Sometimes when watching TV it’s what the producers don’t intend you to focus on that’s the part that sticks. Watching Gardener’s World last week, I noticed a great reuse of plastic milk bottles. Like many of us with families we get through our fair share of the 2l bottles, and although we recycle them, I always think that there must be a good way to reuse them. At the plot we also have a problem with pigeons taking a liking to our brassicas, causing a serious dent in the rows of Cime di Rapa and Kale. So the chance viewing of wind operated bottle bird scarer got me thinking. Armed with a quick sketch from the TV screen I set about recreating them with our own pile of leftover bottles.

What you will need

Old 2l plastic milk bottles (with lid on)

Scissors Bamboo cane/stick

First you will need to make a hole in the middle of the base of the bottle. It needs to be slightly larger than the diameter of the stick or cane, so that it can spin around. The cutting of the flaps is the most crucial step (and one I got wrong repeatedly before finally succeeding). The flaps need to be cut so that they go around the edges of the bottle (this allows the wind to catch them better and turn the bottle). They also need to be cut so both flaps encourage the bottle to turn the same way (see the image above). Once the flaps are cut, fold back and out to maximise the cup size, and then place the whole bottle on the bamboo cane. I decided to lightly spray paint mine with the leftovers of some enamel paint, but other than that, that’s it. So far the winds haven’t been too strong and the bird scarers have been gentle rotating, but as the winds get up during the autumn they should keep the pigeons away from my Cime di Rapa and other brassicas.