North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>]

Jim, do you mind if I quote your comments on the Growingfruit.org forum?
Some members who don't also participate on nafex@lists might be
interested.  I always thought this an ingenious strategy and reading it
again I feel foolish for never having tried it as you've been sharing this
for a very long time.

 I grow sour cherries and have ZERO bird problems.  Why?  I hang red
plastic 'cherries' in the trees and leave them in the tree the whole year
around, replacing them as they fade.  Also, I put red painted stones in the
strawberries as soon as blooming is finished.  The birds peck on the rocks,
hurt their beaks and don't come back.  AND I hang raspberry shaped berry
beads around the perimeter of the red raspberry patch as soon as blooming is
done.  It doesn't work 100% but it helps.  Black berry beads do not work
with blackberry and black raspberry and I don't know why not.