Moss gardens

Carol Duncan
by Carol Duncan
Robins are one of the most destructive birds around.
They tear the moss off the rocks in my pond and completely destroy the moss in my moss garden to build nests in the spring. Any constructive advise would be appreciated.
  7 answers
  • Capernius Capernius on Apr 20, 2015
    the only thing I can think of is "bird netting". it's a webbing or screen of sorts that gives plants, livestock, etc., a barrier of protection against any & all birds. I have seen farmers use it for their chickens, I've seen others use it on their fruit & nut trees,....I have seen restaurants use it to keep birds from nesting in areas where customers walk through.... I know there are many different companies that sell it...some local to your area I'm sure & some online... one online company that sells it is farm tec (www.farmtec.com). I do not know what the netting costs, but I DO know it is very effective.
  • Cindim Cindim on Apr 21, 2015
    Bird batting works great on my tomato plants. The birds definitely stay away.
  • Alisa Alisa on Apr 24, 2015
    WOuld feeding the birds help?
  • Cindy Sobels Sniecinski Cindy Sobels Sniecinski on Apr 29, 2015
    It's illegal to net Robins and they are protected Grrr....
  • Suzymidd Suzymidd on May 11, 2015
    This would NOT be netting the Robins. It would be netting the plants or whatever you're trying to protect FROM the Robins.
  • Capernius Capernius on May 12, 2015
    Another thing about destructive birds... when the time comes in the spring for them to begin nest building, THAT is when they become destructive....so to combat this, take lint from your dryer, 1 bale of straw, & anything else you can think of for them to build a nest with.... ances are, if you do this for them, they will leave your moss & other plants alone.
    • Alisa Alisa on May 15, 2015
      Also yarn, string, straw, dry grass, lichens and moss that you do not want.
  • Capernius Capernius on May 15, 2015
    be it Robins, Blue Jays, or any other bird, they basically want 3 things: they want to build their nest, lay their eggs, and raise their young. The easier you make it for them to do that, the less trouble you will have with the birds. Robins' main food is worms....earth worms. like me & thousands of others use for fishing. However, they will never pass up an opportunity to devour a grub or three...and it is not unheard of for them to munch on a bug or two. The point is, if they have access to worms, and they are able to lay their eggs & raise their young in a secure & peaceful environment, their happy...and you & your garden will be happy too. Years ago, I would take a potato fork & electrify it to get the worms to crawl to the surface of the ground.... at the time, my purpose was for fishing...BUT, if you (or hubby) could electrify a potato fork, pitch fork, a metal rod, etc., you could get a whole bunch of worms...then take these worms, put them in a very large container (say a 4 or 5 gallon tupperware type of container), & grow/raise worms, you could feed some to the robins, & sell the rest for fish bait....and as an added plus, the worm poop that they leave behind, would be like a Miracle Grow for your garden without all the chemicals. Just remember though, if you DO electrify a pitch fork or something else that is metal, the black wire is the hot wire & the hot wire is all you need. the other 2 wires are cut way back & then covered with electrical tape.