our love of scarecrows before. Since the garden this past Spring was more of a test run (and successful enough to do it again of course), we felt we didn't need one right away. I do know that I have been fascinated with them since I was younger and now that we have the ability to have one, I want one in our garden next year.
Do they actually work? I don't know. My guess would be probably not, but maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps building it and putting it up is half the fun anyway. Heck, we've even saved a few old clothes to use for him! We're ready!
Anyone out there ever had a scarecrow? Do you think they work?
Be inspired!
We made a couple with the kids one day. They worked for a bit but we have bowerbirds that are particularly cunning! I think if you move them to a different spot in the garden, every now and then, they are more effective.
ReplyDeleteThey work cause the birds love landing on them and doing their dirty business if the scarecrows stand in one spot for long period of time; but actually, yes, you do have to move them from area to area from time to time.
ReplyDeletePutting a scarecrow in the garden is based on the idea that birds are afraid of people, whom they view as potential predators.
Like deer and rabbits, birds are wary but adaptable. While they will steer clear of anything that looks suspicious or out of place, if it stays put for a while, they’ll get used to it, and eventually you’ll find them roosting on it!
A basic scarecrow, placed in your garden and left alone, is likely only to be effective for a few days. So in order for your scarecrow to work, it needs to be ever changing. You can accomplish this by:
Moving the scarecrow around.
Attaching reflective or noisy accessories that flash in the breeze.
Changing up your scarecrow’s wardrobe from time to time.
If you’re also using rubber snakes and the like, keep them moving too, so the birds will be fooled into thinking they’re real.
Where to Install your Scarecrow.......Everywhere!
Keep your scarecrow moving and changing. Give him a garden project with some tools, or sit him on the fence, or move him from one end of the garden to the other, every couple of days. The birds will be suspicious of this garden where it seems like someone is always working!
Both of my grandmas had scarecrows in their gardens but I do recall seeing birds and other critters in their gardens also. I think it would just be a fun thing to have in your country garden but you'd probably have to work at keeping it effective. I just plant extras in my garden for everybody!
ReplyDeleteScarecrows work for a bit and then the birds get used to them and just ignore them...you have to keep changing them up and have lots of flappy bits on them. Something else you can do is to put stakes at both ends of every other row and string twine strung with disposable pie plates from one end to the other.. The flapping, the noise they create and the sun reflecting off them seems to be a good deterrent.
ReplyDelete