Bird friendly weed killer (1 Viewer)

[MadCal]

Hi all. Brand new here and keen bird watcher. I'm in Sheffield and have created a small bird sanctuary with a variety of feeders/seeds, some of which are sunflower seeds.

On the ground I laid a weed blanket and on top I put ballast. Now the ballast obviously had a lot of "sand" and has since allowed a lot of the seeds that drop off or have been thrown off by the birds, to grow.

So I've got a few different kind of weeds and sunflowers growing.

It's gonna be very difficult to pull them all up so I was wondering if anyone knew of any bird / wildlife friendly weed killer that would do the job?

Thanks in advance.
Cal.

 

[KC Foggin]

Hi there and a warm welcome to you from those of us on staff here at BirdForum
We're glad you found us and thanks for taking a moment to say hello. Please join in wherever you like

I hope someone comes up with some suggestions for you.

 

[PYRTLE]

I'm afraid there is no such product as a " bird friendly " weedkiller. Weeds are plants that are undesirable to humans, yet they provide the food ad nourishment for many species of the birds you enjoy. The leaves, seeds and insects that are attracted all go towards a varied diet for your garden visitors. This was their plentiful, natural source of food before peanuts, fatballs and sunflower hearts came along. The use of pesticides etc is one of the main reasons that numbers of birds have declined.
Please try not to use any chemicals - better to remove them by hand and compost them. I know it may look unsightly to you, but nowadays an untidy little patch is both beneficial and the way forward to doing your bit for conservation.
Good luck.

 

[delia todd]

Hi Cal and a warm welcome from me too.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I hope to hear about all the birds you see when out and about.

 

[MadCal]

I'm afraid there is no such product as a " bird friendly " weedkiller. Weeds are plants that are undesirable to humans, yet they provide the food ad nourishment for many species of the birds you enjoy. The leaves, seeds and insects that are attracted all go towards a varied diet for your garden visitors. This was their plentiful, natural source of food before peanuts, fatballs and sunflower hearts came along. The use of pesticides etc is one of the main reasons that numbers of birds have declined.
Please try not to use any chemicals - better to remove them by hand and compost them. I know it may look unsightly to you, but nowadays an untidy little patch is both beneficial and the way forward to doing your bit for conservation.
Good luck.

Thank you for your reply.

This has been a conversation between me and the missis.
I said keep it natural, but her point wasn't that its unsightly, as we don't actually think that. It's more the smell that's coming from the ground. Being a mixture of old, wet seed and bird feces.

Smells like a rat died 😂

I think the best bet is to just keep it under control. Maybe I ought to dig it all up, and drain as much sand as possible, so they don't grow so prolifically.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

[Julie50]

My suggestion - build up! Take the large rocks and the bird feeder off. Put down a weed suppression mat. Make a raised bed on top, plant with lovely stuff then put the feeder back in

 

[MadCal]

My suggestion - build up! Take the large rocks and the bird feeder off. Put down a weed suppression mat. Make a raised bed on top, plant with lovely stuff then put the feeder back in

I like that idea! Thank you!

 

[Keith Dickinson]

Hi Cal
Glad you found your way to Birdfourm, there's a sub-forum for all things Yorkshire here
I have a feeding station too and I move it around regularly so it isn't in the same spot for too long. I also use a besom to brush away as much of the bird waste as I can that way it doresn't seem to smell too bad.

 

[Julie50]

My thought is if you have soil/compost underneath you can rake off the seedlings and the “poop” will act as fertiliser

 

[MadCal]

My thought is if you have soil/compost underneath you can rake off the seedlings and the “poop” will act as fertiliser

Well, it's soil, then weed blanket, then about a quarter ton of ballast. So I might have a bit of work to do. But still love the idea.

 

[Chosun Juan]

I'm not a fan of feeding birds at all - preferring instead to provide a rich diverse habitat for them to survive and thrive, including water.

If people must feed birds, then taking care of any spillage /waste would seem a must to prevent vermin from profiting. Also making sure their access to feeders is prevented. I would be inclined to use something robust underneath and easily cleaned like a big old piece of conveyor belt. Then germinate /compost everything in a vermin proof enclosure, and use the resulting soil on your garden.

Apart from that point, I agree with what Pyrtle said 👍



Chosun 👩