Mockingbirds Love Tomatoes – Help!
By Vanessa Richins
Joe asked:
“Just found your site and I LOVE it! Could you do an article on keeping squirrels and mockingbirds out of the tomatoes? Btw, my local squirrels are no longer fooled by Christmas ornaments.”
Squirrels were covered in this article, so I will be tackling mockingbirds today.
The mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) is the state bird for Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. They are well-known for their habit of mimicking other birds in their songs. They are very protective of their territories.
They are also very fond of tomatoes, as you have noticed. It’s not easy to keep them away, but here are some suggestions you can try:
Rubber Snake
Buy rubber or plastic snakes at the toy store and place them near the plants. You will need to move it at least every couple of days. If you just leave it there in one place, they will figure out that it is fake.
Plastic Owl
You could try the same trick with a plastic owl.
Netting
Bird netting may keep them away. Sometimes, though, they still manage to reach the tomatoes.
Pantyhose
Here’s a use for nylons with holes in them. Cut them into sections and slip them over the tomato. It hides the bright colors, but still allows all the sun and air needed. If you don’t have any, buy an economy box of the knee-high version.
Frame
Combine this with the bird netting. Build a basic frame from PVC or wood and place around the plant(s). This will make it so the mockingbirds can’t reach the tomatoes.
I hope one of these solutions works out for you. Let us know!
Suggestions compiled from here.
March 26th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
I use red christmas tree ornaments. They look like ripe tomatoes and the birds try to peck them. They give up and go away believing there are no edible fruits.
June 6th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
I have tried rubber snakes in the past…and it worked for a little while….I thought about netting but it seemed like too much work.
An old timer tipped me off to the best way to keep mockingbirds away and it works great.
Get your old CD’s and tie them to your tomatoe plants with fishing line. CD’s will move with the slightest breeze and the reflective properties scare the heck out of the mockingbirds. I did it last year and it worked great. I also heard that old tin foil works the same.
July 8th, 2009 at 3:11 am
After discovering a mocking bird had been having it’s way with our tomatoes about a week ago, I searched and found this site.
We immediately started hanging CD’s around our plants and to our surpise, it worked like a charm!! That mocking hasn’t touched our plants since.
Thanks Gene for your post … it saved us a lot of unnecessary work and our plants.