Experts Reveal Why Hanging Old CDs in Your Garden Can Help Protect Plants in a Surprising Way

Once upon a time, the compact disc, a.k.a. CD, encapsulating a mellifluous world of love, romance, rock-and-roll, funky pop, and whatnot, was sought after a lot. But then came the dark age. A fleet of gadgets, both miniature and jumbo-sized, thumped their foot and chucked them out of the market. Fast forward to today, these doobies are ruling the world while the CD lies discarded in a dusty drawer of an abandoned room where it probably spends its time casting evil curses. It’s time you bring it out in the open sunlight and remind it that the purpose of its life is not yet over.

Got a pesky bird who doesn’t leave your fruits alone? A squirrel who nibbles on your raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries? Or the neighbourhood cat who recurrently crushes your flowerbed? If yes, then this old CD is your best ally. Its iridescent surface can offer you a stunning shield. By strategically hanging it in your garden, you can craft a cunning tactic to manipulate, deceive, and confuse these pestering birds and critters. By employing this CD as your digital scarecrow, you can trigger a flight response in these creatures, pushing them to leave your space, your berries, and fruits.

Experts believe that when the Sun hits the CD, the reflective flashes of light can puzzle predators like birds and squirrels. The dance of light on the CD will cast a parallax of manipulation patterns, as a result of which, the pests will leave your garden untouched. “Birds do not really like reflective light or their own reflection,” explains Morris Hankinson, director of Hopes Grove Nurseries, per Journee Mondiale. “Shiny CDs effectively scare off birds, protecting cultivated plants that you don’t want pigeons munching on during the critical spring growing season.” Food & Trees for Africa employed this trick in their food garden. In a Facebook post, they described the method.

“Start by hanging the discs loosely so that the slightest breeze makes them spin and catch the sun's rays. Now and then, change their location around your beds to prevent the birds from getting accustomed to them,” the post read. Journee Mondiale describes that dangling CDs are the perfect trick to protect your fruits and vegetables like peas, beans, and brassicas, not to forget the sensitive spring flowers that need extra protection. Eowana, a gardening enthusiast, said, CDs can also 'spook deer when they flash in the sun.” Garden expert Susan Harris said it’s even better to use multiple CDs. As these dangling CDs would bump and press against each other, the dance erupting from their contact with light would be even more effective for deterring the terrorizing bushy invaders.

“If you arrange your dangling CDs so they bump against each other, that’s even better. The random clinks and clacks serve as an additional deterrent, keeping birds from getting too comfortable near your spring crops,” said Harris. However, it wouldn’t be a wise idea to scatter these CDs throughout your garden or yard, because ultimately, no garden is beautiful without the presence of birds or critters, which is what Hankinson believes. “I wouldn’t hang them all over the garden. A garden without birds would be very sad indeed and would impact the biodiversity needed to keep a garden thriving.”