How to Protect Your Grass Seeds from Birds in 2 Fail-safe Ways

Who wouldn’t want the refreshing feeling that a manicured lawn can give? Isn’t it lovely to see how the sunshine makes the morning dew glisten against the greenery? Unfortunately, not everyone is given a chance to experience the joys of having a lush yard. All of us are familiar with that one thing that comes between us and that verdant lawn – BIRDS.

Birds feed on seeds and sadly, the grass seeds you wish to sow in our gardens all fall prey to those flying predators. How to keep birds from eating grass seeds has been a persistent dilemma for some of us, who tried and failed, to grow a rich lawn. Nothing is more irritating than seeing the bald spots and uneven grass growth after you have spent hours sowing your grass seeds, only to have them eaten by birds.

Bird Eating Grass Seed

I keep getting asked what I have been doing to maintain such a lush lawn. Now, let me walk you through the measures I took and the simple methods I employed on how to keep birds from eating grass seeds in my yard. You will be surprised at how easy these steps are. The materials you will need are simple items that most of us have lying around the house.

How To Keep Birds From Eating Gress SeedSetting Up Noise Devices Mulching Now What?Assemble your noise device.Apply the Mulch The Real Secret

Setting Up Noise Devices

Your first question might be “Does that even work?” It does! It’s true that the birds’ ears might not be as powerful as the humans, but birds respond well to sounds. You can use this fact to your advantage. Set up tin can bells and silverware chimes which you can certainly make yourself. Besides, you can use an electronic bird repellers.

Let me show you a list of items that, when put together, make good noise devices to scare birds off.

Tin Cans
Old Cutlery/Silverware
Wire hanger
Metal nut
Twine or any pliable string
One (1) 2″ nail and a hammer (for boring holes in the bottom of cans)

Mulching

When I have to answer the question “How to keep birds from eating grass seeds?,” this, I think, is the best answer I can give. Mulching is probably the oldest and most widely-used seed protection measure there is. It’s a cheap yet very effective method; it does more than just keeping your grass seeds safe from birds.

When it rains a lot, the mulch you lay on the yard prevents the grass seeds from getting washed away. In addition, mulching aids seeds germination. Freshly-sown grass seeds take a few weeks to germinate and for them to sprout well, you have to keep the grass seeds moist. Covering the soil with mulch maintains the seeds’ moisture.

Mulching makes use of husks, fallen leaves, chips of tree bark, cut grass, compost, bales of straw, and generic biodegradable items such as newspapers and corrugated chipboards to name a few. These are then laid onto the soil to act as thin organic sheets that are referred to as mulch. Mulch covers the soil where you have sown your grass seeds. It acts as a protective covering against birds and bugs. Not only that, as the mulch decomposes, it improves soil fertility.

Now What?

Those two methods about how to keep birds from eating grass seeds can definitely help you too! Here’s how:

Assemble your noise device.

With the materials enumerated in the early part of this article, make tin can bells and silverware chimes. It’s up to you whether you would like to make many of these. What matters is the device you make must creates a crisp sound; the louder the sound it can make, the better.

Remember, you don’t have to shell out a huge sum of cash for this. Be creative and resourceful; look around! Feel free to use anything you find that you think will make a good alternative for some items on the listed above.

Tin Can Bells

Don’t forget to wash the cans. Warm water and dishwashing liquid, plus a steel sponge do an excellent job in removing any trace of peeled-off labels on the surface of the cans.
Once the cans have been cleaned and dried, bore holes in the bottom using a nail which is big enough to make a hole for your string to pass through.
Next, cut a strand of string long enough for the cans to be hung with. On one end of the string, tie a metal nut, and then make a knot a few inches above the metal nut. The knot should be bigger than the hole at the bottom of the can.
After that, pass the other end of the string through the hole from the inside, then hang the can in a spacious area in your yard. When the wind blows, a sound is produced as the metal nut threaded inside hits the surface of the can, which is exactly how a bell works.

Silverware Chimes or Old Cutlery Chimes

As the name suggests, this is just a wind chime made from old or even broken cutlery. Clean the cutlery you intend to use before starting this project.
Then, cut enough strands of string for the number of spoons or forks you wish to hang.
Tie one end of the string around the handle of the cutlery, then tie the other end to a wire hanger.
Repeat the steps until you have hung all the pieces to the wire hanger.
Finally, find an area in your yard where you can hang the chime. It could be a tree branch or a hook on the fence, as long as it’s close to the spot in your yard that you want to protect.

Apply the Mulch

Collect the materials you will use as mulch. Something as basic as lawn waste can get you started on how to keep birds from eating grass seeds. Make sure to have enough of it to cover the sites where you have sown the grass seeds. Lay the mulch carefully. Grass seeds are usually smaller and lighter than other seeds. You risk losing your grass seeds if you lay the mulch carelessly. The seeds may be displaced due to the impact.

Apply a generous amount of mulch on the area and even out the layer by gently raking the pile of mulch. Do not let the rake go any deeper than the layer of mulch; you will lose your seeds if raking isn’t done carefully.

The Real Secret

Sowing grass seeds is pretty much like taking care of an infant. It demands a great deal of attention and all the gentleness you can muster. The steps on how to keep birds from eating grass seeds from your lawn don’t need to be tedious and expensive. Let your patience, perseverance, and dedication sow the seeds that will reward you with the rich greenery of your dreams.

There you have it, the easy steps to protecting grass seeds from birds. Did you find the list helpful?

Let me know what you think about the seed protection methods I use. I’d like to hear how my list worked for you.