Quick and Easy Guide to Making a Scarecrow
A scarecrow in the garden
Maintaining a garden at times can present some challenges, from nutrient issues to soils that must be improved to grow healthy thriving plants and then there are many uninvited guest such as garden insect pests that can turn a dream garden into a nightmare if control measures are not taken immediately. But another problem that many home garden face including farmlands is dealing with the many wildlife seeking to make a meal out of their garden plants, especially for those of us who grow food crops.
A conventional way that has been around for some time is using a scarecrow/scarecrows to keep wildlife at bay, It’s recorded that the use of scarecrows “date back as far as ancient Egypt, it’s said that the Egyptians farmers created a wooden frame covered with nets and hid in the fields to protect their wheat that grew along the Nile River where flocks of quails frequently visit. The farmers would scare the quails into nets to save their crops, the quails in turn would become their meal.”
It’s also recorded that around “2500 B.C., Greek farmers carved wood into the images of Priapus, which they intentionally made ugly so as to place fare in birds to scare them away from their vineyard”.
However, in “Japan around the seam time of the Roman Empire, Japanese farmers use straws to make scarecrows dressing them in a hat and a raincoat to protect their rice fields”. What is interesting is that “Medieval Britain went to the extreme by using human children during the night hours to physically stand in the field and scare birds away by throwing stones and waving their hands.”
The “Native Americans would pose as scarecrows by sitting on raised platforms and shout at birds and animals that would seek to venture into their fields”
Today we are still using scarecrows to keep birds and wildlife at bay, we will be discussing how you can make your very own scarecrow to keep birds from helping themselves to your food crop. Scarecrow making is a fun activity both for adults and kids so continue reading and see how this is done.
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What you will Need
Making a scarecrow can be lots of fun for children, here are the materials you will need.
- Old pair of tights
- A strong stick or bamboo cane that measures 6 ft or even a bit longer
- A strong stick or bamboo cane that measures 5 ft
- String
- Leaves or straw
- Old clothes-hat, jumper or shirt and trousers
Step 1: To make the frame for your scarecrow place the 5 ft stick across the 6 ft stick halfway down to make a cross and fasten or tight them tightly together with a strong piece of string or rope cord.
Step 2: To make the scarecrow’s head, cut one leg from the tights and fill it with straw. Now push the straw firmly into the end of the tights that were cut and shape or form into a head. Next, tie a piece of string around the tights to stop the straw from falling out, now draw a face on your scarecrow, it could be a really funny face or a really scary face like an angry face. Once that’s complete tie the head of the scarecrow on top of the frame with some of that string.
Step 3: Now place the shirt on the top crossbar and the trousers on the smaller bar, tie off the bottom of the scarecrow’s legs of the trousers with the string, and stuff with leaves or straw. Now button up the shirt, tie the ends of the arms, and stuff the sleeves with leaves or straw.
Step 4: Push some of the straws or leaves under the hat but allow some to drop down or dangle from the hat so it can give the appearance of hair.
Step 5: Now you are ready and set to place your scarecrow in the garden, you can place your scarecrow in the middle of your garden. Once your scarecrow is placed in position ensure that the wooden stick is secure in the ground. The addition of CDs attached to strings, streamers, or other objects to add to the scare tactic can also help.
Additional information
1. This is just a guide as to how to dress your scarecrow, you and your kids can have fun by thinking outside of the box and dressing your scarecrow according to your desire.
2. If birds and wildlife still decide to stick around then here are other devices you can use in combination with your scarecrow.
- Motion detection sprinklers are a great way to give wildlife a wet experience scare
- This device will make your job easy by keeping birds at bay
- Easy to operate this bird repeller will cause birds to take flight as they race for cover
- The sound of this device will keep birds as well as other wildlife away
The final word on how to make a scarecrow for the garden
Creating a scarecrow is that simple, all it takes is some know-how and you have come to the right place, this activity or project can be fun both for adults and kids as they design their scarecrow the way they want it to be. This old method of keeping birds and wildlife away has proven to work wonders, Join the many who are using this conventional way to have success.
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About the author
Norman loves being in the garden, both at home and for his job....
he is 'Natures Little helper' being outdoors, growing his vegetables and flowers from an early age.
Now having spent over 22 years in the profession he want to give some of his knowledge to others...
his vast array of hints and tips you will find scattered over this site will help you no end growing plants in your garden.