Birds had always beaten me to my ripe tomatoes, forcing me to pick them green. I found a simple yet effective solution; light-weight, red, plastic balls! When a tomato begins to ripen, hang a red ball directly on the plant next to it (it needs to be very light weight). The bird will peck at the bright red ball instead of the tomato. When you pick the tomato, move the red ball near the next tomato to be picked.
If you have a hard time finding the red balls, go to www.materballs.com
By rex from Canyon Lake, TX
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Birds are eating our tomatoes before they ripen, we have net over the plants, but no help. Is there something else we can do?
Hardiness Zone: 9a
By nancy from Beaumont,TX
You could try hanging toy rubber snakes on your plants. They help, but then you or someone else may forget they are there, and have a whole different set of problems!
Are you sure the birds are eating the tomatoes? Could it be bugs and in the birds are coming in to eat the bugs, if it is the birds they may be going after the moisture in the tomatoes, put out several shallow bowls of water and see if that helps.
My BirdBusta clip cannot protect the plants, but it can be used with a paper cup (attached, and used sideways) to hide the tomatoes from birds - and of course, most other fruit. The clips cost about 75 cents each, and can be used many times through a season. I lost 3 tomatoes from about 230 tomatoes last season.
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I need help keeping birds from eating our tomato plants, we have tried the scarecrow and owls, also the pie tins. Robins are destroying our plants all day long, up to a dozen a day, mostly the ones close to the ground.
