There are crows in your garden, and what once seemed like an omen has now become more like a rendezvous point for dinner. But why wouldn’t it? Crows are tired after a long day of flying, and your garden is without danger or predators to worry about, not to mention there is food aplenty. They’re going to love that! That is until they begin to smell the garlic. It’s true; garlic is key to keeping pesky crows out of your garden. They detest the smell of it.
Wait, birds can smell? Yes, although many believed otherwise, it has since been proven that their olfactory receptors (or sense of smell) actually help them navigate, find a mate, and forage —pretty much leading them right to your garden.
Now, a crow’s sense of smell isn’t the best (not really much better than a human’s), but garlic has been proven to be quite offensive to them due to a natural compound called allicin, which is responsible for garlic’s aroma. You know it; allicin is that oily, yellow-looking liquid you see when chopping up garlic. It’s part of the plant’s defense mechanism against attacks by pests like those crows. Why not use the same measure to protect your garden? Let’s look into creative ways we can use garlic against these birds.
How to use garlic to keep crows out of your garden
The quickest and easiest way to introduce garlic is to pretend your crows are vampires. Once you see they have left, walk out to your garden and lay some cloves down in whatever areas you saw them in; it should keep them away. However, it’s essential to keep in mind that you must remove the garlic before it rots; otherwise, you risk damaging the other plants in your garden.
The best method, however, requires you to make your very own crow repellent using garlic oil. Since it will take a few days, we should act fast! Here’s the recipe, thanks to Thayer Birding:
- 8 cloves of garlic,
- 2 cups of olive oil,
- Jar
- Knife or garlic crusher
- Chopping board
- Stir stick
- Spray bottle or some small open containers
To begin, peel the garlic and chop it up or crush it using either utensil. Then place the crushed garlic inside the jar, along with the olive oil, and mix it thoroughly. Now, close the jar and leave it inside the fridge. After five days, the solution can be transferred into a spray bottle or small open containers (either vessel will work). Finally, get out there and place your garlic oil containers around the garden or spray the repellent on plants, etc. No more huffing, puffing, cawing, or feeling like Edgar Allen Poe. Just go out there and use it once a week, and they’ll get the stinking message.
The pros and cons of using garlic as a crow repellent
Of course, for such intelligent creatures like crows, it’s crucial to know many different, creative ways to keep them away. And, like every solution, you need to know the pros and cons.
What makes garlic such an effective solution for the garden is that using this method is natural, which means it’s environmentally friendly. Moreover, garlic oil is a non-toxic bird repellent and not expensive if you already have it in your fridge. You could even add it to the garden if you wanted to; you can find everything you need to know to grow your own garlic online.
However, using garlic can have its downsides. For example, garlic needs to be replaced often as it could rot and cause damage to your garden. Garlic also repels most flying or crawling insects (not burrowing), and some of those insects may benefit your garden.
The point is, know your garden and everything in it. The green world is an ecosystem; one thing will always affect the other. It’s on you as the gardener to make sure everything is in harmony with one another.
Thankfully, now you can worry about other problems since the murder of crows has left. You have outsmarted them today and for perhaps a long while. But who knows? They may come back with that famous “caw” and all-black suit … and you may find yourself feeling like Edgar Allen Poe again. Best of luck!
