Birds digging up mulch

Tabby McTat

We recently put flower beds down in the garden. Along two sides of the garden we have beds with top soil and topped with mulch. Every day I come home from work the birds have destroyed the beds...blackbirds are digging up around the plants we have and kicking the mulch into grass and paving.
Any thoughts on how to prevent this? Other than sitting at the back door with a shotgun!

my3cents

Leaf blower. Just fire it up and blow the bark back. You won't stop birds doing it particularly blackbirds. We've recently had a couple of broods of blackbird chicks fledge so there are a lot around in the garden atm that might be the reason for your problem.

Tabby McTat

Maybe it is just the time of year. I might wait to invest in the leaf blower for the moment.
Hopefully they will grow out of the habit!
Somebody suggested little plastic owls to act as a scarecrow.

Harry Palmr

You've probably robbed them of their lunch (worms) be careful they don't get angry.

FrancieBrady

Feck sake...learn to enjoy their antics OP. They are part of the ecosystem on which your garden depends.

I love watching them fledge every year, they nest in the shed roof and **** down the wall, but so what. Great to see them healthy and living.
You will make yourself prematurely old worrying about such things!

Tabby McTat

Lol I don't want to mess with their ecosystem but I'd rather they didn't dig up my plants!!

Sounds like I need to relax and let nature run its course.

magicbastarder

note to the OP - don't get chickens.

Tabby McTat

Never had a garden to tend to before, so this probably isn't the last stupid question.

And chickens are definitely not in the plan!

CJhaughey

They nay be after other grubs not just worms, you get a lot of insects this time of year and many of them aren't useful to the gardener.
Perhaps they are doing you a favour and eating chafer grubs?

FrancieBrady

CJhaughey wrote: »

They nay be after other grubs not just worms, you get a lot of insects this time of year and many of them aren't useful to the gardener.
Perhaps they are doing you a favour and eating chafer grubs?

The young fledglings are learning how to forage. Bark mulch would be like a High Infants classroom for the parent bird.

Hocus Focus

Drape some netting over the area until the plants establish. Netting comes in different grades; to keep out insects, moths etc., what you need is bird netting.
Alternatively, you could do what my mother used to do back in the days when there wasn't money available for netting; put short sticks/canes around the perimeter, about six inches apart and join them all together randomly with a network of black thread.
This works great for newly sown lawns too.

looksee

I laughed when I saw this question, my son's otherwise very laid back attitude was being sorely tested - and his kids were learning new words - yesterday by blackbirds doing exactly what the op describes!

homer911

I've got sparrows and the like that are loving having a dust bath

prinzeugen

Put more bark down. Or give up! Its what I have done. Same problem. Birds had pecked the weed barrier to bits and had kicked off most of the bark so weed seeds got in.

Pulled out the weeds and took most of the weed barrier with it. Its on a bank under carpet roses.

Bare soil now in most places and there are birds galore and very few weeds!