The weather this week is really starting to warm up! The strawberries are a little bit behind due to the cooler weather we have had in recent days. That's a good thing though because it gave me more time to get my decoy ready to prevent the birds from stealing a good portion of them! It's a really easy trick and it doesn't take too long to get it done. For any of you that are growing strawberries and worry about the birds eating them before you do, I highly recommend this!
Purchase some small rocks that you can get from any garden store along with a can of red spray paint. Spread your rocks onto some cardboard (outside of course) and start spraying! After they dry, turn them over and be sure to do the other side. When they completely dry, you are ready to place them strategically around your strawberry plants. The birds will see the red rocks and peck unsuccessfully at those instead of your strawberries. It's important to do this while the berries are still green. Reason being, the birds will be used to seeing red rocks. When the real berries turn red, they will think they are more red rocks. I was pretty skeptical the first time I tried this a couple of years ago, but I was quite pleased when I saw how well it actually worked. I'll be sure to keep you posted on how they are doing as well as the progress on the other berries. Until then, here are a few pictures of the rocks before and after. I think they look pretty convincing!
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