Lisa Krack is a Penn State Master Gardener who attempts to grow fruits, veggies, herbs, and ornamentals on a city lot that is measured in feet rather than acres. Sometimes she ís successful, sometimes not.

Birds are generally considered a welcome addition to the garden; they often eat many of the bad insects and bugs in our landscape.

Some people even plant specifically to attract birds.

But birds can also be a nuisance, especially when they are looking for food in your garden.

Birds will eat seedlings, vegetables, fruits, and berries.

One of the best deterrents to keep birds from eating your crop is netting.

It's relatively inexpensive, can be reused from year to year, and if you have a small garden, you don't need an elaborate framing or post system to implement it.

If you're only worried about a few plants, or plants in containers, netting can be draped over tomato cages, some stakes placed around the plants, garden decor, or a fence, if one is available.

Be sure to use some ground stakes or other means to anchor the netting so it doesn't blow away and so the birds don't sneak in from ground level.

Scare tactics that include noise and flashy objects are also good bird deterrents and they work best when they are noisy and unpredictable.

While there are sirens, noise cannons, and recordings of distressed bird calls available, if you live in town, creating noise without alarming the neighborhood can be difficult, but not impossible.

Two scare tactics that are adaptable to small gardens are old tricks handed down from gardener to gardener.

The first tactic simply involves stringing disposable aluminum pie pans or used, broken, or scratched cds/dvds together so they spin and flicker in the breeze.

If you have a small garden or just need to protect a container or two, hang them individually from plant stakes, cages, or small trellises so they can spin and flicker.

If you use two or more pie pans they will make noise which helps startle the birds, but isn't noisy enough to anger your neighbors.

The second tactic that is easily adaptable to smaller gardens and yards is to tie a few plastic bags to plant cages or stakes, branches, or garden decor.When the wind blows the bags crinkle and wave around.This combination of noise and unpredictable movement startles the birds. It isn't enough noise to anger your neighbors, although they might wonder why you're leaving your grocery bags scattered about your yard.Other scare tactics include streamers and spinners, plastic owls or snakes (old bicycle inner tubes work well as face black snakes), and inflatable “scare eyes” that are available at some garden centers.While most of these tactics are easily adaptable to a small garden, you will need to move them often, or switch from one tactic to another from time to time. Otherwise the birds learn that the scary things guarding your plants are actually harmless.And quite honestly, sometimes I think the city birds aren't afraid of anything, but I'll keep trying to scare them off.They can eat the flower seeds and nonedible berries. But the veggies and fruit — they're for me.Call the Penn State Extension Greenline at 724-287-4761, Ext. 229, for answers to your gardening questions.

Lisa Krack, a Penn State Master Gardener who gardens in the city, has several tactics for keeping birds at bay. Here she has strung old CDs and DVDs to flash in the sun to keep the birds away from her blueberry crop.SUBMITTED PHOTO