Birds can be a nuisance on your lawn. They’ll eat seeds as soon as you sow them, leaving you with bare patches or, worse still, a completely bare lawn. You need to protect your lawn from birds if you want a healthy, lush green lawn.
Protecting your lawn seeds from birds starts with choosing the right time and suitable protective measures. While early fall and late winter might be ideal times, you can sow your seeds any time of the year.
Early mornings and evenings will minimize the number of birds that come to your lawn. If possible, cover the seeds with a protective material like bird netting.
This article will discuss everything you need to know about how to protect lawn seeds from birds. You’ll also learn how to stop birds from digging up a new lawn and some ways on how to keep birds off new grass seed.
Contents
- How do You Stop Birds from Eating Your Grass Seeds?
- 1. Netting to Protect Grass Seed from Birds
- 2. Using Visual Deterrents to Keep off Birds
- 3. Feed the Birds Alternative Foods
- 4. Use Noise Deterrents
- 5. Have a Dog that Scares Away Birds
- 6. Using Aluminum Foil
- 7. Using Motion Activated Sprinklers
- What Home Remedy Keeps Birds Away?
- 1. Using Peppermint Oil
- 2. Using Baking Soda
- 3. Using a Scarecrow
- How to Stop Birds from Eating Your Grass Seeds
- How to Stop Birds from Digging up Lawn
- Grass Seed Protection Covers
- How to Protect Lawn Seeds from Birds (FAQs)
- 1. How do you get rid of birds in your lawn?
- 2. How do I stop birds from destroying my lawn?
- 3. Do birds eat coated grass seeds?
- Author
How do You Stop Birds from Eating Your Grass Seeds?
There are many ways to keep birds off lawn seeds or new grass. Here are some practical and common solutions:
1. Netting to Protect Grass Seed from Birds
Netting is one of the most common methods to protect your lawn from birds. The net will cover and protect your new seeds from hungry birds.
You can find bird netting at your local garden shop, or you can purchase it online.
Netting works by creating a barrier that stops the birds from reaching your lawn. Be sure that the net covers the entire area and doesn’t have any holes or gaps. If a bird finds a way through the netting, it will eat your seeds.
Check out this bird netting:
2. Using Visual Deterrents to Keep off Birds
Visual deterrents are things such as fake predators. Birds are naturally afraid of real predators like cats, dogs, and snakes, so they’ll stay away from your lawn if you use visual deterrents.
When you have these fake predators on your lawn, birds will think it’s dangerous, so they’ll seek out another location with an unprotected food source.
It’s important to note that you can’t just put any old visual deterrent out. The fake predators have to be the size, shape, and color of the real deal.
For example, if you’ve used plastic owls as a lawn protector before and it didn’t work, there’s a reason why. The owl is too big, too small, or the wrong color.
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3. Feed the Birds Alternative Foods
How about feeding the birds something else, like peanuts? Giving the birds food they like will divert their attention away from your lawn and onto something else.
Peanuts, for instance, are cheap and readily available. You can buy peanuts in bulk to save money, or you could purchase the individual packs from your local store.
Other alternative foods include fruit, bread, seeds, and suet cakes. Just make sure the food you give them is healthy and not poisonous.
Give these alternative foods to the birds in a place other than your lawn, so they don’t come to rely on your lawn as their source of food.
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4. Use Noise Deterrents
Noise deterrents will scare away the birds in seconds. Synthetic sounds such as that of a barking dog or a growling animal will scare birds off. High-frequency pitches and ultrasonic sounds are the most effective.
There are several products available that produce these sounds. You can find them on Amazon, for example.
Check out this sound repeller:
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5. Have a Dog that Scares Away Birds
Dogs are man’s best friend, and they’re also a bird’s worst enemy. If you have a dog at home, let it out whenever there are birds around, and you’ll be surprised to see how effective they are.
Dogs bark, jump, run, and howl – all of which are effective ways to scare away birds.
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6. Using Aluminum Foil
Going creative with aluminum foil can also help you protect lawn seeds from birds. You can use aluminum foil in different ways, for instance, placing pieces of the foil on the ground, around the seeds, or even tying them to stakes.
Birds hate it when shiny objects like aluminum foil reflect their movements and sight. Light from the sun reflects off the aluminum foil, making it difficult for them to see or fly.
It’s also hard for them to land on surfaces covered in the foil, so they’ll stay away from it.
7. Using Motion Activated Sprinklers
To something, a little techy, motion-activated sprinklers are also an effective way to deter birds. When a bird flies in range or near the motion detector, it’ll fire a jet of water to scare the bird away.
Find several motion-activated sprinklers on Amazon. Choose one that is affordable and effective.
Check out this Havarhart motion-activated sprinkler:
What Home Remedy Keeps Birds Away?
There are several home remedies you can use to keep away birds from your lawn.
In the old days, people used to keep birds away by getting fresh eggs and breaking them open in an area where the birds were frequenting.
This signified a dangerous predator was roaming around.
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1. Using Peppermint Oil
Peppermint is a natural deterrent for many pests. You can use it to keep birds away from your lawn by mixing peppermint essential oil into either water or vinegar.
The spray is effective, and you can use it as often as you want. Just mix a little bit of peppermint oil with water, spray your lawn and the surrounding areas to keep the birds away.
2. Using Baking Soda
Birds don’t like the feel of baking soda on their feet. You can sprinkle some on the ground around your lawn to keep them away. It’s also helpful if you have pets that like to dig the ground.
You can use baking soda on your walks or patios to help keep pesky birds away.
3. Using a Scarecrow
Scarecrows are an effective way of keeping birds away. You can make your own using old clothes, hay, wires, and stakes.
A scarecrow will look like a predator to the birds, so they’ll stay away from your lawn.
How to Stop Birds from Eating Your Grass Seeds
The green and tender blades of grass in your lawn are a delicacy for many birds. Having birds around is good for the environment, but they can eat away all your grass.
If you’ve tried everything to keep them away and it’s still not working, here are some more options you can try.
- Keeping pets such as cats and dogs
- Using audio repellers
- Using scarecrows
- Using motion activated sprinklers
- Using aluminum foil to cover surfaces such as leaves and lawns
- Mixing peppermint oil with water or vinegar
- Investing in a bird net
- Alternative feeding with vegetables
- Cover seed with straws
- Lay down mulch
How to Stop Birds from Digging up Lawn
Birds will dig up your lawn looking for worms and other insects. They destroy your lawn aesthetics and leave your lawn looking bumpy.
The first thing you need to do is eliminate the insect problem. This involves inspecting your lawn and identifying the insects that are attracting the birds. Once you get rid of these insect populations, the birds will stop coming to your lawn and digging up worms and other bugs.
You can also place some wire mesh on top of your soil, so it’s uncomfortable for the birds to dig. However, this may mess with the aesthetics of the lawn. You can also incorporate some practical deterrents, such as using aluminum foil to cover your lawn.
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Grass Seed Protection Covers
Grass seed protection covers are practical and straightforward ways of protecting your lawn from birds. They serve two purposes: they keep away the birds, and they also protect the seeds from harsh weather elements such as rain, snow, and cold.
The covers are ideal for new lawns. But if you want to fix dead patches in your lawn, you can also use covers to protect the existing grass. The best grass seed covers include:
- Mulch
- Straw
- Polythene plastic
- Compost
How to Protect Lawn Seeds from Birds (FAQs)
1. How do you get rid of birds in your lawn?
You can get rid of birds in your lawn by using deterrents like peppermint oil, baking soda, or scarecrows.
You can also try using motion-activated sprinklers to discourage birds from eating up your lawn. If you want to keep them away for good, you can also invest in a bird net.
2. How do I stop birds from destroying my lawn?
To stop birds from destroying your lawn, you need to identify what attracts them and keeping it away. You can try using deterrents like peppermint oil and baking soda.
If the birds are still at it, you can also try using scarecrows or motion-activated sprinklers.
3. Do birds eat coated grass seeds?
Birds do eat coated grass seeds. However, if the coat is unpalatable to birds, they will not eat the seeds.
If you’re having a hard time keeping birds from eating your lawn, use grass seed protection covers to keep them at bay.
Birds are a good thing for the environment when they’re not eating up all your grass. If you find that birds keep coming back to the same spot, try some of these remedies and deterrents to get them away once and for all.
Understanding how to protect lawn seeds from birds ensures healthy lawns.
