How to Make Strawberry Rock Bird Deterrents

Strawberry rocks work well to deter birds from eating your succulent strawberries when put out 3 weeks before your strawberries start to turn red. The idea is that the birds see the bright red rocks and check them out by pecking at them. Soon they learn that these attractive rocks are not food and leave them alone. When the strawberries appear in the same location, they don't bother to check them out.

I have heard from many followers who have had great success deterring birds from their strawberries using this method. You may end up with a few strawberries pecked by birds but, I have found in my own patch, that most of my strawberries have been left alone after we started using these rocks.

Strawberry rocks painted over a year ago and left outdoors all year.

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Painting strawberry rocks is a perfect activity to do with any children in your life. They have a great time hunting for rocks and covering them in red paint! This paint is not washable so cover surfaces or make it an outdoor activity.

Kids love to paint strawberry rocks!

Instructions For Making Strawberry Rock Bird Decoys

Supply List

• Rocks close in size to strawberries.

• Red acrylic craft paint. (If you want to make them look cute with green tops and black seeds, add green and black paint to the list.)

• Shellac glaze.

Use acrylic craft paint and a shellac gloss to paint strawberry rocks that last.

Clean rocks prior to painting. Paint the rocks with red acrylic paint. It is not necessary to paint any details, or even to paint both sides, but have fun adding details if you wish. Once paint is fully dry, add a shellac glaze. The shellac adds a shine to the strawberries and protects the paint from sun and water damage. Your strawberry rocks should last for many years if you have a good shellac coating.

Once your shellac has fully dried, place your strawberry rocks around the base of your strawberry plants. The earlier you set them out in the spring, the more chance they will work well. Try to place them out a minimum of two weeks before your strawberries begin to turn red. Placing them as soon as strawberry blossoms appear works well. I leave my strawberry rocks out year round and they have lasted well from year to year.

Have you used strawberry rocks as a bird decoy in your garden? Leave a comment below and let me know how it worked for you!

For more tips on growing strawberries check out Growing Strawberries in Alberta.

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