What Smells Do Crows Hate?

Crows can be quite a nuisance. And one natural way to deter them is by using scents that they dislike. But what smells do crows hate? Read on to find out!

Pest Crows

Crows are often considered to be pests. In agricultural areas, they are well-known for causing crop damage leading to economic losses for farmers. They often raid backyard bird feeders and scare away smaller bird species.

Crows can also be incredibly loud, and leave quite a mess particularly when they gather in large flocks. For these reasons, many people attempt to deter crows especially using natural methods such as scents.

Are Crows Sensitive to Smell?

Birds in general are not known for their ability, to smell. However, crows along with other corvids such as jays and ravens do have a larger olfactory bulb in comparison to most other types of birds. The olfactory bulb is the part of the brain that processes different smells. They also have a higher number of olfactory receptors, the cells responsible for detecting odors.

Crows have been observed to be able to detect the smell of carrion and other food-related items. That being said the research on the ability of crows to smell is limited. In general, crows mainly rely on other senses such as their hearing and vision, both of which are excellent. In fact, a crow’s eyesight is among the best of all birds. And it helps them spot predators, find food, and navigate their environment.

Smells That Crows Hate

Just like crows can be attracted to the smells of certain foods, there are also smells crows hate. And they can be used to repel them. One of the most effective is methyl anthranilate. This is a chemical compound that is commonly used in bird repellents. It is actually also used as a food additive to make grape flavoring.

Methyl anthranilate has the scent of grapes, more specifically concord grapes. And crows along with several other birds considered to be pests hate the smell and taste of it. It is safe for humans, pets, and other wildlife and is often used to deter birds from agricultural crops and plants.

In addition, it is believed that crows hate the smell of garlic and strong-smelling essential oils such as peppermint, citronella, and eucalyptus oil.

How to Use Scents to Repel Crows

If you’d like to repel crows using smells there are several ways to do so. Probably the simplest and most effective is to purchase a bird-repellent spray that contains methyl anthranilate. It’s typically sprayed directly on plants and in areas you want to deter crows and other birds.

And it usually needs to be re-applied every ten days or so, although if there is heavy rain it will need to be sprayed more frequently. Instead of manually spraying, another option are automatic dispensers that use cartridges of methyl anthranilate. These periodically spray the deterrent on their own, only requiring you to replace the cartridge about every sixty days.

Cloves of garlic can be placed around the areas that the crows frequent. However, you’ll need to remember that they rot quickly and will need to be replaced. Garlic oil is another option that you can spray in these areas.

To create a spray using peppermint, citronella, or eucalyptus oils add a few drops of one of the oils to a spray bottle and mix it with water. (Some people like to combine peppermint with eucalyptus.)  And then spray it in the areas where the crows are congregating.

An alternative option is to soak cotton balls in the oil and place them where the crows are an issue. Be sure to keep in mind that the scents will fade over time and need to be reapplied. Also while essential oils are natural they need to be diluted, they can be harmful if used in large amounts or ingested.

Other Deterrent Options

If you are using scents to deter crows from an area there are a few more things you’ll want to consider doing. Removing or making inaccessible whatever is drawing them to your property such as sources of food, water, or shelter will be extremely helpful.

And while using smells crows hate to repel them can be effective, combining scent repellents with other methods can increase the chances of success dramatically. Visual deterrents such as dead crow decoys and reflective tape along with noise deterrents like windchimes or even bird cannons can help to keep the crows away.

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