Page 30 - GrapevineMarApr 2022

Around The Vineyard

Using a Netter Getter to apply bird netting
to grapevines in Iowa.
Image Credit: University of Minnesota

Choosing the Best Bird

Control for Your Vineyard

By: Annie Klodd, University of Minnesota Extension
G ood bird control measures are expen- Netting Remains the Most Effective

sive. They are also a key part of growing
Bird Control Technique
grapes anywhere birds are found.
Last year during a site visit, a grower told me No surprise here. According to comparative
they would be forgoing bird control because of the research studies in vineyards, bird netting is still
time and labor it takes. Instead of giving up on bird the most effective bird management tool. When
control, I encouraged them to find a solution that used correctly, growers can expect 90-100% bird
worked better for their business than their current control with netting. For example, a 2007 study in
methods. That conversation inspired me to develop California found 97.8% control compared to uncov-
a bird control guide to help growers find strategies ered vines.
that work for them.
I dug into the research on bird control to find out There is a reason that netting works best. Netting
which methods have had the most success in vine- offers nearly equal opportunity exclusion of birds
yards. Among the 10 or so bird control tools out regardless of the species simply by keeping them
there, some are much more effective than others. out. Birds cannot adapt to physical exclusion like
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