Need bird protection for long boxes

Bec 5/10/2010, 3:27 pm

I need help. Maybe I know this but right now I can't remember. I'm having major problems with birds (probably black birds) in my garden - digging up my soil - and they're making me mad! Need bird protection for long boxes Icon_evil

Thankfully I haven't planted too much in them - waiting for the weather to stabilize a little bit and harden my plants. I know what to do for the 4 x 4 boxes but what about longer boxes? I have two 2x6's and three 2 x 8's and one 4x8 box. I could do the wagontrain method but since so many of the boxes are only 2 feet wide, I'm sure the PVC won't bend like that. Any ideas? I'm not even sure what to purchase as an anti-bird cloth for covering. Need to know that too.

Bec

Wyldflower 5/10/2010, 3:49 pm

For the 2' wide boxes, maybe it would work if you put in 3' long stakes every couple of feet along the length - I'd use the bamboo kind - and rubber-band them together at the top to make an inverted "V" and drape the bird net over that. You would have to be careful putting it on and taking it off, but maybe it would work.

Bec 5/10/2010, 6:08 pm

Wyldflower, thanks for the idea.

Bec

Mikesgardn 5/10/2010, 7:28 pm

Here is what I do for a small box. 1/2" PVC is difficult to bend into a tight radius, but there is another pipe called CPVC, and the 1/2" CPVC can be bent into a tighter radius. Also, you can make the hoop free-standing so that it doesn't have to be bent in as tight of a radius. Here is a picture.

Need bird protection for long boxes 2010-211

**camprn** 5/10/2010, 7:35 pm

OOh I like that free standing unit. How did you anchor the hoops to the base?

Mikesgardn 5/10/2010, 7:47 pm

I used CPVC pipe fittings and CPVC glue. To connect the hoops to the base, I used Tee fittings. For the base, I used 90-degree bends.

Bec 5/11/2010, 6:26 am

That looks great! You are so creative! Thanks for the idea. What did you use for the netting?

Bec

Mikesgardn 5/11/2010, 9:07 am

I used 1" chicken wire. I figured that squirrels would do anything to get at my strawberries, so I used metal chicken wire. I used pieces of wire as twist ties to attach the chicken wire to the pipes.

Shoda 5/11/2010, 12:52 pm

Thanks for the idea on the free standing unit. I may have to build a tall cover later this summer if the wild critters start to steal my tomatoes again. The PVC just might work. I searched on PVC fittings and found all sorts of specialty fittings designed for greenhouses. Here is the link in case anyone is curious.

http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/pvc.shtml

joebee78 6/1/2010, 12:37 pm

Mike -

I'm trying to make something similar to the PVC frame you show in your picture, but I'm having trouble bending the pipe. What diameter / schedule pipe are you using? Is there a trick to bending it? I tried to heat the pipe with a heat gun, and it helped, but the pipe 'kinked' instead of a bending in a nice smooth curve. Any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Joe

Mikesgardn 6/1/2010, 1:41 pm

Joe,
I used 1/2" cpvc (not pvc). 1/2" cpvc is narrower than 1/2" pvc (cpvc is measured by the outside diameter, and pvc is measured by the inside diameter). It is easy to bend it by hand.

Mike

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Need bird protection for long boxes