At my house, it's the time of year when birds starting getting into the garden to eat the vegetables and fruit as they ripen. They usually get mine about a day before I pick them. But not any more. A friend told me about hanging CDs or DVDs in the plants to keep the birds away, and it works great. The CDs move in the wind and catch the birds eye, startling which then gets rid of them. I also found that if I hang a couple CDs next to each other, they will clank together when the wind blows and that also scares the birds. If the birds are getting your crops, try hanging some old CDs in your garden.