One of the most annoying things about sowing grass seed is that birds eat your seed before it can germinate. This will significantly reduce the germination rate of your lawn, and you may end up with a thin or patchy-looking yard.
The good news is that there are several things you can try to keep birds away from your seeds, from covering them with a net to making a lot of noise in your yard. We’ve tried them all to find the best way to keep birds from eating your grass seeds.
How to Keep Birds from Eating Your Grass Seed
There are many ways to keep birds from eating your grass seed. Here are some tried and tested methods that actually work.
Use bird netting
The first step is to cover your seeds with “bird netting” or something similar. This is basically a very light mesh that birds can’t penetrate with their beaks but which lets water and any other nutrients through. Without this mesh, your seed may germinate only to get eaten off by the birds just before it becomes strong enough to survive on its own.
Use straw
Another method of stopping birds from eating your newly sown seeds is to put a thin layer of straw over the area. This will keep birds away from your seed while still letting water through. Once the grass has grown, you can rake up the straw, and you’ll have a lovely green lawn.
Use owl decoys
Owls are known to be one of the best predators that hunt these pesky birds that eat your grass seeds. The reason is that they have exceptional eyesight and can spot a sneaky bird from a great distance, giving them plenty of time to make an attack. This is why many people believe that putting owl decoys in their garden will stop birds from eating their grass seed.
However, this doesn’t necessarily need to be an owl; you can use other decoys or moving objects such as CDs, helium balloons, or a scarecrow. If you are especially crafty, then you can make your own decoy owl, but otherwise, you can buy readymade ones.
How to Keep Birds from Eating Your Grass Seed: Make a noise
Many people believe that making noise will scare the birds away. However, this isn’t always effective. Some types of birds don’t get frightened by noises. Playing music in your yard can help to deter common garden birds as they usually flock to quieter areas.
Construction CDs with the sounds of loud chainsaws, jackhammers, and other machines can be played in your yard to keep pesky birds away from your newly sown grass seed. However, this may annoy your neighbors.
How to Keep Birds from Eating Your Grass Seed: Burlap Sheets
Covering the area with burlap sheets is another method that some gardeners use to stop birds from eating their grass seed. However, it isn’t very effective if you live in a particularly windy area, as the seeds will be affected by all of the movement. Another issue with using burlap is that it can be pretty expensive if you have a larger area to cover.
Metallic Mylar Tape
Another method of stopping birds from eating your grass seed is to use pieces of mylar tape. The tape can be hung from trees and creates a reflection that birds and wildlife don’t like. Mylar tape has been proven to keep some animals away, and it is also non-toxic and easy to remove once the seeds have germinated.
Distract them with a bird feeder
Another way to stop birds from eating your grass seed is to put up a bird feeder in another area of the yard. This will distract them from your newly planted seeds and give them something else to feed on.
Conclusion
We have seen many different ways that people try and keep birds away from their freshly sown grass seed, but not all of them have been effective. However, you should find one that works well for your yard and reduces the number of seeds that are eaten.
One thing to remember is that the longer the birds are allowed to eat your newly sown grass seed, the less likely it is that they will germinate. This means that if you see birds eating your seeds, then you should act quickly to stop them.
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