Whether its concerns about the economy, environment or personal health more people are choosing to grow their own food.  But with limited land, many homeowners are drawn to small fruit plants like blueberries and grapes.  These fruits can pack a lot of nutrition in a diet without taking up a lot of space in the backyard.  And once plants are established, they are not difficult to maintain.

But new growers beware.  You aren’t the only ones enjoying these small fruits.  As it turns out, birds are big fans of the berries, too.

“Birds are a big problem,” says UT Institute of Agriculture Professor Dr. David Lockwood.  “In some varieties, especially those that produce fruit earlier, we were seeing major losses.”

According to Lockwood, bird damage can account for a considerable portion of a fruit crop, especially in small plantings.  Birds eat the fruit and often damage what they leave behind.  That’s bad news for the growing number of homeowners who want to grow fresh fruits like grapes and blueberries. 

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