Fired my 45 in anger today!

[oldred]

I never leave my home without my 1911 45 auto, it's just part of me, as I walked outside this morning I was greeted with a horrific sight -a whole flock of birds had settled into my Blueberry bushes! I yelled at them and unleashed a hail of 45 slugs their way (got three of the little B-tards!) and raised such a ruckus my wife ran out to see if the third world war had started.

I HATE birds! I have tried everything, motion activated owls, scare crows, strips of aluminum foil, radios and even a fake cat with flashing eyes and all to no avail. They seem to scare away for a day or so but they figure it out real quick and come right back, I have had to resort to using nets but they are such a PITA with hanging onto the limbs and fruit they are more trouble than they are worth.

Someone suggested hanging a few dead birds in the bushes as a warning and maybe that will work but the 45 didn't leave enough of the three I got to hang up, nothing recognizable anyway. Any suggestions on keeping these dang birds out of my berry bushes?

[tja6435]

I've seen a motion activated sprinkler to keep birds/deer away from crops. May want to google on that, I have no idea what it was called

[Electric88]

Keep firing away, pick em off one by one

[Artful]

Keep firing away, pick em off one by one
I'd suggest subsonic air rifle used from a blind/hide

[frkelly74]

The blue berry farmers I used to go pick at sometimes used automatic carbide cannons. Noisey things but effective. You can kill a few and not really make a difference, I think you have to scare them away in a constant but random type of ruckus .

[osteodoc08]

I'd suggest subsonic air rifle used from a blind/hide

Fertilizer!

May I suggest a Benjamin Marauder.

[jsizemore]

The net is the only thing besides lead.

[Thumbcocker]

Netting

[Hardcast416taylor]

The answer is quite simple. Skeet shells in a 12 gauge shotgun!Robert

[buckwheatpaul]

May I suggest a 1-1/8 oz load of 7-1/2 or 8's in a Winchester AA 12 ga. shell......

[WILCO]

Any suggestions on keeping these dang birds out of my berry bushes?

Simply remove the blue berry bushes. http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/eating/hamburger-waving-hello-smiley-emoticon.gif

[SeabeeMan]

Netting, an air rifle, and a few beers.

[oldred]

Well I got a few more today, set out in my air conditioned shop with my Ruger 10/22 and burned up a bunch of my hoarded up 22 LR rounds but it's obvious that I can't kill them all so nets it is I suppose. Those nets are almost more trouble than they're worth, the small mesh size snags on the limbs and even pulls the berries off as the net is removed for picking and anything bigger the birds just get inside.The nets are a real PITA but still I had to do something because as the berries started to ripen the birds are swooping down in flocks, there are a few of several different varieties but the vast majority (and the ones I got) are Black Birds (Starlings???). I don't know where these dang things came from so fast, a couple of days ago there was no problem at all and no sign of bird damage but when I walked out there this morning there they were!

I really look forward to these berries this time of year because there's just so much you can do with Blueberries, eat them fresh, Blueberry cobbler, Blueberry preserves, Muffins, etc and it just burns me to end to see them ruined by those stinking birds! If they just ate a few it wouldn't be so bad but they eat the ripe ones and ruin the rest of them by pecking holes in the ones that aren't quite ready plus they,,,,,,,,well you know what a bird does especially when it's been eating berries!

I HATE birds!!!!!!

[smokeywolf]

I'll second your motion oldred; unless of course, they're quail. MMMMM

[oldfart1956]

As crazy as it sounds....went to a wedding the other weekend and it was in an orchard and I noticed a couple of those air inflated thingys flopping around. I don't know what they're called but you see them at a lot of car lots. They look like tall balloons that wave at you as you drive by? Then they droop/collapse and re-inflate over and over. Anyone know what they're called? Anyway, long story short, there wasn't a bird or any other critter in that orchard full'a ripening cherry trees. Go figger? I don't know what they cost or how much elec. it takes to run them, but I sure was impressed. No rabbits/birds/deer/groundhogs...nada, zip. Audie...the Oldfart..

[Artful]

May I suggest a 1-1/8 oz load of 7-1/2 or 8's in a Winchester AA 12 ga. shell......

Yeah, you'll get one bird and the flock will learn to look for you, and if you have a stick (shotgun) they will immediately fly to distance and they'll watch until you disappear and then they recon the patch and if all clear will be back. Birds aren't as dumb as some people think.

[oldred]

Birds aren't as dumb as some people think.


Yeah and sociable too, every time I shoot one all his friends and family come to his funeral and then stay!

I like that idea of the balloon thingy, I have a small furnace blower and I bet I could rig up something like that. Apparently they are little more than a soft tube of some sort with air blown up through them, with them wiggling around like that and all the noise the blower would make I bet it would work!

[Artful]

As crazy as it sounds....went to a wedding the other weekend and it was in an orchard and I noticed a couple of those air inflated thingys flopping around. I don't know what they're called but you see them at a lot of car lots. They look like tall balloons that wave at you as you drive by? Then they droop/collapse and re-inflate over and over. Anyone know what they're called? Anyway, long story short, there wasn't a bird or any other critter in that orchard full'a ripening cherry trees. Go figger? I don't know what they cost or how much elec. it takes to run them, but I sure was impressed. No rabbits/birds/deer/groundhogs...nada, zip. Audie...the Oldfart..

Air-Man by one brand name or Pneumatic Air dancer
about 2 Franklins - think you could make your own pretty cheap - just a fan and fabric tubes
https://www.google.com/search?q=advertising+equipment&biw=1344&bih=767&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=fDqCVdSHD8_hoATx9pfIDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#tbm=isch&q=Pneumatic+Air+dancer+-+Air+Man

[Artful]

Yeah and sociable too, every time I shoot one all his friends and family come to his funeral and then stay!
That's when you want a quiet pest eliminator - like the Hotel California you can check in but never leave.

[Artful]

The nets are a real PITA but still I had to do something because as the berries started to ripen the birds are swooping down in flocks, there are a few of several different varieties but the vast majority (and the ones I got) are Black Birds (Starlings???). I don't know where these dang things came from so fast, a couple of days ago there was no problem at all and no sign of bird damage but when I walked out there this morning there they were!

Get some rebar and PVC Pipe and put your net over the berry bushes...
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/1b/1a/87/1b1a87513fe82e3f12abc8c92bdd8c55.jpg

Oh, and put some yarn thru the net otherwise they'll tangle in it and cause more problems.

[rockrat]

Check on a "Starling in distress" call and see if you can make a tape or copy of it. Get an old 12 battery and cassette stereo or cheap "boom box" and run a speaker out close to the bushes. It is my understanding that it works well. Would work better if you could shoot a few, then play it. The others would think the ones you shot are in distress and leave, figuring they would be next.

[2wheelDuke]

As crazy as it sounds....went to a wedding the other weekend and it was in an orchard and I noticed a couple of those air inflated thingys flopping around. I don't know what they're called but you see them at a lot of car lots. They look like tall balloons that wave at you as you drive by? Then they droop/collapse and re-inflate over and over. Anyone know what they're called? Anyway, long story short, there wasn't a bird or any other critter in that orchard full'a ripening cherry trees. Go figger? I don't know what they cost or how much elec. it takes to run them, but I sure was impressed. No rabbits/birds/deer/groundhogs...nada, zip. Audie...the Oldfart..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GznhT__PXs

[mold maker]

Or flock in and peck the boom box to death.

[SeabeeMan]

Exactly. My dad does that and I have lightweight box frames that sit over the bushes to drape the netting over. It gives some space between the netting and the bush to really keep the birds out and doesnt get snagged nearly as much.


Get some rebar and PVC Pipe and put your net over the berry bushes...
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/1b/1a/87/1b1a87513fe82e3f12abc8c92bdd8c55.jpg

Oh, and put some yarn thru the net otherwise they'll tangle in it and cause more problems.

[Moonie]

My inlaws have blueberry bushes. My father in-law puts up netting. Keeps most of the birds out and some of the squirrels.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Well I got a few more today, set out in my air conditioned shop with my Ruger 10/22 and burned up a bunch of my hoarded up 22 LR rounds but it's obvious that I can't kill them all so nets it is I suppose. Those nets are almost more trouble than they're worth, the small mesh size snags on the limbs and even pulls the berries off as the net is removed for picking and anything bigger the birds just get inside.The nets are a real PITA but still I had to do something because as the berries started to ripen the birds are swooping down in flocks, there are a few of several different varieties but the vast majority (and the ones I got) are Black Birds (Starlings???). I don't know where these dang things came from so fast, a couple of days ago there was no problem at all and no sign of bird damage but when I walked out there this morning there they were!

I really look forward to these berries this time of year because there's just so much you can do with Blueberries, eat them fresh, Blueberry cobbler, Blueberry preserves, Muffins, etc and it just burns me to end to see them ruined by those stinking birds! If they just ate a few it wouldn't be so bad but they eat the ripe ones and ruin the rest of them by pecking holes in the ones that aren't quite ready plus they,,,,,,,,well you know what a bird does especially when it's been eating berries!

I HATE birds!!!!!!


Have it on good authority that these nuisance birds are indeed illegals that just recently crossed the border and are working their way along the harvest route. Unfortunately your bushes are a stop on the way. I`d make a call to the Feds about these illegals.Robert

[crazy mark]

Pigeons quit raiding the bird feeders after 6 out of about 20 died. .22 cal pellet rifle works nice. The .177 barrel is too noisy. Leave them dead on the ground until the vermin drag them off.

[mold maker]

The squirrels that once raided my bird feeders, now head for a tree as soon as they hear my truck a block away. They learned to respect a 22 fp pellet. A feeder of seeds now last over 2 weeks.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

a simple frame for the nets . my neighbors always had problems with birds in their berries , he built some simple frames to keep the nets off the bushes then draped the nets over the frame and weighed down the edges with more lumber , the had to uncover pick then cover back up because if they so much as walked away for a few minutes there would be birds in their berries. we were in town air rifles were used some but 45 wold have definitely been an issue

[wv109323]

I have seen rubber snakes deter birds.