Gardeners can protect their harvest with simple garden bird deterrents as adding one thing to garden trees and bushes will keep birds away from berries and fruit that you’re growing
Alice Sjöberg Social News Reporter
16:05, 29 Apr 2026Updated 16:06, 29 Apr 2026
While it can be nice to have birds visiting your garden, many don’t want them eating the fruit and berries they’re growing (stock image)(Image: Getty Images)
With summer nearly upon us, many gardeners will be delighted to spot berries and fruits beginning to emerge. Yet humans aren’t the only ones eagerly anticipating this season, as birds frequently manage to reach the ripe fruit and berries before you have the opportunity to harvest them yourself.
While this proves frustrating, there is a straightforward method you can employ to help deter birds from your garden crops without resorting to any harmful measures. Posting on her Instagram, one woman named Brooke Morgan, who regularly documents her gardening experiences with her 139,000 followers, has revealed the ingenious way she’s keeping birds at bay this year, having successfully updated a traditional technique.
“So, a really cool lesson I learned from the elders at my old community garden is that birds will stay away from your fruit and your berries if there’s reflective things,” she explained.
She continued by noting that people have traditionally hung CDs or DVDs in fruit trees to repel birds.
Nevertheless, Brooke went on to mention that she didn’t possess any of these, and instead devised a different approach.
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“What I do have is free will and an Amazon account,” she said as she unveiled her alternative.
Brooke explained that, rather than sourcing some old CDs or DVDs, she chose to purchase some small disco balls, which arrived with string already attached, making them ideal for hanging in fruit trees.
Brooke then revealed that she’d suspended several disco balls at varying heights throughout her fruit tree to safeguard the fruit already developing on its branches.
People were quick to flock to the comments section to applaud Brooke for her ingenious alternative, with one person writing: “I don’t know why but this made my day.”
“Another reminder I need to enjoy my free will more,” a second user said, while a third commented: “This is incredible.”
Someone else also suggested: “Second hand stores often have DVDs and CDs, you can look for scratched up ones and get them for really cheap.”
Why you should add reflective items to garden
Reflective objects such as CDs, tape and mirrors deter birds by producing sudden bursts of sunlight, unpredictable movement and unsettling visual distortions that resemble predators or threats.
These effects, coupled with metallic sounds generated by moving tape, activate a flight response in nuisance birds, establishing a “distraction zone” that stops them from landing or building nests.
These approaches are widely favoured because they’re harmless and remarkably effective as a short-term, visual deterrent in gardens, on balconies and on rooftops.
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