Kitchen Garden Forum

Our beetroot and spinach beet plants are being systematically eaten by house sparrows. I have covered them with wire netting but the greedy little things seem to be squeezing through the smallest holes to get to the leaves. We have put out a bowl of water for them in case the went for the leaves to get some moisture, but they are still ripping them to pieces.

Dear Monika, we are having huge problems with sparrows and beetroot here too, i missed covering two rows of seedlings over as they appeared, and they virtually stripped the lot.

This problem has only occured the last couple of years!

Some dratted pest is trimming my mange toute!

Sounds like sparrows, too, Peter! The tops of our peas are always attacked by them but, at least, the plants then recover and thrive. With beetroot, it's the end of the road!