How Farms Can Prevent Crop Damage from Birds

Scarecrows and Decoys: The classic straw scarecrow still stands guard in some fields, but nowadays you might also see realistic mannequins or predator decoys. Farmers put up plastic owls or hawk silhouettes, or even life size effigies of people. The key is to move them around and change their appearance so birds don’t realise they’re fake.

Reflective Tape and Visual Deterrents: Many farms use high visibility barrier tape strung across crop rows or along perimeters to spook birds. The tape flashes in the sun and hums in the wind, creating a sensory distraction. Similarly, hanging old CDs, pie tins, or reflective streamers in orchards is a low tech way to create sudden flashes of light. Balloons with big predator like eyes printed on them (and even kite-balloons that hover like hawks) are also popular. The movement and shimmer of these objects exploit birds’ wariness of unfamiliar sights.

Noise Makers (Audible Scarers): Loud, sudden sounds are a direct way to scare birds. Farmers for decades have used gas-powered bird scarers; often called propane cannons or “bangers”; which fire off periodic booming blasts to scare flocks. These can cover a large field, but they must be used considerately (more on that later). Other auditory tools include pyrotechnics (like bird scaring cartridges or screamers fired into the air) and recorded bird distress calls played over loudspeakers.

Human Presence and Working Animals: Sometimes, nothing beats a person patrolling the field. Birds seem to know when someone’s watching. Farmers (or farmhands) may do regular walks or drives around the perimeter to keep birds nervous. Some farms even employ trained dogs (like sheepdogs or collies) to run through fields and disperse flocks, especially geese. On estates and orchards, falconry is a traditional practice still used today; a trained hawk or falcon is flown to chase off pest birds, tapping into the natural predator prey dynamic. While labour intensive, these methods can be very effective in the short term, and the birds learn to associate the area with danger.

Physical Barriers: A more passive way to scare or rather exclude birds is by putting up barriers. Netting over crops (e.g. draping nets over fruit bushes or covering a small pond with mesh to stop geese) physically prevents birds from reaching the plants.

Automated Laser Systems: One of the most exciting developments in bird control is the use of laser beams to harmlessly scare birds. Birds perceive a moving laser spot on the ground as a physical threat (kind of like an approaching predator), causing them to take off. Systems like the AVIX Autonomic Mark II are basically high tech “robot scarecrows” that sweep a green laser across fields continuously all day and night. The birds find it so disturbing that they don’t settle. Crucially, the laser is tuned not to harm the birds (or humans); it’s just intensely annoying to them. Trials in the UK have shown promising results. In one test, a vegetable farm in North Yorkshire protected 165,000 cabbage transplants without netting by installing a solar powered Agrilaser system; the roaming laser light effectively kept the pigeons away and saved the crop.

Bio Acoustic Devices and Smart Scaring: Traditional bird scarers make noise, but new devices do it smarter. Bio acoustic deterrents use digitally recorded bird alarm and distress calls, often from multiple species, to trigger a fear response in pest birds. Unlike a simple loudspeaker, modern systems can mix up different calls, change the volume, and randomise timing to prevent birds from getting used to the pattern. For example, a device might play a seagull distress call followed by the sound of a falcon, then be silent for a random interval before a pigeon alarm call sounds.

Drones and Falconry Drones: Imagine a remote controlled falcon that never tires; that’s the idea behind drone based bird control. Some UK farms and vineyards have begun using drones to patrol the skies and chase off flocks. A standard quadcopter buzzing low over a field can scatter birds (the noise and motion scare them), and it can be deployed quickly to hotspots. Taking it a step further, specialised drones are being developed to mimic predators. One company has a drone dressed up like a hawk; complete with wing movements; to trick birds into thinking a raptor is circling. Trials have shown drones can be effective, especially for large open fields where you can’t put netting.

Physical Exclusion: Netting itself isn’t new, but innovations are making it more practical and wildlife friendly. For instance, retractable crop covers can be drawn over a field only during critical periods (like when fruit is ripening or seedlings are most vulnerable) and rolled back otherwise; reducing the impact on non target wildlife and easing machinery access. Some farms use electrified perching wires on barns; harmless low voltage lines that give pigeons a tiny shock if they try to roost, persuading them to go elsewhere.

Physical exclusion (netting) provides the highest protection; you simply deny birds any access to the crop. Netting an entire orchard or vineyard will almost guarantee no bird damage inside. Netting is often the only technique consistently effective in preventing bird damage, according to UK agricultural guidance. However, it’s impractical to net large arable fields of cereals or oilseed rape due to cost and logistics. Thus, netting is “best” for high value, smaller scale crops (like soft fruits, vineyards, brassica plots) where the economics make sense.

Integrated deterrence is the most effective for open field scenarios. For broadacre crops (grains, oilseeds, peas, etc.), the best results come from using multiple deterrents in concert and rotating them regularly. A combination of visual scarers, noises, perhaps some shooting under licence, and new tech like lasers can together keep bird damage to a minimum.

Laser systems are emerging as a top contender for best all round method on larger farms. Early evidence (and farmer anecdotes) suggest that automated lasers come very close to a universal solution: they cover large areas, work 24/7, and dramatically reduce bird presence without harming wildlife.