Bird Control Strategies for Vineyards
Jun 27, 2023
When birds descend on vineyards, they can ravage acres of grapes in a matter of hours.
Ripe grapes hanging on vines are an incredibly attractive – and easily accessible – food source for hungry birds including robins, sparrows, starlings and finches.
In the dry heat of summer, grapes may be the only nearby food source – eating them beats spending hours foraging for more meager sustenance.
How to Protect Grapes from Birds
If birds have taken a liking to your grapes, a number of deterrent strategies can help protect your crop. Here are some of the most commonly used solutions:
Noise Cannons
Noise cannons and distress calls can scare away birds cost effectively. Unfortunately, the solution is only a short-term fix: birds adapt to the blasts and tend to ignore them after they realize the noises don’t pose a physical threat.
And, while noise deterrents are effective only intermittently, they are guaranteed to continually irritate your neighbors.
Netting
Netting is an effective solution – but it comes at a high cost.
While nets successfully deter birds, they are an expensive – and labor intensive – investment. The upfront price of nets can be high and annual maintenance costs can add up. Nets must be installed at the beginning of every season and, at the end of the season, they must be taken down, stored and, oftentimes, repaired.
Even though nets are an effective investment, they won’t protect all grapes: some loss is still inevitable.
Lasers
Automatic laser systems have proven to be an extremely successful bird deterrent solution in agricultural settings.
Birds perceive laser beams as threats and will avoid any area swept by them (though they pose no actual harm to birds). Automatic laser systems like the AVIX Mark II sweep targeted areas continuously in random patterns so that birds cannot habituate to them. The laser is so effective, it can reduce crop loss by up to 70%.
Once the laser is set up and programmed for your vineyard, no further work or maintenance is required. Because the pattern profiles are saved, reinstalling the laser each year is a breeze.
Automatic laser systems can be a costly investment but, unlike netting, they do not require annual maintenance. 
Achieve “Grapeness” with Wild Goose Chase
Wild Goose Chase has extensive experience deploying biology-based, humane and effective bird control solutions to help vineyards protect their grapes from birds.
Our team of experts can conduct a site evaluation and devise a plan tailored to your property and problem.
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