Axel

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Location: Hanalei Bay, HI & Fallbrook, CA

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To my absolute amazement, the bluejays have abandoned my cherries!!! I sprayed all of my cherries with grape flavored coolAid (sugar free) and the results are amazing. They have stopped going after my cherries.

What is odd is that my chickens don't seem to care, but the birds do. I can't detect any artificial grape flavor or odor on the cherries, but apparently, the birds can.

I used two packets for a quart, that seemed to do the trick. I will do it again just to make sure the cherries are well covered. It's a lot less work than covering the trees.

I am really curious as to why this works. What is it about this odor that they don't like? Is it poisonous to them? I did notice that they also leave the capulin cherries alone, and they don't need any spray.

Steve in Los Osos

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Location: At the coast, half-way between L.A. and S.F.

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I gleaned this snippet from a little Googling on the subject:

"...Methyl Anthranilate, which irritates birds’ trigeminal nerve and mucous membranes through the entry of the eyes, nose and mouth. They do not like the sensation..."

Duh. I don't suppose they do. I have to say that my application of KoolAid to my blueberries seemed to do no good at all, although I think maybe you are using twice the concentration I did. I eventually caged my blueberries and for the first time in many years I have actually been able to harvest more than a dozen.

How often did you reapply the spray?

Jason (palo alto)

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Location: Redwood City, CA

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methyl anthranilate

See also:
BirdShield

Axel

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Posts: 3533

Joined: Thu Nov 18, 2010 8:49 pm

Location: Hanalei Bay, HI & Fallbrook, CA

Climate Zone: 12b/H2 & 10b/S23

Did you use any soap? You need a wetting agent, otherwise it won't work, the stuff will just bead off.

Steve in Los Osos

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Location: At the coast, half-way between L.A. and S.F.

Climate Zone: Sunset zone 17, USDA 10a

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Nope, no soap

Ha-ha! Well, I had "fun" with the netting and some PVC, but I really should try it again on my boysenberries which have already become immensely tangled in the netting, as they do every year

John S

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Joined: Fri Nov 26, 2010 10:19 pm

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I'm just trying to figure this out. You need to buy the sugar free kind because it has that chemical and you put some liquid soap in it as a sticker/spreader? Will it say "methyl anthranilate" on the list of ingredients? Can you buy it in a large container so it's cheaper?
Thansk
John S
PDX OR

Steve in Los Osos

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Joined: Fri Nov 26, 2010 9:30 am

Location: At the coast, half-way between L.A. and S.F.

Climate Zone: Sunset zone 17, USDA 10a

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The "sugar-free" means "no sweetener whatever". It's pretty cheap, in its way. I picked up 5 envelopes for $1.

You can purchase a variety of products--or they are marketed to someone anyway. Either follow Jason's second link or Google "bird repellent" with or without adding the compound name. Not sure if that will result in better economy or not. A lot depends on how often you have to reapply it--and if it works. According to the original source that first directed me to this idea, truly determined birds (read "jays"?) will eventually defeat this. So if you have a year with a lot of feeding pressure, this will probably not help you.

Ed of Somis

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like J....I am a bit confused by the coolaid purchase. My market had regular grape coolaid (add sugar) but there was no mention of the methyl anthran....I can't find the MA listing on ingredients anywhere....I wanted to try this for fun!

Steve in Los Osos

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Posts: 456

Joined: Fri Nov 26, 2010 9:30 am

Location: At the coast, half-way between L.A. and S.F.

Climate Zone: Sunset zone 17, USDA 10a

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If you were selling a "fruit" drink mix for mothers to prepare for their children (questionable from the start, but humor me), would you list a chemical name like that? "Artificial and natural flavorings" is more likely.

Trust me, it's in there. I speak as a chemist.

John S

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Joined: Fri Nov 26, 2010 10:19 pm

Climate Zone: USDA8

Thanks for sharing this, Steve and Axel. This is exactly the kind of tip that helps us to take care of our plants more effectively.
John S
PDX OR