Biological Control #6 birds

[jaykush]

this one is for the outdoor growers, possibly indoor if your real slick.

birds eat all kinds of nasty cannabis loving insects. grasshoppers, moths that lay caterpillar eggs, leaf munching insects and so on. some scratch through mulch for grubs and larvae.

a few links
http://www.nctimes.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/article_d096dbfa-b94d-5972-9ade-28a5324cbbbb.html
http://www.gardeners.com/Attracting-Bug-Eating-Birds/8103,default,pg.html

i find birds to be an amazing resource for the outdoor grower, they will keep flying pests down to a minimum. plant lots of shrubs for them to take cover in, small trees to nest in, flowers that produce seed(ex. sunflower), bare branches for perches, and shallow pools of water for them to drink and clean up in.

they also leave little phosphorous/nitrogen bombs for your plants.

 

[Microbeman]

Including ducks (which eat slugs galore) and chickens. Indoor growers could keep canaries.

 

[mad librettist]

the only exception in my book is house sparrows.

the only good house sparrow is a dead house sparrow

 

[h.h.]

Well, I'll tell you. a dozen cockatiels flying around a 2 bedroom apartment...Lots of Goofy.
The best way to get them was to tell the pet shop you bought one for your girlfriend and it died. Karma's gonna catch me someday. I don't endorse either anymore.
I don't know how destructive they are to plants. Young shoots in particular.. They'd perch on the curtain rods, picking at the curtains and the walls always needed cleaning. Not too bad otherwise. Perches could be put up with newspaper which should catch the majority of the mess.
Feeding birds in the yard brings in ravens, which in turn eat the tortoises. You get an unnatural balance. Feed them, but make them work for it. Growing sunflowers is an obvious way to feed. Deerweed will bring in finches. Honeysuckle type flowers for hummingbirds. I will keep a couple apples hanging for the orioles. Stack some untrimmed branches for ground birds, like chickens or quail, to hide in with a protected place to perch at night.
Larger birds such as geese and emus will bond with you if brought in singularly. Keep a certain distance so they don't become too dependent. We had an emu die waiting for us on our front porch. Fried in the sun. Single birds are more vulnerable to predictors as well.

 

[supermanlives]

they also like to pluck seedlings right out of the soil. little bastards uprooted 5 seedlings

 

[supermanlives]

this one will ruin your plant in seconds

 

[DocLeaf]

Placing up bird-boxes and feed-stations is a great way of sustaining the pest-patrol overwinter