Crows and Sweet Corn

What do you do to keep crows from walking down the row and pulling up the corn after it has germinated about 4-5 days? I swear they must think it is caviar
 
Pour a little kerosene in a can and stir the seed in it just before you plant. Use to use a creosote product on the seed and it worked great. Still have the can in my shop.
Richard
 
Davy, I wonder how that ever got started? LOL

I've never seen it happen, even fed rice to the chickens, didn't bother them...

Now Alkaseltzer might do a number on them, but they would have to eat it quick before the moisture in the ground and humidity got to it. But then, why would they eat it anyway?
Birds and Rice
 
What state are you in? Avipel will keep them from eating the seed. We have trouble with geese eating it off after it comes up though. Turkeys and sandhill cranes used to pull it out and eat the seed from the seedling,but the Avipel keeps them from doing that too.

Avipel has a Special Local Needs Exemption for use in Michigan,but I don't know how many other states have it.
 
What Dad has done in the past is take power from the electric fence charger, power to a wire about 3"-4" above the row. 2 liter jugs with the wire through a slot in them for support/insulators. A tomato stake or stick with an insulator on it at each end to anchor it. (A wire around the patch also works for 'Coons when the corn is about ripe.)

I have also been told that just a string stretched above the row about 4" high also will work.
 

My cousin uses Kerosene. I believe that he Dows some here and there. Just enough to give them a taste now and then.
 
Never had the problem till last year. Pulled up 6 rows and didn't miss a one. So I ordered a product called Bird Blinder. Bought some plastic step in electric fence post and some poly wire. Tied wire to post and then tied the bird blinder ribbon to the poly wire. End of problem. It worked. I run one strand every 3 rows. just search Bird Blinder on Amazon. Oh I'm using the ribbon I bought last year and it's still in good shape. Just stored under the shed through the winter.
 

The bird blinder tape reminded me of what I did when crows were wrecking window screens at my church. I found out here that they can be driven off by fishing line stretched in front of the target. I tried it and it worked great. I think that the bird blinder would be cost and time prohibited in hundreds of acres of corn, but some fishing line stretched here and there between posts 50 yards apart could discourage them. They can't stand running into something that they can't see, and will stay away.
 
I spread the seed out and drench it with hot pepper wax. This should be available in most garden supply stores or online. I plant it after the wax has dried. The crows will pull up one or two plants and give up. It has worked well for me.
 

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