Nope. That’s not a spelling mistake.
And it’s more like oh deer, rabbits, squirrels and birds.
Some years, the wildlife have absolutely ravaged my gardens.
Not only eating all the bounty but stomping (deer again!) all over what’s left of my plants.
Time to take action.
Because my blueberries are precious. If left unattended, the birds will peck away at every last one.
Don’t they know there’s a convenient full service bird feeder just 30 feet away?
Squirrels and rabbits nibble at my crops and leave the rest! What nerve. You should see what they did to my tomatoes one year.
Netting. It’s the way to go.
So today Tom and I are going to tell you how we netted our blueberries to protect them from the wildlife in our yard.
Although our focus is berries, you can implement the same technique with your tomatoes, squash, cucumbers or whatever plants your are protecting in your yard!
A couple years ago the town repaired the end of our driveway due to a water leak.
They left all of the steel concrete form stakes and never picked them up. After weeks turned into months we assumed they weren’t coming for them.
Now what?
Waste not, want not.
Tom put them in the garage and repurposed them.
Our advice is that you do the same. See if you already have what you need from the supply list below and can “make do” with supplies you have on hand.
But for anything missing, you can buy needed supplies at those “big box” home improvement stores or on Amazon.
Supplies needed
- 1/2″ 10 foot piece of conduit (one per bush or every couple feet if it’s a hedge)
- Concrete stakes
- Bird netting (big enough for your area)
- Tape measure
- 6″ galvanized steel landscape staples
- Sledge Hammer (to hit the steel concrete stakes)
Step 1 – Place a metal stake 3′ away from each bush on one side of hedge
You’ll see further down that a couple of the metal stakes were too wide at the end so Tom flipped them and went flat side down and point up.
If the ground is a little wet you won’t have too much trouble getting them in. But if you’ve had a dry spell, hit that sledge hammer with all your might!
Step 2- Place tapered conduit end over steel stake
Step 3 place opposite of conduit in wet ground
Ideally you would use one piece of conduit per bush.
Step 4 Slowly unravel bird netting starting at one end
You can accidentally get tangled in the blueberries and the last thing you want to do is lose some because of the netting!
Step 5 Slowly stake in netting keeping it as tight as possible
They found an opening in the netting so don’t hold back using as many landscape staples as needed.
My daughter Esther helped me get the four birds out of the patch!
Another conduit hoop would be much better. The singular post can cause the net to rip which doesn’t happen with the hoops.
If you don’t have metal concrete stakes you have several options. One would be just to bury both sides in the ground.
The other is put a 90 degree elbow at each end and run another piece of conduit of PVC and connect it to the other side.
It’s time to beat the birds and enjoy EVERY blueberry.
Happy Harvesting!
Love it
I TAKE VINEGAR GUMMIES,DIDN’T KNOW IT KILLED WEEDS ALSO.
There are a lot of rural areas here in Arkansas, so this is a big problem here too! I love what you did!
I haven’t been successful keeping the chipmunk, groundhog, squirrels and birds out. Have used soap, hair and spray with pepper.
I can’t garden anymore. I love that you were thinking hey there’s a bird feeder over there! Just like kids! Their legs are temporarily broke😎 Does your husband ever build things like this for others for a fee? This would be a cool side job! That’s really consider it of you and your daughter to help get the 4 birds out of the netting! It sounds like a greenhouse! I heard of putting that repelling smelling stuff around the plants 🪴 My granny used gloves of garlic and I also heard of using Apple Cider Vinegar. I really don’t know if this is good or not to use?
Thank you for sharing!
I love blueberries.
My parents had a patch we all picked together each year. Hmmm? Wild animals? Ive hearx Netting helps.
I have trouble with bunnies often! Thanks for the tips!
We have several deer in our yard and wild raspberries growing and lucky they leave them alone. But however we do feed them corn from a feeder and they focus on that instead.
love this!
Thanks for the tips.
great idea, thank you!!
I always enjoy reading what great ideas and information you give. I learn something new each time.
What great ideas and tips are provided for us in this article! Thank you!
Working on similar project this weekend!
Love this method because the birds can’t get trapped under it
Laura,
These are absolutely beautiful and genius! Shout out for Western New York as I’m from there also!
Thanks for the hints to keep any pests out!
Nice posting. Thank you!
I would say the birds are the hardest on our garden, dogs keep deer at bay.
I have a yard full of rabbits
We have a lot of different types of wildlife where I live
I always learn new techniques from your posts!
Love all the hintdebrz wallaces. I need all the help I can get on plants
The netting would sure work for the overhead berry thieves but it is the snails, slugs, and mice that get most of my strawberries.
great info and tips. Thanks so much
Great info.
Very informational, great post!
Great ideas! Hey, I’m from Western NY too! Dansville to be specific! Small world!
Just love this site❣️Blessed with so much information…many thanks❣️
Fabulous idea to protect plants. Last year I was disappointed when all my cantaloupes and watermelons began to disappear as soon as they got the size of a grapefruit! I’m not sure who the culprit was!
You always have such useful and informative posts. Thanks so much.
This would be an expensive project if you had to buy everything! Fortunately most of us have a collection of ‘stuff’ laying around to offset any $$ spent. I am so glad I found this truly informative website. Thank you for sharing.
This is a great idea, I will have to tell my friend who has a garden!!!
Thanks for sharing this one we have a lot of deer here and we have to protect all of our flowers and plants outside.
This is a very helpful idea..my main concerns are mice and rats getting into my garden..because we have cow pastures and wooded areas behind our home. So its a HUGE problem
Very informative and useful!
I attempted to grow blueberries with did not have much luck. I will attempt it again after reading a few of your posts on blueberry growing. Funny story though, when I started my blueberry plant it actually grew one big blueberry on it. I was so happy and in that same moment of joy, a Blue Jay perched right up on the pot I had it planted in and snatched that blueberry so quickly and then flew away. I actually laughed about and can definitely see why I should have been more proactive and protected the plant better. Thanks for the post.
Thank you for the information, we love Blueberries.
A friend of mine recently suggested this approach to help protect my grapevines!
Thanks for the info!
I have bird feeders in my yard so this is awesome for me
Thank you for the idea
I love all of your gardening ideas.
Great ideas. Thanks.
Love this! My niece needed to do this. The deer ate all her berries.
I guess I am lucky because I don’t have many problems at all. I think it is where we live. There isn’t much wildlife around other than the birds and my neighbors and I keep them very well fed so they leave our gardens alone.
love your ideas.
I really like this idea. I have blueberry bushes that just feed the deer. They get everything before I do even though I have plastic netting draped over the bushes.
I have covered my raspberries for years.
We’re in Missouri visiting our middle daughter’s family for over two weeks, so a neighbor will harvest our blueberries while we’re away from our TX home. However, in Missouri, our son-on-law had rabbits gnawing through his heavy plastic netting last year, thus he framed the beds using metal stakes and wire to restrain the bunnies. With 4 bird feeders, the birds have yet to be a problem. But, I’ll mention bird netting for topping the area when &/or if they find the need. Presently we’re watching their 3 girls for a week while the parents are canoeing, golfing, watching shows in Branson, fishing and 5 hours away! I forgot how demanding 3 children, aged 3 -7 could be! Thanks for this post.
Always very informative and useful articles!
This is so helpful!
I’m not gardening (vegetables) this year because the critters “enjoyed” most of what I grew. .I may try again in the future. Thanks for the tips.
I wish my thumb was greeener. Love gardening.
Great idea. Thanks for the instructions!
Thank you for sharing such great tips and insight, Good work.
Now I know why my blueberry bush didn’t have berries the first year.
Thanks for the tips. We have so much wildlife out here.
We have both a bunny and a couple of deer!
Excellent tips for all home-grown backyard enthusiasts!
Looks pretty easy , thanks!
Love the netting idea. Will have to try it
We have families of deer appear in our yard daily! Great tips.
I wish I had the room to grow raspberries or blueberries! Love them both!
This is super advice and information. We do have a lot of wild life in our yard and neighborhood also.
Fortunately I have a great farm market to buy my berries from so I don’t have to do all of this myself.
I don’t like growing berries because of snakes. I had a scary experience as a child.
I love yard projects I feel great to go and look @ the progress that has been made Its also good for exercise, etc
I need to do this!
I do not have a garden – I don’t have the space or the energy to plant and keep one up, but I do enjoy reading tips about what works for people. I have heard of many people who plant their gardens only to be disappointed by critters eating their crops!
Very clever tips to protect my blackberries and raspberries…thank you.
Thanks for the tips we have a few different wildlife here
These are great! I love all your posts! So much good info!
Thank you for this. I will have to try these methods.
Good tips, enjoy reading your garden posts. I don’t have a real garden but love the dream of planting one.
Loved visiting my Mammaw…when I was a little girl!!! Her next door neighbor grew huge blackberries & I would sneak thru a hole in the dense & grab a bunch❣️Shhh🤫
Love your tips and tricks!
My only worry is a bird getting under the netting somehow. It happened to someone I know and unfortunately, didn’t end well.
thanks for the info!!
Great tips! We live in the boonies here, so we are always having to protect our crops from the little critters.
I love the cone flower, But for some reason they don’t grow well here.
This is a great idea! I don’t want to deter them too much because I love wildlife but also don’t want them eating my berries!
Looking for a way to keep my grapes safe. Thanks for the great ideas.
My son grows blackberries and this may be something he may need.
What a great idea! We have so many pests getting into my veggies this year.
WE have been doing the netting for a while. We started when we started finding half eaten tomatoes. Our culprit was deer.
I don’t personally have a garden yet but I’m looking forward
to having one in my new home. I have always liked container gardening but the mire I learn about gardening I like the raised bed system also. I can’t wait to get started and I’ll be taking these tips into consideration for netting to protect my crops.
Great idea. This will work.
Thanks for sharing………I used an old mesh fish net years ago that I doubled up to form smaller holes to keep the birds out…………Love your ideas………….
I am animal friendly and do not wish to harm wildlife, so any hints like this really helps my garden to stay in the best shape possible without doing harm.
We have an abundance of rabbits this year and I appreciate your suggestions.
Great idea! In the past we have tried lots of different things to try to stop the wild from enjoying our veggies n fruits, from cayenne pepper, to 6 pack rings, plastic fork etc.
Thanks for the useful article.
Love my blueberries! this is helpful.
The rabbits in my yard devour everything in sight
i love all kinds of honey,use it in everything to sweeten
Great idea and tips. My father in law uses netting around his ferns because the rabbits love them.
Love your ideals gonna have to try them.
I love your ideas, and this one is no exception, especially since it doesn’t harm the animals in anyway. We have a lot of deer and we leave corn out for them to eat.
The netting is another great idea! Reading all your tips have taught me so much. Thank you!
Thanks for the great info and photos. Now I do not have an excuse for not making this.
I use powdered lime on some of my garden plants! Some of my other things-bushes etc. are frequently nibbled by deer, the lower things by rabbits and I have no idea other than fencing-how to keep them out. One year I couldn’t for my life grow 1 sunflower without them being ate after multiple plantings and one year not one was touched.
I remember picking raspberries at my grandmother’s. She never had a problem with deer or birds eating them up. It was fun going to her home during picking season.
This is a great idea, we have rabbits, deer all kinds of little creatures here in Smoky Mountains where I live. I will try this, thank you
We have lots of squirrels. This tip will help. Good work.
How creative! If you had bought all the expensive stuff it would have cost a lot. BUT by being so creative I’m sure the cost is really down.
This would be so fun to try!
I haven’t found netting to last too long, but with chicken wire it would probably be good.
You always offer such useful information to the home gardener. Thanks for all you do.
I love this site!!!
I set in ground boric acid feeder tubes for ant and termite control.
great idea to keep the critters out!!
We get a few pilfering, adorable garden raiders; though I have no current preventative tips. Thank you for this practical blog post! I’ll consider netting for our blueberries next year,
A lot of great tips.
Good information.
This is great to know and hope someday to plant and do this
I need to try this. We planted 4 blueberry bushes this year, but things haven’t been going so well.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for all your tips & this awesome giveaway!
Good tips for the preservation of one’s fruits.
ty for all the info ya give
Love the information in your blog!
Thank You for the tip! My apple tree is a good diversion..give the deer and other critters something they can have..they leave everything else alone..for me anyway maybe luck so far:)
We are really having a problem with bunnies and deer this year. Just put up netting in our garden also
What an awesome idea! I would definitely put up nets over my garden to keep the wildlife away, because you sure don’t want to work that hard to have to go in their bellies. they can go get their food somewhere else lol. Thank you for the instructions. I love this.
Thank you for the tips!
Love your blog
thank you for the tips!
There has to be some kind of barricade to keep them out
extremely informative.
Thank You!
Very creative.. hope to never need it.
I have not been able to keep the deer off my blueberry trees… but this sounds like a version of something I could try. Thanks.
Always good stuff!
These look like great tips! We use powder.
Thank you! As someone who has trouble with birds and blackberries this was needed.
as much as I love observing wildlife, I DON”T want them eating the literal fruits of my labor
Very informative thanks .
Thanks for the tip,Love it!
I find that netting seems to work best for me to keep animals out of my garden.
I have tried all this!
Thank you for the tips!
Great idea to use netting instead of chicken wire
thanks for these great tips!
movement lights or solar lights are a great way to keep animals or anything out of the garden/yard at night. As far as the daytime goes, i think i’ve heard of sound devices that detect movement and let out some type of anti animal friendly noise. This is something I have to look into more! Love the information posted on your articles.
Good ideas. We have so many raspberries on the edge of our property that we don’t mind sharing with the wildlife. However, We do find we need to protect our grapes and fruit trees. Last year we finally got grapes to harvest by armouring each in a plastic clamshell, like what you might buy strawberries in at the store. We used twist ties (like from bread bags) to hold them in place. They protected the grapes while allowing airflow and water drainage.
The article was very interesting, informative and had good tips and suggestions on keeping the wildlife out of our gardens.
Great tips, i have tons of critters around here
We plant a veggie garden every year as well as have a dog so we paid to have our back yard fenced in with a nice chain linked fence. Well small critters still find a way to get to our veggies every year so maybe this will help!
Squirrels always get my fruit so I need to try netting
I use bird netting also. I like your set up. I also used it one my strawberries, but I had an issue
with bugs (maybe ants???) eating the strawberries. Any suggestions for how to combat the bugs.
Didn’t do much good covering my strawberries against the bugs.
Awesome if it works, but it is very unsightly. I don’t grow any blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries, so no netting needed here. I have our things I would like to protect though, so this just might be the answer.
Hey, Im quite impressed w/ the yard art, and would love tp own it!
I have been looking for a good way to put up netting and not have it come tangled, but also easily accessible by me so I’m not taking it apart when I want to get to my plants/berries.
I’m saving these directions so I can try this next season.
Thanks for the instructions. I need this for my strawberries.
OMG!! this is awesome! Those naughty bunnies have been eating my cucumbers plants a lot. This would be perfect for preventing them from eating it. Thanks for sharing.
I need to try this. Because there is a war in my yard with the squirrels. Not only do they eat my stuff, including flowers; someone in the neighborhood feeds them peanuts and they come bury them in my yard. Bad enough the dozens holes everywhere, but my son is highly allergic to peanuts. Thank you to whomever is feeding them. 🙁
I just did this yesterday to keep birds out
We have lots of wonderful critters in our city in OC CA so I don’t grow anything to eat in my yard but onions. I found the rats in our beautiful city get into everything. I can’t even feed the birds anymore they love the seed. Great tips if you have other animals in your yard.
Plant marigolds as the deer do not like them. It might be the scent, because it is rather strong.