STAY FUR & FEATHER FREE

BIRDS

Most common garden birds are a great asset to gardeners – many such as blue and great tits actively seeking out plant pests, particularly caterpillars and aphids (greenfly). Although ground feeders such as blackbirds can cause havoc with your mulches, they are looking for pests such as grubs and slugs.

At certain times of the year however, those same blackbirds can become a pest in their own right –when pecking at your strawberries or apples, for example. Not to mention the pigeons. It’s all about balance.

CONTROL THEM WITH:

■ Netting (see Notes on netting)

■ Bird scarers such as humming or reflective tapes, decoy bird kites, noisy polythene bags or shiny CDs tied to stakes. Birds may become used to most types of scarer unless they are changed/moved around regularly.

FOXES, DEER & BADGERS

You may well consider yourself to be very lucky to share your garden with the biggest forms