Red Christmas Tree Balls?

GoDawgs · July 14, 2020

I was telling a friend about the birds pecking almost-ripe tomatoes and she said she had heard that hanging red Christmas balls above the tomato clusters would help. Theoretically the birds peck the balls and after finding they're fake they just dismiss the idea of pecking red tomatoes.

She also said that she was told by somebody else that the technique works best when the balls are hung early in the season before anything ripens so that the birds learn early on that red round things aren't edible.

Has anyone heard of this or tried it?

brownrexx · July 14, 2020

I have heard of it but never tried it or heard about the results. I don't think that birds have a sense of smell so maybe it's all visual how they find your tomatoes.

A way to encourage chickens to lay eggs in a certain spot is to place a wooden egg there and that works. Same sort of idea.

kath · July 14, 2020

Haven't tried that but it sounds similar to the idea of painting walnut shells red and putting them in the strawberry bed before any fruits ripen to discourage birds.

The catbirds patrol my tomato plants and begin pecking as soon as the first fruit ripens, every year. They're in the garden all day anyway, landing on the blueberry netting stealing berries. They aren't interested in pans of water or birdbaths- they want the fruit!

I cover tomatoes using tulle bags or pieces of summer weight row cover tied up with yarn, but sometimes they peck holes in those, too.

I pick before the tomatoes are ripe but sometimes it's not soon enough because I've even had pecks in greenies.

slugworth · July 14, 2020

catbirds eat the blossoms off my blueberry bush before it even forms a white berry.
Years ago a proper strawberry patch you couldn't even see the strawberries unless
you pushed the leaves aside.

kath · July 15, 2020

Wow, next year I'll have to watch and see whether or not we should put the blueberry netting up earlier.

That's very interesting about the of a strawberry patch. Is that a matter of variety, health of the plants, density of the planting...? We got verticillium wilt in ours and I haven't replanted anywhere else yet but the chipmunks are more of a pest with those than the catbirds.

slugworth · July 15, 2020

If the birds can't see the strawberries,they don't peck.
Ants were also a problem with strawberries.

kath · July 15, 2020

Ants definitely were a problem in ours, too.

slugworth · July 15, 2020

I tried to put the strawberries in containers to thwart both, but never succeeded.
The plants died before I tasted any.

July 14, 2020	#1
GoDawgs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Augusta area, Georgia, 8a/7b Posts: 1,685	Red Christmas Tree Balls? I was telling a friend about the birds pecking almost-ripe tomatoes and she said she had heard that hanging red Christmas balls above the tomato clusters would help. Theoretically the birds peck the balls and after finding they're fake they just dismiss the idea of pecking red tomatoes. She also said that she was told by somebody else that the technique works best when the balls are hung early in the season before anything ripens so that the birds learn early on that red round things aren't edible. Has anyone heard of this or tried it?

July 14, 2020	#3
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	Haven't tried that but it sounds similar to the idea of painting walnut shells red and putting them in the strawberry bed before any fruits ripen to discourage birds. The catbirds patrol my tomato plants and begin pecking as soon as the first fruit ripens, every year. They're in the garden all day anyway, landing on the blueberry netting stealing berries. They aren't interested in pans of water or birdbaths- they want the fruit! I cover tomatoes using tulle bags or pieces of summer weight row cover tied up with yarn, but sometimes they peck holes in those, too. I pick before the tomatoes are ripe but sometimes it's not soon enough because I've even had pecks in greenies. Last edited by kath; July 14, 2020 at 08:54 PM.

July 14, 2020	#2
brownrexx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 1,420	I have heard of it but never tried it or heard about the results. I don't think that birds have a sense of smell so maybe it's all visual how they find your tomatoes. A way to encourage chickens to lay eggs in a certain spot is to place a wooden egg there and that works. Same sort of idea.

July 14, 2020	#4
slugworth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: connecticut,usa Posts: 1,152	catbirds eat the blossoms off my blueberry bush before it even forms a white berry. Years ago a proper strawberry patch you couldn't even see the strawberries unless you pushed the leaves aside.

July 15, 2020	#5
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	Wow, next year I'll have to watch and see whether or not we should put the blueberry netting up earlier. That's very interesting about the of a strawberry patch. Is that a matter of variety, health of the plants, density of the planting...? We got verticillium wilt in ours and I haven't replanted anywhere else yet but the chipmunks are more of a pest with those than the catbirds.