It is an old gardener's grief: for days you watch the cherries, currants or blueberries ripen, and on the day of the planned harvest the shrub is eaten bare. Blackbirds, starlings and other birds often know earlier than we do when the berries are ripe and help themselves generously. Whoever wants to keep the harvest must protect the fruit.
But bird protection has an important downside that many underestimate: wrongly chosen nets become a deadly trap for exactly the animals they should protect against, and for many others too. This article shows you how to protect your berries effectively and at the same time animal-friendly, and what fair alternatives to the net there are.
Avoiding the animal trap
The biggest problem with bird protection is bad nets. Wide-meshed, thin nets loosely thrown over the shrub are a serious danger. Birds that want to slip through get caught with wings and legs and often die in agony. Hedgehogs too, which get entangled in them at night, and insects like bees fall victim to such nets. A cheap net can thus kill more animals than it saves berries.
The solution is not to do without protection, but to choose the right net and attach it correctly. Two things are decisive: a small mesh width and a taut tension. Fine-meshed nets with meshes under thirty millimetres do not even let birds slip through, so they cannot get caught either. Stretched taut instead of loosely thrown over, they offer the animals no loops to get stuck in.
Using nets correctly
Safest and most effective is a net stretched over a firm frame or structure instead of lying directly on the plant.
Choose a fine-meshed net
Take a net with a mesh width under thirty millimetres. That way birds can neither slip through nor get caught with the head. Finer nets additionally protect against spotted wing drosophila.
Stretch over a frame
Build a simple structure of poles or battens around the plant and stretch the net over it so it does not touch the branches. That way birds do not get to the fruit at all.
Close taut and at the ground
Stretch the net taut and close it at the bottom at the ground so no animals get underneath or in. Loose ends and folds are the most dangerous traps.
Check regularly
Look daily whether an animal has got caught despite everything, and remove the net after the harvest. A left-lying net stays a permanent danger.
A firm, reusable fruit cage of a frame with fine-meshed net is the most comfortable solution for all who have a lot of berry fruit. You enter it for harvest through a door, the birds stay reliably outside, and no animal gets caught. Built once, it serves for many years.
Fair alternatives to the net
It does not always have to be a net. Often the most relaxed attitude is the best, for a large, well-bearing shrub supplies enough for human and bird. Whoever does not need the whole harvest can simply share, as happens by itself in a near-natural edible hedge.
Animal-friendly alternatives
- Harvest early and consistently
Whoever harvests daily as soon as the first fruits are ripe beats the birds to it. Good timing often beats any net, especially with fast-ripening berries.
- Plant distracting woody plants
Bird food woody plants like elder, serviceberry and rowan distract the birds from your cultivated berries. They find plenty of food there and rather leave your harvest alone.
- Simply share
A large shrub often bears more than you can harvest. Whoever deliberately leaves a part for the birds saves nets and does the bird world some good.
- Protect only the core crop
Instead of netting everything, you protect specifically only the most valuable or most sensitive crop, for instance the cherries, and leave the rest open. That saves effort and material.
Whoever despite everything harvests more than they can use fresh preserves the surplus. How to freeze, boil down or dry the protected harvest is in Preserving the berry harvest.
Only fine-meshed and stretched taut protects without becoming a trap. And often sharing is the best solution: a large shrub fills both human and bird.
The core rule for bird protection
Frequently asked questions
Which net protects berries without endangering birds?
A fine-meshed net with a mesh width under thirty millimetres, stretched taut. That way birds can neither slip through nor get caught. Wide-meshed, loosely thrown-over nets, by contrast, become a deadly trap for birds and hedgehogs.
How do I best protect berries from birds?
Safest with a fine-meshed net stretched over a firm frame that does not touch the plant directly. That way birds do not get to the fruit at all. A reusable fruit cage is the most comfortable permanent solution.
Why are loose bird nets dangerous?
Because birds, hedgehogs and insects get caught in the wide meshes and loose folds and often die in agony. A cheap, badly stretched net can kill more animals than it saves berries. Fine-meshed and stretched taut, by contrast, it is safe.
Are there alternatives to the bird net?
Yes. Harvesting early and daily often beats the birds to it. Bird food woody plants like elder and serviceberry distract them. And with large, productive shrubs it is often enough to simply share and leave a part of the harvest for the birds.
When do I have to put up the bird net?
Shortly before the fruits ripen, for then they become interesting to birds. Depending on the crop that is between weeks 24 and 36. After the harvest you remove the net again so it does not become a danger all year.
