Key Takeaways
Lawn care insights:- Bird Safety: Choosing bird-safe fertilizers can prevent harm to avian visitors without compromising lawn health.
- Proper Application: Watering fertilizers in or applying them before rain helps minimize bird exposure to harmful substances.
- Physical Barriers: Using covers or netting can physically prevent birds from ingesting fertilized soil.
- Alternative Distractions: Providing alternative food sources or using scare tactics can keep birds away from treated areas.
Are you an animal lover like us? Here at Cory’s Lawn Service, we know the importance of keeping your animals safe, whether it’s your family dog or the birds that come and visit your yard.
It’s safe to say, chemicals and animals are not a good mix. It’s vital that when we put chemicals on your lawn, you take whatever steps you feel are appropriate to keep your animals safe. When you have questions or concerns, contact your veterinarian for more specific guidance.
If you have any questions about the chemicals we use, contact us at Cory’s Lawn Service. We would be happy to answer your questions.
Do Birds Eat Lawn Fertilizer?
Seeing birds in your yard is typically a wonderful thing. Fluttering in and out, they add color and life and can really bring a smile to your face. They also have their uses, munching on pests and insects that might otherwise be harming your plants. But when you try to use lawn fertilizer, the birds become a problem.
The chemicals that are so helpful in encouraging plant growth can be toxic for birds and other wildlife that come into the garden. If digested by birds, lawn fertilizer can cause serious harm. Although the birds can sometimes sense the fertilizer and understand to keep away, this isn’t always the case.
Birds eat lawn fertilizer, but there are ways to keep both the birds and your lawn safe. This guide can help you understand why you need to keep birds away from the fertilizer and how to do so.
Birds & Lawn Fertilizer:
Birds will eat lawn fertilizer if mixed in with seeds on the ground. Birds won’t try to eat lawn fertilizer specifically, and they may even avoid it if they can. However, when fertilizer and grass seed become mixed, birds will often eat both without realizing it.
Birds tend to find their food using sight alone, with very few birds possessing a particularly good sense of smell. So, unless you regularly have vultures or seabirds coming into your yard, the birds are unlikely to smell the fertilizer.
Instead, birds typically rely on their incredible eyesight to find food. And while they might be able to distinguish between fertilizer and seeds, this won’t always be the case. Instead, the birds will happily feast on the seeds in your grass and the fertilizer with it.
Fertilizers can also get rinsed off grasses as grit. The birds will then ingest this grit without knowing as they eat other foods.
Birds won’t eat fertilizer on purpose, but they can consume it alongside actual food sources.
Can Lawn Fertilizer Harm Birds?
Lawn fertilizer can be harmful to birds. Fertilizers can sometimes contain toxins that damage birds and might cause them to fall ill. Some toxins may even be fatal. Lawn fertilizers mixed with weed and feed killers are especially dangerous for birds (and other animals).
Applying fertilizer and weed killer can be just what you need to get your lawn looking healthy. The fertilizer leads to lush grass growth, while the weed killer ensures no constricting plants.
Unfortunately, the toxins nourishing grass and dangerous for the weeds can be incredibly harmful to birds and wildlife. As the birds unknowingly consume the fertilizer, they’re also unaware that they’re eating damaging chemicals.
This isn’t quite the problem that it used to be, with more and more chemicals being banned from commercially available fertilizers due to the environmental impact. But it is still an issue you need to be aware of.
How Can You Stop Birds From Eating Lawn Fertilizer?
It’s challenging to keep birds away from what looks like a decent food source. Sometimes, the fertilizer will do the work for you by tasting bad enough that birds learn to look elsewhere. Here are some other tips and tricks for keeping the birds away from your fertilizer.
Choose The Right Lawn Fertilizer
If you have plenty of backyard bird visitors to your garden, then you want to keep them coming back. In that case, you need to buy lawn fertilizer that is safe for birds to eat.
Although the birds won’t eat the fertilizer on purpose, they can consume it alongside their other meals. Carefully read the list of ingredients before purchase, and look for options advertised as being safe for animals.
Of course, this won’t do anything to stop the birds from eating the fertilizer. It just means what they eat won’t cause illness.
Apply Before Rain, Or Water Well Afterwards
Many lawn fertilizers require good watering after use. This allows the fertilizer to sink into the earth towards the roots and release the nutrients needed to encourage growth.
The fertilizer is more challenging for the birds to access when watered, leaving your grass safer for longer.
However, this won’t stop the birds entirely. Some fertilizers also require a wait of 24 hours before watering, at which point the fertilizer is left vulnerable.
Consider Using A Cover
Covering the grass with a net or mesh can stop the birds from landing, keeping your fertilizer safe. It can also keep away larger animals, such as cats — another garden menace.
Applying netting to an entire yard might seem like a laborious job, but it saves time over having to reseed your lawn. Nets can be purchased from most gardening supply stores or plant nurseries.
For particularly large yards, fertilizer and netting may need to be applied in sections.
Use Something To Scare The Birds
A scarecrow may seem a little over the top in the average backyard, but things such as wind chimes can work to keep birds away. Hang one from a tree or fence, and the sound can frighten birds off your lawn. Additionally, imitations of birds, such as a plastic owl or hawk will keep most birds away.
When you’re confident the fertilizer has gotten to work, the wind chime can be removed, and the birds can come back.
Give The Birds Something Else To Eat
Hanging a bird feeder in another part of the garden can redirect the birds and keep them away from your lawn. While the birds are distracted with their brand-new treat, the fertilizer has time to sink in and release its nutrients.
If you’re fertilizing the lawn in stages, use well-placed bird feeders to distract the birds from the section you’re working on.
Conclusion
Harmful chemicals used for lawn care can cause severe illnesses to birds. Lawn fertilizer will often be consumed by birds, who aren’t aware of what they’re eating.
Although the birds may not intend to eat fertilizer, it can get mixed with the seeds that form part of their diet. This is both bad for the birds and bad for your lawn.
Consider covering the lawn after applying fertilizer or redirecting the birds with deterrents or feeders to prevent this from happening. This allows your lawn to get all the nutrients it needs, and the birds avoid any harm.