Starting a new lawn is not for the fainthearted; it comes with many challenges. For grass seed to germinate successfully, you need to prepare the soil adequately, water the seeded lawn thoroughly, and protect the seed from birds and extreme weather conditions.
Birds are beautiful creatures but are not welcome in a newly seeded law. They will feed on the grass seed resulting in bare patches as grass germinates. Fortunately, you can safeguard a seeded lawn to protect seeds from birds until they germinate.
How to Keep Birds from Eating Grass Seed
The following are proven ways to keep birds from eating your grass seed.
1. Use fake predators
Placing fake predators in your garden is an effective way of deterring birds from eating grass seeds. Fake predators such as an owl, hawk, rubber snake, or cat may help to safeguard the seeds until they germinate. Small seed-eating birds fear their predators and will fly away if they spot one in your seeded area.
2. Feed the birds
Birds are beautiful animals that sing nice melodies as they hover around your garden. They are also good at controlling pests in the lawn naturally. When hungry, they will even dig holes in lawns for insects.
Instead of scaring them away when you’ve seeded your lawn, you can actually divert their attention to a bird feeder. Provide the birds with tasty and high-quality seeds, nuts, fruits, or earthworms in the feeders. However, keep the feeders away from the area where you have sown your grass seeds.
3. Cover the seeds
It is essential to cover your seeded area until they germinate. It’s an effective way of preventing the birds from munching on the seeds. There are different ways you can use to cover the seed.
- Netting: Nettings help to deter birds from feeding on your seeded lawn. Be sure to choose polyurethane netting materials since they are super light and resistant to mold or mildew. Elevate the net from the ground using four pillars at the corners of your lawn. Secure the net by tying the corners on the pillars.
- Mulch: Besides conserving soil moisture, mulching can also deter birds from feeding on seeded lawns. However, you need to be careful when choosing mulching materials. Using straw over grass seed may spread weed seeds, and you have to think of alternatives like peat moss, compost, and sawdust.
- Burlap: Burlap sheet is also an effective method of covering grass seeds. It hides the seeds from birds while letting in air, warmth, and water necessary for germination. It also helps retain soil moisture and is ideal for dry areas.
4. Install motion-activated sprinklers
Installing a motion-activated sprinkler in your seeded lawn is a great method of keeping the soil moist and scaring the birds and other intruders away. The sprinkler will start automatically when the birds land on your lawn. The sprinkling water will scare away birds and other intruders like cats and dogs.
5. Use coated seeds
Many garden centers are selling grass seeds coated with bird’s repellant substances. This coating doesn’t harm the bird; they only make the seeds unpleasant. Alternatively, you can make your own homemade bird’s repellant using garlic, chili, cayenne pepper, peppermint oil, and vinegar.
6. Use reflective scare tape
Most birds are scared away by shiny or reflective surfaces. They perceive the reflections as a potential danger. Therefore, installing reflective scare tapes can help to keep the birds away from the newly seeded area.
Alternatively, you can also use other reflective materials, such as CDs. Be sure to hang them on trees near your lawn using a string so that they can whirl in the wind to reflect light.
7. Use noise deterrents
Generally, any type of noise helps to scare birds away. Using predatory bird calls and creating different sounds can help to keep the birds away from your garden. There are several-noise deterrents you can use to keep off the birds from your lawn. They include:
- Ultrasonic noise deterrent: Installing motion-activated ultrasonic sound helps to deter birds in your seeded lawn. It generates a high-pitched sound that the passerines can only hear. It plays annoying sounds to birds and keeps them away from your grass seeds.
- Spiral swirls: Hang some spiral swirls along the perimeter of your seeded lawn. The swirling motion and light reflection will help keep the birds away from your lawn. The birds may perceive the spiral swirls as predators, which is another way to scare them away.
- Old tin cans: Tie several old tin cans together and hang them along the perimeter of your freshly seeded lawn. As the wind blows, the old tin cans will produce noise to scare away the birds. Gardeners used this old-age method to scare away the birds from feeding on grains in the field.
- Wind chimes: Hanging wind chimes along the perimeter of your lawn can play the trick. They move in the breeze when the wind blows while producing a sound. Therefore, both the sound and movements of the chimes will deter the birds from feeding on the seeds.
8. Plant extra seeds
Planting extra seeds does not scare birds away from your lawn; it’s only a pre-caution measure. For instance, if birds feed on some of the seeds, you still have plenty of them to germinate. When you plant your seeds, there is the possibility that some may fail to germinate while others may be blown away by the wind.
9. Use toy windmills
Planting decorative toy windmills in your freshly seeded area can also scare away passerines. When the wind blows, it whirls, producing a sound to scare away the birds. It also creates reflections when the sun hits on it, and birds won’t take a chance looking at it.
10. Clean up
Remove food sources from your garden two weeks before sowing your seeds. Birds are attracted to areas where they can easily find food. They will simply move to another place if they visit your garden several times without finding what to eat. This will now be the right time to sow your seeds.
Also Read: How to Tell if Grass Seed is Germinating
Final Thought
Watching and listening to songbirds will calm your nerves. However, the tunes may signify a bird celebration when you have a newly seeded lawn. Birds can put a stop to your dream of having a lush lawn.
If you use natural uncoated seeds, be sure you will end up with bare spots when the seed germinates. Fortunately, you can employ the tips discussed in this guide to keep the birds from eating grass seed.