Save Your Corn - Balloons, Electric Fences & Radios

[Henry]

If you have been by the Gilles Rainville Farm on Route 104A, you will notice a bunch of bright colored balloons flying over his sweet corn.  I have never seen that before, so asked Gilles this morning what they were there for.  He at first kiddingly told me it was to keep newpaper people and people with cameras out.  Actually he said, it is to keep the birds out.  I didn't realize that birds would bother the corn after it was up the size it is now.  In regards to raccoons, Gilles said he uses to strands of electric fence around his corn piece.  One about five or six inches off the ground and one a little higher, so when the coons try to get in the corn piece they get bit and that keeps them out. 

Steve Ratte tells me, at least in past years, he plays a radio in his corn piece and that keeps them out.

I have heard that in some of the large commercial corn pieces that they use something that blasts like a gun ever so often to keep the coons out, but I suspect that might be a little annoying for the neighbors.

Strangely enough, the coons come and check out your sweet corn, and just when you know it is just about ready, I have had the coons come in and clean me right out in one night.  Its enough to make you think bad thoughts.

The easiest way, I guess, if you don't want to battle the raccoons, is find a good vegetable stand and buy it.

[Formerflatlander]

There was a nice large field of corn down at the end of the street where I grew up and they installed an air cannon one summer in order to keep out the wildlife.  Man was that baby LOUD!!  Of course it didn't keep out the two legged wildlife I hung out with at the time.  We were going to "borrow" it one time to "entertain" some neighbors but as fate would have it the collective voices that complained of the noise won and the farmer removed the cannon.  We knew it was a conspericy against us and we modified our plans for other "entertaining" activities.  Ah, the memories of running and not being caught.
We can't wait for Gilles corn, it is the corn that dreams are made of.

[dearon]

I've always used a combination of dog hair (to keep out the deer), and grown pumpkins and squash in the corn as the raccoons have tender feet and don't like it.  It has always worked for me.  I also use one of Ron's shirts that he has worn all week and turn it inside out to hang up just inside the corn.  Sounds ridiculous but works.  Got the squash andpumpkin idea from Organic gardening magazine back the the 70's and works without fail.  If you don't plant enough pumpkins or squash however they will try to sneak in where there aren't any therefore the stinky shirt.

Now if I could find a solution to keep those darn turkey's out of my berries!!!

[Judi]

When we had 8 rows of concord grapes in Essex which the deer love, we put a solar powered motion sensor with lights and a radio which kept them away..

[Kathleen]

To keep the birds off the roof of the Federal Building where I work, they have a machine that makes the sound of a sqawking bird in distress.  I guess this is to warn the other birds to stay away; but the down-side is, YES, it's very annoying.  The building supervisors have it set to go off every 10 or 15 minutes but we have convinced them to lower the volume a little on it.

The bottomline is, it works!  After several weeks, they started only turning it on a couple times a week.  My office window looks right out on the roof of the lower part of the building and I haven't seen any birds (pigeons in particular) pretty much all summer.