Are Nets and Scarecrows Effective at Deterring Nuisance Birds?

With planting season around the corner, now is the time to start thinking about ways to protect your crops and prevent hungry birds from damaging your crops. In the US, birds cause over $150 million in aggregate direct damage to specialty and row crops every year. In response, many farms turn to traditional solutions like netting and scarecrows in hopes of deterring nuisance birds. However, these solutions alone are often ineffective or challenging to implement and require constant maintenance. 

In this blog, we’ll explore why netting and scarecrows can fall short as effective bird deterrent solutions for farms, orchards and vineyards, and why automated bird laser systems are more effective and reliable way to prevent crop damage from birds.

The Problem with Netting as a Bird Deterrent Solution

Netting is a widely used solution to protect crops in orchards and vineyards. It’s designed to physically prevent birds from landing on plants and feasting on fruits. While this method can be an effective way to keep birds at bay, it has several limitations:

1. Potential Damage to Crops and Netting: Netting can become tangled or torn by strong winds, wildlife, or improper handling, resulting in damage to both the crops they cover and the nets themselves. The weight of the netting may affect plant growth or even cause damage to the plant and/or its fruit. Birds may also damage the netting while trying to get through, leaving parts of the crop exposed. Once compromised, nets lose their effectiveness, leaving crops vulnerable to bird damage. 
2. Expensive Maintenance Costs: Installing and removing netting is labor-intensive and can take days, reducing available resources that could otherwise be focused on other farm needs. Once netting has been installed, it requires continual inspection and maintenance. Farmers must regularly check for holes, rips, or damage that would allow birds to slip through. This ongoing upkeep can be both time-consuming and costly, especially if large areas of crops need to be covered.
3. Limited Coverage: Netting works best for smaller, more defined areas. For larger orchards or vineyards, installing and maintaining netting across vast swaths of land can be logistically challenging to ensure consistent coverage. Furthermore, many orchards and vineyards have hilly or uneven terrain, making it difficult to install netting uniformly. Uneven ground can result in gaps or sagging in the netting, which ultimately fails to keep birds away.

Why Scarecrows Fail to Keep Birds Away

Scarecrows have long been used as a way to keep birds out of fields, orchards, and vineyards. The idea behind scarecrows is simple: their human-like appearance should deter birds from approaching the crops. However, scarecrows have proven to be largely ineffective for several reasons:

1. Birds Quickly Habituate: While scarecrows may work for a short time, birds are highly intelligent creatures that observe and adapt to changes in their environment. Birds can quickly become accustomed to the scarecrow and no longer see it as a threat. This desensitization renders scarecrows virtually useless after the initial novelty wears off.
2. Static Nature of Scarecrows: Scarecrows are stationary, and their lack of movement makes them easy for birds to declassify as a perceived threat. Without at least daily movement, the scarecrow poses no actual threat and, as such, birds choose to ignore.
3. Limited Coverage Area: If scarecrows do have some deterrence effect, their protection is often limited to the area nearby their position. Large farms or orchards would need multiple scarecrows to cover a significant portion of the land, which may not be feasible from a cost perspective.

How Automated Lasers Control Birds on Farms

Automated laser systems represent an effective alternative to keeping birds away from crops at various stages of plant growth. Automated lasers work by projecting a green beam of light across fields, orchards, and vineyards, creating a visual deterrence that birds view as threatening. When installed and programmed correctly, automated bird lasers provide deterrence benefits including:

1. Constant Movement and Variety: Automated lasers offer constant movement between alternating patterns, which prevent birds from habituating. The unpredictable nature of the laser’s motion and times when the laser is activated make it difficult for birds to get accustomed, providing a sustained deterrent over time. Birds are more likely to stay away because they can’t anticipate the perceived threat’s behavior.
2. Large Coverage Area: Laser systems are designed to cover expansive areas of land, making them ideal for farms, vineyards, and orchards with large average. Unlike scarecrows and netting, lasers can be programmed to target specific problem areas as well as an entire crop area, offering more efficient protection. 
3. Durable and Low Maintenance: Automated laser systems are designed to be durable and weather-resistant. They won’t degrade in the elements like scarecrows or netting. Additionally, the minimal maintenance required for these systems is a significant advantage, as farmers don’t need to replace or repair the technology regularly.
4. Cost-Effective: While there may be an upfront cost for installing and programming a laser system, in the long run, it is often more cost-effective compared to the ongoing expenses associated with installing/ removing/ maintaining netting or scarecrows. 

However, depending on the bird species and affected area, a combination of solutions (e.g., netting plus a laser) might offer the most comprehensive solution. Our experts will recommend the most appropriate combination of solutions based upon the specific bird species affecting your property and the built and natural environment characteristics of your property.

Conclusion

For large farming, orchard, and vineyard operations, netting and scarecrows alone can be ineffective bird deterrence solutions. The maintenance costs, limited coverage, and lack of adaptability make them less than ideal solutions for protecting your crops. Automated bird laser systems, on the other hand, offer an effective and reliable method of keeping birds away from crops. Their ability to cover large areas, low maintenance costs, and provide continuous deterrence makes them the superior choice for reducing crop damage from birds. 

With over 27 years of experience managing bird issues on agricultural properties, Wild Goose Chase is the industry leader in bird management. We are a product-agnostic company, allowing us to focus on recommending solutions that work best for your unique needs. If you have experienced challenges with bird deterrent systems in the past, call us to discuss alternative solutions for your farm. For more information about how our team can deter birds from your farm, or to schedule a site evaluation, contact us.