With its delicate, wispy blooms, baby’s breath is a favorite in floral arrangements. But these airy flowers are also irresistible to birds looking for nest materials or a snack. Protect your baby’s breath from bird damage with these simple tips.
Why Birds Love Baby’s Breath
Before taking action, it helps to understand what attracts birds to baby’s breath in the first place:
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Food source – Birds may nibble on the tiny buds and blooms for nourishment.
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Nesting material – The fluffy texture is perfect for bird nest building,
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Water source – Birds drink water droplets collecting on the flowers
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Curiosity – Birds are naturally inquisitive and like to explore new things.
Effective Ways to Deter Birds
Fortunately, there are many effective options to discourage birds from feasting on your baby’s breath plants:
Use Bird Netting
Drape lightweight bird netting directly over plants to create a protective barrier. Anchor the edges with stakes or weights so birds can’t sneak underneath. Ensure no gaps exist for access.
Add Visual Scare Tactics
Hang shiny ribbons, old CDs, or foil strips around plants. The movement and reflections startle birds and make them wary of landing.
Install Fake Predators
Place fake owl or snake statues among plants. Birds instinctively avoid anything resembling predators.
Employ Sounds
Wind chimes or other noisemakers activate when birds land. The sudden noise frightens them away. You can also use motion-activated sprinklers.
Prune Diligently
Regularly remove spent blooms and damaged areas birds already picked at. This eliminates invitations to return for more.
Use Smelly Companion Plants
Plant pungent herbs like lavender, rosemary, or garlic near baby’s breath. Strong scents repel birds.
Try Reflective Tape
Use holographic, reflective tape on stakes throughout plantings. As it shimmers in sunlight, it confuses birds so they avoid landing.
Apply Bird Repellent Sprays
Look for non-toxic bird repellent sprays made with ingredients like garlic, capsaicin, or methyl anthranilate. Reapply after rain.
Cover Plants with Row Cover
Drape a spun polyester fabric over plants to serve as a protective roof. Anchor tightly around the perimeter to keep it taut.
Extra Tips for Protecting Baby’s Breath
In addition to deterrents, use these tips to make plants less appealing:
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Prune away any damaged areas birds already picked at to discourage return visits.
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Harvest blooms frequently for arrangements to prevent maturity and seed production.
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Water early in the day so flowers dry by night when birds are most active.
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Plant baby’s breath in less visible areas away from bird flight paths and hiding spots.
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Choose more compact, doubles bloom varieties that birds find harder to access and destroy.
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Grow baby’s breath among densely planted beds rather than sparse plantings.
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Interplant with flowers birds dislike like lavender, rosemary, daffodils or alliums.
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Use thorny barriers like bougainvillea, barberry or pyracantha to surround plants.
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Monitor plants daily and be vigilant about reapplying deterrents at first signs of bird damage.
With persistence and a variety of deterrents, you can successfully protect baby’s breath from hungry and curious birds. Enjoy your beautiful blooms to their fullest potential.
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Baby’s Breath: One Person’s Bouquet, Another’s Nemesis
By Emily Cook Current Contributor
Baby’s breath—a plant commonly included in flower shop bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages—is more than just a companion for roses and carnations. It is an invasive plant that thrives on the dunes and beaches that dot our Northern Michigan landscape.
A single baby’s breath plant can produce 14,000 seeds each year. Additionally, baby’s breath is often included in wildflower seed mixes, inadvertently introducing the plant to yards and surrounding natural areas. The negative impacts of baby’s breath can be seen in our community, as it spreads quickly and overtakes dunescapes, threatening habitat for native species, such as the federally threatened pitcher’s thistle and endangered piping plover bird.
Fortunately, local organizations and volunteers will spend time this spring and summer treating and removing baby’s breath from Elberta Beach, where it has an established presence. Organized by the Northwest Michigan Invasive Species Network (ISN) and the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, volunteers will remove baby’s breath on the beach, one of the last unmanaged sections of shoreline between Arcadia Dunes Nature Preserve and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
“Baby’s breath can be controlled through digging and piling, to prevent seed dispersion,” says Fields Ratliff, ISN’s habitat management specialist. “Our volunteers are out on the beach for about three hours at a time, which isn’t a bad way to spend a morning during the summer in Northern Michigan.”
Removing baby’s breath during the early summer is ideal, because the plant dries out by late August and can break off at the base, turning it into a tumbleweed that can travel down the shoreline in the wind, dispersing its seed along the way.
The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy has been treating baby’s breath at the nearby Arcadia Dunes Nature Preserve since 2004 and recently expanded removal efforts to Elberta Beach in 2016, according to Jon Throop, GTRLC land steward.
“These dune ecosystems host a number of rare and threatened species that rely on the dynamic nature of dunes for their survival,” Throop says. “GTRLC quickly realized that protecting land against development isn’t enough to maintain these habitats into the future. We have to safeguard these areas from the ongoing threat of invasive species to truly preserve the health and beauty of our iconic beaches and dunes.”
Paula Dreeszen is a volunteer with the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy and frequently helped with last year’s baby’s breath-removal events. “I fight invasives, because I love native wildflowers,” Dreeszen says. “Removing baby’s breath at Elberta Beach is especially important to prevent its spread south into beach and dune areas, rich with natives like hairy puccoon, beach pea, and pitcher’s thistle.”
Baby’s breath is one of ISN’s “Top 20 Least-Wanted Invasive Species,” a list of invasive plants that are prevalent in the four-county region that ISN serves: Benzie, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, and Manistee counties. Of those Top 20, the priority plants are known as the Focus Four, which includes garlic mustard, Japanese knotweed, oriental bittersweet, and Phragmites. While baby’s breath is not listed as a Focus Four priority species, Elberta Beach is a valuable landscape that serves as critical habitat, making this an important project for ISN.
Volunteer events, called work bees, will begin on Thursday, May 25, and continue sporadically until early August—all are welcome to join in this effort from 9 a.m. until noon each day!
• Thursday, May 25 • Thursday, June 1 • Saturday, June 17 • Thursday, July 6 • Saturday, July 15 • Thursday, August 3
As a thank you, anyone who participates in a work bee will receive some ISN swag and discounts to local businesses, including Stormcloud Brewing Company and the Crescent Bakery in Frankfort. Additionally, names will be entered into a drawing that takes place at the end of each event. Prizes include certificates to The Cabbage Shed and FrankZ, native wildflower seed packets, t-shirts, and more.
Emily Cook is ISN’s outreach specialist. If you want to participate in a work bee session, there is no need to register beforehand, but any questions can be directed to 231-941-0960 extension 20 or [email protected]. As these work bees will be held outside, volunteers are asked to bring work gloves, water, and sunscreen. Meet at the beach parking lot. For additional volunteer opportunities or more information on invasive species, visithabitatmatters.org.
Growing Baby’s Breath: How to Plant and Care For Baby’s Breath
FAQ
Does baby’s breath spread?
Is baby’s breath toxic to parrots?
How do I keep my baby’s breath blooming?
How do you use Baby’s Breath in a garden?
Here are some ideas for incorporating Baby’s Breath into your garden design: Cottage gardens: Baby’s Breath pairs well with other traditional cottage garden plants like roses, peonies, and delphiniums. Plant it among these flowers to add a soft, romantic touch and fill gaps in the border.
What are the best ways to protect yourself and your baby from the harmful effects of air pollution during pregnancy and breastfeeding?
Check the Air Quality Index (AQI) in your area. The AQI provides details about air quality and actions you can take to protect your health. Examples may include: limiting outdoor activity, using AC or having asthma inhalers ready. Know the risks of heat exposure in the workplace and learn how to avoid exposure to extreme heat and air pollution during pregnancy Keep babies cool and hydrated Never leave your children alone in a vehicle Electrify your home (electric stove, heat pump). Select power companies that use non-polluting energy, if possible and available in your area Choose higher rated filters for your home’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. Look for a filter with a minimum efficiency reporting value rating of 13 or higher to catch smaller particles in the air. Stay up to date on mask guidance when the air is heavily polluted Consider zero-emission vehicles and use public transportation or walk and bike when it is safe.
What is a Baby Breath plant?
This is a perennial baby’s-breath with a mass of tiny flowers. Gypsophila paniculata ‘Bristol Fairy’ —The baby’s breath plant has tiny, delicate double white flowers 0.25” (0.5 cm in diameter). Its stems grow 3 ft. (1 m) tall, and it has a mound shape.
How do you care for baby’s breath Gypsophila paniculata?
Baby’s Breath doesn’t like to be too dry, so make sure to water it regularly, especially during dry spells. Fertilize: Fertilize Gypsophila paniculata once a month during the growing season with a balanced fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10 or 20-20-20 mix. This will help promote healthy growth and flowering.