Farmers, please what do you use to drive the weaver birds and others away from your maize farm? They are destroying the yield on my small maize farm. Please help.

See the attached picture.

Use scarecrow to drive them away

Make a scarecrow and tie CDs to sticks at different places on the farm. The CDs reflect sunlight and as the wind moves them slowly it causes flashes. The sudden flashes scare the birds.

Na so dem don for me last year. Dem no let make I make pap from the maize.

If na bird erect sticks around the farm and get rags suspended on them. So that e go be like human standing.

But if na bush rats forget it. Just try and clear the bushes around the farm the ones within the farm. Cos dey are very very stubborn.

Why are we still talking of scarecrows in the year 2017? I thought there is a medication that is applied to seeds which poisons the birds? Can the experts tell us how this is to be applied?

stagger:
Why are we still talking of scarecrows in the year 2017? I thought there is a medication that is applied to seeds which poisons the birds? Can the experts tell us how this is to be applied?

I don't think we can poison the maize cobs still maturing on the farm. But if anyone knows the said method, let us know please.

For the birds to get poisoned, they have to eat the corn. Of what use is the dead birds to a farmer after they have destroyed his crops?

stagger:
Why are we still talking of scarecrows in the year 2017? I thought there is a medication that is applied to seeds which poisons the birds? Can the experts tell us how this is to be applied?

frisky2good:
For the birds to get poisoned, they have to eat the corn. Of what use is the dead birds to a farmer after they have destroyed his crops?

My thoughts exactly...

From my research on birds invasion on farmlands, there are a couple of ways to fight them off which ranges from;
1. Usage of visual devices; scarecrow, Effigies
(An effigy is when a dead bird is hung upside down, about three feet off of the ground, to deter other birds from coming near the area), cd plates as reflectors, etc which is mostly adopted.

2. Distress Calls
Birds naturally warn other birds of danger. There are many noise devices that are specially designed to produce copy-cat or loud noises and bird danger calls to deter other birds from coming near the area.

3. Bird Repellent
Unlike many other methods, bird repellent is really the only surefire way to repel birds and prevent them from ever wanting to return. But which one is the best for preventing bird damage to corn crops? Pay attention to the ingredients and make sure that it won’t affect the growth or taste of your crops. Even though many repellents may effectively keep birds away, the negative side effects of the product may end up causing more harm than good.

Link: http://aviancontrolinc.com/how-to-prevent-bird-damage-to-corn-crops/

Note: avian plus is a bird food supplement.

But killing of birds with chemicals? Haaaaa...that's not environmental friendly. It negates nature.

jidestroud:
From my research on birds invasion on farmlands, there are a couple of ways to fight them off which ranges from;
1. Usage of visual devices; scarecrow, Effigies
(An effigy is when a dead bird is hung upside down, about three feet off of the ground, to deter other birds from coming near the area), cd plates as reflectors, etc which is mostly adopted.

2. Distress Calls
Birds naturally warn other birds of danger. There are many noise devices that are specially designed to produce copy-cat or loud noises and bird danger calls to deter other birds from coming near the area.

3. Bird Repellent
Unlike many other methods, bird repellent is really the only surefire way to repel birds and prevent them from ever wanting to return. But which one is the best for preventing bird damage to corn crops? Pay attention to the ingredients and make sure that it won’t affect the growth or taste of your crops. Even though many repellents may effectively keep birds away, the negative side effects of the product may end up causing more harm than good.

Note: avian plus is a bird food supplement.

But killing of birds with chemicals? Haaaaa...that's not environmental friendly. It negates nature.

You copied this from a website I stumbled on 2 days ago on my research. We actually seek practical experiences here.

I think that Legsupnigeria has changed his FB address. It is now www.facebook.com/waleagro.

stagger:


You copied this from a website I stumbled on 2 days ago on my research. We actually seek practical experiences here.

I think that Legsupnigeria has changed his FB address. It is now www.facebook.com/waleagro.

I practice 100% practical farming, I don't do online farming sir, neither do I do e-farming/e-books materials.

https://www.nairaland.com/3742886/starting-up-vegetable-farm-garden

That's a link to my real practical farm garden with real practical solutions.

I repeat, there is no such thing as avian plus that kills birds off. If you have done your research as you claim, you should know this. It is not practicable, not eco-friendly and certainly not imaginable.

And if I eventually run into one that kills birds off, I will surely take it up with the manufacturers. Jail term loading

Will check out your link though. There's always room for acquisition of knowledge.
Thanks.

jidestroud:


I practice 100% practical farming, I don't do online farming sir, neither do I do e-farming/e-books materials.

https://www.nairaland.com/3742886/starting-up-vegetable-farm-garden

That's a link to my real practical farm garden with real practical solutions.

I repeat, there is no such thing as avian plus that kills birds off. If you have done your research as you claim, you should know this. It is not practicable, not eco-friendly and certainly not imaginable.

And if I eventually run into one that kills birds off, I will surely take it up with the manufacturers. Jail term loading

Will check out your link though. There's always room for acquisition of knowledge.
Thanks.

When I see "ITKs" like you, I get really ticked off.

First, I am not the one who said anything about Avian Plus. You should have seen that it came from the quoted post and not from me. So the bolded part of your statement is totally irrelevant and if I must say, very patronizing.

Second, you lifted the stuff you wrote from a website. We are asking for someone with practical experience dealing with birds, not some stuff written by an American website which may not be of benefit to us here given that the Avian species we deal with here are different.

Thirdly, we are talking of maize, not a vegetable garden. As you can see, this is a thread for maize farmers and not vegetable farmers. So your experience with your vegetables may or may not apply here.

Finally, we are not interested in your environmental advocacy as that is not the issue being raised here. We are asking for a PRACTICAL solution to keep birds away and need someone who has actually used it on a maize farm successfully.

Please if you have nothing better to contribute, leave consuming Nairaland's bandwidth and allow those who have something positive to share to do so.

stagger:


When I see "ITKs" like you, I get really ticked off.

First, I am not the one who said anything about Avian Plus. You should have seen that it came from the quoted post and not from me. So the bolded part of your statement is totally irrelevant and if I must say, very patronizing.

Second, you lifted the stuff you wrote from a website. We are asking for someone with practical experience dealing with birds, not some stuff written by an American website which may not be of benefit to us here given that the Avian species we deal with here are different.

Thirdly, we are talking of maize, not a vegetable garden. As you can see, this is a thread for maize farmers and not vegetable farmers. So your experience with your vegetables may or may not apply here.

Finally, we are not interested in your environmental advocacy as that is not the issue being raised here. We are asking for a PRACTICAL solution to keep birds away and need someone who has actually used it on a maize farm successfully.

Please if you have nothing better to contribute, leave consuming Nairaland's bandwidth and allow those who have something positive to share to do so.

Like seriously? You actually took time out to write this? Lol... If only you had devoted enough time to go through the link as I did yours, then you would have noticed I dealt with maize too, but I guess you didn't. ITK? And you claimed to have been doing research? American write-up about the use of scarecrows and sound buzzers irrelevant to us?! Oh I see why we are were we are agriculturally, all but no thanks to people with your school of thoughts and your likes.

And ofcos you are absolutely right, I have nothing better to say to your likes who feel threatened by ITKs.
Whatever makes you happy bro, enjoy your day. Beautiful week ahead.

Please let us stop this argument and provide solutions to the issueat hand. Thanks.

I will see if I can make some inquiries about solving the bird issues. If I get any new info that actually works, I will be back here. Till then, off I go back to the farm!

Try and check out this site- http://www.bird-x.com. I believe you might find some practical solutions .

ajibsca:
Try and check out this site- http://www.bird-x.com. I believe you might find some practical solutions .

One may not easily get the products on this website.

Why not, if not? If you need them, you can always order for them or pay someone to help you do that.

pragmatistm:
One may not easily get the products on this website.

So far so good. I have been able to use the hanging of clothes on stakes around the farm with few CDs and bottles hung with it and I think it's working. I haven't seen fresh signs of the birds again.

Good. Scarecrow is the age long tested and trusted method for bird control. If the birds get wiser (they can after some time) change the position of the scarecrows.

pragmatistm:
So far so good. I have been able to use the hanging of clothes on stakes around the farm with few CDs and bottles hung with it and I think it's working. I haven't seen fresh signs of the birds again.