What are the CDs doing on a mango tree?
Some weird decoration by tech-gardeners?
Or, some IT nerds gone crazy?
Actually, none of that!
The CDs have been hung on the mango trees to keep the langur away from attacking the mango crop! Simple.
Yes, the idea seems to work. First time Ghumakkad saw it in Uttarakhand while driving to Munsiyari. The house owner was finding it difficult to save the fruits from the marauding monkeys on a forested hillside. The shining CDs did the trick! That was in May-2019. Now four years down the line, it worked again in Secunderabad. Different monkeys, different fruit trees, different climate, yet the concept works! See the pictures and a short video clip below.
Here is a short video clip shot on our terrace showing the CDs protecting the fruits on both the mango and guava trees.
Of course, while driving on highways in India, CDs have a different connotation as seen from the picture below. The picture quizzed the readers in the 18th edition of online contest Kaun Banega Ghumakkad KBG-18 . CDs in road side dhabas ढाबा (roadside eatery) could contain unwanted stuff. But no, don't be so naughty! See the remarks in the picture below.
More than 100 correct responses were received for KBG-18 Contest. You may browse the story linked below.
CD is Cold Drink - The highway eateries terminology!
So, if you have a home garden and the monkeys are a menace, try hanging some CDs from the branches of the tree. It should be free hanging so that it rotates with wind. It startles the monkeys and keeps them away.
Requesting our zoologist-readers to educate us how it works? Hope it does not cause any other harm to the marauding monkeys.
More stories from Ghumakkad on the world around us!
Thanks for browsing
- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 5th April 2023/ Secunderabad
Postscript: Readers from different parts of the world shared their experiences on above story. Excerpts:
5th April: Sujata Das from Canada writes: "We have been doing this CD track for years to protect our cherries, plums, and peaches from long-beak birds. And it works for birds."
5th April: J Ramamoorty from Hyderabad writes: "In New Delhi's South Block, two wheeler owners keep bricks on the two seats for the same reason i.e. to protect the seats being torn by the monkeys!"
5th April: Pramod Lakhotia from Germany writes: "In Germany we have no monkeys free jumping around. Hence no problem. But birds do make our Cherries a problem and we are using CDs on the trees effectively."
30th April: It has been close to four weeks since we hung the CDs on our fruit trees in home garden. Apart from the langurs, the CDs have kept the bats and the birds away so far.
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