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Any tips?

I have a couple of trees, one about 30 feet high. Last year i waited and waited til the cherries were almost ripe, then the blighters swiped the lot in one morning before I got up!

So anyhow, I have a net, which I might be able to throw over the smaller tree (OH is away), and I´ve put some CDs to hang in the lower branches of the larger tree (hoping that leaving them the vast majority of the tree might placate them )

Has anyone tried the CD thing? Did it work? How "concentrated" do they have to be?

Anyother ideas? Apart from putting Tig-mini in a harness and letting him massacre the lot!

clara x

Dont know I have the same issue, I have some net at the ready and some failed CD's & DVD from burning I have asked everyone to save.

We have 3 trees!

We await someones experience!

Hi Clara,

The CD thing is very popular in France with them hanging from the lower branches quite closely together. Ive also seen a couple of trees with dead birds hanging from them - seems to be quite effective. Gotta catch that bird first tho!

chadspad wrote:Hi Clara,

The CD thing is very popular in France with them hanging from the lower branches quite closely together. Ive also seen a couple of trees with dead birds hanging from them - seems to be quite effective. Gotta catch that bird first tho!

I´ll get Tig-mini on to it....he´s a killing machine.

We've about 30 cherry trees and thankfully have 100s of old CD/DVDs which I hang on them just before the cherries ripen. Although it caused much curiosity amongst our neighbours it definitely helps. I don't hang them on every branch just sporadically hang them to give each tree good coverage. As an added bonus they provide a free light show in the later afternoon which the dogs like to try and chase.

As long as the light show doesnt attract passing birds!

Us birds are quite often taken in by bright lights . I forgot to say that trees where I didn't hang CD's in got severely pecked.

Well I just found out that my "small" tree isn´t small enough for (very small) me to throw a net over, so I´ve managed (with the help of a long pole) to get it over a few branches of the big tree (that I´d previously hung CDs in). Net is not touching the ground but I hope this multifaceted approach will work!

I´m leaving the small tree and more than 2/3 of the large tree to natures will, so I hope I have birds that believe in le fairplay anglais (as my french neighbours say!).

thanks for everyones feedback

contadina wrote:Us birds are quite often taken in by bright lights .

Know what you mean, but if a kitten or something cute walks past in the same moment I get so confused OH has to get out the smelling salts

My french neighbour has built a scarecrow (that looks remarkably like him) Which he has hung from a branch of his huge cherry tree.

It's feet are just above the ground and it turns with any breeze and seems very effective

My cherry trees have about 20 cherries on each. I long for the day when I have to worry about protecting huge crops

good luck