Home-grown blueberries offer a rewarding, sweet harvest, but they also represent a highly attractive food source for local bird populations. A single flock can decimate a season’s worth of fruit in a matter of hours, leading to significant frustration for the home gardener. Protecting your crop requires a proactive strategy that relies on physical exclusion rather than temporary scare tactics. By implementing the right protective measures at the correct time, you can ensure the majority of your berries ripen fully for your own enjoyment.
Timing the Protection: When to Cover Bushes
The timing is a delicate balance between allowing for pollination and preventing bird damage. You must wait until the flowering period is completely finished to ensure successful fertilization of the blossoms. Covering the bushes too early will exclude pollinators, resulting in a poor fruit set.
The ideal window for installation begins once the last blossoms have faded and the berries are forming, but are still hard and green. Have your protective structure in place two to three weeks before the fruit begins to show its first color. This proactive approach prevents birds from establishing a feeding pattern, as they are drawn to the bushes once the fruit starts turning from green to light pink or blue.
Selecting the Right Physical Barrier Materials
The most effective protection is bird netting. Look for netting made from durable, UV-protected materials like High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) or polypropylene. Netting constructed with a knitted weave is preferable because it resists tangling and is less likely to snag on the delicate branches of the bush.
The mesh size impacts both bird exclusion and safety. An ideal mesh size is \(1/4\) inch or less, or approximately 10 millimeters, which is small enough to stop most small birds from accessing the fruit or becoming entangled. The netting must be supported by a frame to keep the material from resting directly on the berries, which allows birds to simply peck through the mesh. Common support materials include lightweight PVC piping, flexible metal hoops, or sturdy wooden posts.
Step-by-Step Installation of Protective Structures
A simple frame can be built using PVC pipe connected with elbow and tee fittings to create a rectangular box that completely encases the bush or row of bushes. The vertical supports of this frame are often secured by sliding them over metal rebar stakes that have been driven into the ground, offering stability against wind.
Once the frame is constructed, the netting is draped over the top, secured to the frame with zip ties or clips, and then carefully pulled down the sides. Ensure the netting is completely secured at ground level without any gaps. Use heavy objects like rocks, bricks, or earth staples (landscape pins) to anchor the bottom edge, preventing birds from walking or hopping underneath the barrier.
For smaller, more isolated bushes, the temporary draped method can be used. The net is simply thrown over the bush, making sure to fully cover all the foliage and fruit. Because the netting rests directly on the bush, birds may still be able to peck at fruit near the surface. Even with this temporary method, the netting’s edges must be tightly gathered and secured at the base of the bush to prevent the entry of ground-level foragers.
Alternative Deterrents and Post-Harvest Care
Some growers utilize visual or auditory deterrents as a supplement. Reflective tape, often called flash tape, or hanging shiny objects like old compact discs, can disorient birds with sudden flashes of light and movement. Plastic owl decoys or inflatable “scare-eye” balloons can deter birds, but these methods must be moved frequently, as birds quickly learn that a stationary threat poses no real danger.
Once the last berries have been harvested, the protective netting should be safely removed to allow for pruning and end-of-season care. The material should be cleaned of any debris, thoroughly dried to prevent mildew, and carefully folded or rolled. Proper storage ensures the netting’s integrity and durability, making it ready for immediate use at the start of the next growing season.