Pests and Birds 107
colonies. They may also act as vectors for mealy bugs, fungus, etc. Their infestation
can be kept to minimum by regular hand weeding and cultivation at base of the plant
to disturb foraging ants, their nests and maintaining a weed free area at the base of
each plant, the diameter of which is the same as the plant canopy.
9.11 Birds and Animals
Papaya saplings are damaged by snails (Figure 9.6a), birds, squirrels, monkeys, ele-
phants, etc. Crows become a great nuisance during winter months when they gather
in order to stay warmer. Crows mostly damage the ripe fruits by eating pulp and also
seeds of papaya (Figure 9.6b, c). At early stage of fruit development, they damage
the fruit surface by repeated injuries with their beaks (causing cosmetic damage that
makes fruit unmarketable).
9.11.1 Management
Covering fruits with thatch, gunny bags or festoon of thorny sticks or nylon nets and
scaring facilitates the management of vertebrate pests. Always remove food sources
including rotting fruits, etc., from and around the papaya fields. Never allow animals
of any sort of easy access to food. Trash cans and bird feeders should all be cov-
ered and removed. Do not expect animals to leave the fields, if there are plenty of
food and water sources. In addition to recorded distress or alarm calls, frightening
devices include gas-operated exploders, battery-operated alarms, chemical fright-
ening agents, lights (for roosting sites at night), bright objects, clapper devices and
various other noise makers like beating of tin sheets or barrels with clubs can help in
scaring birds. Spraying birds as they land, with water from a hose or from sprinklers
mounted in the roost trees, has helped in some situations. Hanging Mylar tape in
roost trees may be helpful in urban areas. A combination of several scare techniques
used together work better than a single technique used alone. Vary the location,
FIGURE 9.6 (See colour insert.) Snails (a) and crows (b, c) eating seeds and fruits during
winter in a papaya orchard.