Everyday a group of robins come when I’m away at work and either step on or peck on my calla palustris(bog arums). They break off some of the stems and chew the tips of the growth. Is there any way to stop this? I can’t put a fence around it as they are scattered throughout the pond and if I do they will become rusted in the water. Do I just have to live with this just praying they won’t completely kill my plants?
Birds eating/destroying my marginals
- Thread starter Heruga
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looks like Robins 1, Heruga 0. Give it up mate, the birds have won...
try spraying them with a solution that makes the plants taste bad, something like I do to keep the deer, rabbits, and woodchucks away from almost every plant in my flower gardens. I'm pretty sure it won't hurt the pond if you overspray, but try not to. Solutioin; garlic powder, tobasco sauce, chayenne pepper, egg yolks. Blend with some water, dilute to 5 gallons, leave in sun to ferment, then spray away. An alternate, though the birds might not care, is peppermint extract mixed in water. Smells a lot better than solution #1. In any case, research what repels birds/robins and try that on your plants.
You could also use a motion activated water sprinkler strategically placed, sensitivity set very high.
Good luck!
try spraying them with a solution that makes the plants taste bad, something like I do to keep the deer, rabbits, and woodchucks away from almost every plant in my flower gardens. I'm pretty sure it won't hurt the pond if you overspray, but try not to. Solutioin; garlic powder, tobasco sauce, chayenne pepper, egg yolks. Blend with some water, dilute to 5 gallons, leave in sun to ferment, then spray away. An alternate, though the birds might not care, is peppermint extract mixed in water. Smells a lot better than solution #1. In any case, research what repels birds/robins and try that on your plants.
You could also use a motion activated water sprinkler strategically placed, sensitivity set very high.
Good luck!
Robins are insect eaters. Either your plants have a lot of bugs or they are looking for them. Id start by placing limbs close to these plants so the robin has something else to land on. They can be rather destructive as they rip flip and tug at all of my moss. Looking for bugs below.
I was going to say the same - they aren't interested in the plants themselves, just the bugs. Maybe give them a bare spot in the garden that is more appealing, water it every morning and see if they will try that instead. I'm struggling with a pair of robins that like to take a dirt bath every morning in my raised bed gardens - they disturb the seeds and nothing will grow!
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I have a lot of finches landing on my sedum they snack attack in groups. I don't see any real plant damage. Then they hit the sunflowers that have mature seeds right next to them.
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Are you sure it's the robins doing the damage and not groundhogs, maybe?
I’ll look for a deterrent but unlike mammal critters, not sure if birds have that kind of sensitivity. The motion sensor sprinkler sounds like a good idea. All my plants around it are bog plants so they wouldn’t Ever mind being overwatered.
@GBBUDD, limbs as in sticks/branches? I’d like to grow moss on my pond rocks one day too, maybe I’ll cover them with a net and just let the moss grow in between and over it eventually. The robins frequently visit other areas in my garden too but not enough for them to stay away from my pond. They are so greedy.
Definitely not groundhogs or any mammal critter, our entire yard is fenced and the gaps underneat the fence to the ground is sealed by hardware cloth. We don’t even get squirrels or chipmunks anymore. Not sure if this sounds like a good idea but maybe I’ll keep my dog outside most days for most of the day, since he loves being outside. Not on rainy days but robins won’t be coming on rainy days anyway.
@GBBUDD, limbs as in sticks/branches? I’d like to grow moss on my pond rocks one day too, maybe I’ll cover them with a net and just let the moss grow in between and over it eventually. The robins frequently visit other areas in my garden too but not enough for them to stay away from my pond. They are so greedy.
Definitely not groundhogs or any mammal critter, our entire yard is fenced and the gaps underneat the fence to the ground is sealed by hardware cloth. We don’t even get squirrels or chipmunks anymore. Not sure if this sounds like a good idea but maybe I’ll keep my dog outside most days for most of the day, since he loves being outside. Not on rainy days but robins won’t be coming on rainy days anyway.
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Meaning birds like to land on open branches or the highest spot in the area if your plants are that that could be why your getting damage as they are just constantly landing on them . Put some branches in the ground standing up close to and taller then your damaged plants. Just make sure there is a open flight path
Just the smell of the dogs can be enough to keep some animals away
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This is exactly what I was thinking.
The ground hogs eat lots of our plants. They especially love all the violets. We have violets growing literally everywhere.
Maybe that's the key. Plant enough for you and the critters.
Why not just cover those plants with a bird net? People do that all the time with their fruit trees.
snack attack lol