The classic use for unwanted or scratched CDs is as coasters. We’ve offered up lots of alternatives in the past. Here’s a useful addition to that list: stopping Indian mynas and other birds from savaging plants in your garden.
Picture by Top Left Design
I’ve spotted mobiles made from CDs in gardens in the past, but never realised that the discs served a functional purpose. However, the Twig gardening column from the Australian pointed out a while back (I just found my notes) that the light reflected from CDs makes them “effective deterrents” for scaring away Indian mynas and other pests. It’s certainly a low-cost, non-toxic alternative if you want to keep birds away from treasured foliage.
Stu
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 2:57 PMDoes it work for crows, need to keep them away so that I can sleep in past 5am
Stove
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 3:52 PMProbably not. Crows are much quicker on the uptake than most birds.
Jase
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 3:25 PMI was confused – How could a used CD replace my phone???
Paul
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 3:25 PMDoesn’t work for cockatoos
Hellmouth
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 4:36 PMdoesnt work…
Giles Farmer
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 8:15 PMReally, you only need one CD. This is what you do. Place your speakers facing the garden, away from the house, and play anything by Celine Dion. Keeps birds, snails and human pests well away from the garden. It works for me!!
LukeN
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 10:24 PMYeah really does not work. My neighbours have this setup to stop birds pooping on their under cover washing line. Birds still sit there not an inch from the cds, and still poop :P
Allan
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 11:49 PMThis worked for me under my pergola to stop the birds sitting on the rafters. Altho my neighbor said the reflecting light gave her kid nightmares, and thought the reflecting light in her window would MELT her carpet. Shit you not she was serious, we no longer speak lol
Grayda
Friday, January 6, 2012 at 1:25 AMYeah it hasn’t worked for us either. We have birds coming on to our deck and eating our cat’s food. We’ve tried tying rubber snakes up, CDs and windchimes and even shiny metallic owls with bells attached. And they just ignore them and start eating. Our cat isn’t the brightest, so we can’t do much else :B