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Bird spikes or a scarer

Updated: 22 October 2026

You have two amazon.co.uk tabs open, a packet of plastic spikes and a hawk kite, and you want one of them to be the answer. Bird spikes or a scarer is the wrong question until you say where the bird is. A spike strip denies the surface you cover. A scarer buys time on open ground while the bird still treats it as new. Peter F., editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk, is comparing those two jobs on the household products in the [bird deterrent comparison](/hub/pest-control/bird-deterrent), priced on amazon.co.uk on 20 October 2026. It is not a lab test, and a star rating cannot pick between them. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. GOV.UK lists both as non-lethal methods and does not crown a winner.

You have two amazon.co.uk tabs open, a packet of plastic spikes and a hawk kite, and you want one of them to be the answer. Bird spikes or a scarer is the wrong question until you say where the bird is.

Our top picks

EarlyGrow EarlyGrow fence spikes, 10-pack

Best overall

EarlyGrow EarlyGrow fence spikes, 10-pack
8.3/10about £6.95
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KOKMEYA KOKMEYA bird scare rods, 6-pack

Best value

KOKMEYA KOKMEYA bird scare rods, 6-pack
6.1/10about £6.29
View offer
The Big Cheese The Big Cheese wind-action owl

Alternative

The Big Cheese The Big Cheese wind-action owl
6.5/10about £12.99
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On this page
  1. 1.Two different jobs
  2. 2.What a spike strip covers, and what it does not
  3. 3.What a scarer can do until the birds learn it
  4. 4.Which to buy, and when to use both

Two different jobs

If the feet are on one rail, you are trying to remove that perch. If the feet are on seed, fruit, or a lawn, there is no single rail to cover. Those are different purchases. A barrier and a scarer are not interchangeable, which is why a 4.3 and a 3.7 cannot settle the argument by themselves. Defra's 2021 annex treats exclusion as the class that usually holds, and visuals as something birds learn. That supports a scarer you move on open ground. It does not make a kite the better fence product. UK guidance does not treat sound above 20 kHz as a bird method.

What a spike strip covers, and what it does not

On this shelf the spike is EarlyGrow's plastic ten-pack at about £6.95, 4.3 from 1,980 reviews, scoring 73 out of 100 on the listing arithmetic. Malton Plastics makes it in the UK. You get ten pieces of 50 cm, with 1.8 cm spikes, sold against birds, cats, and foxes. Screws are not in the box. Two anti-climb warning signs are. The bird that sits on the return you skipped still has a perch. Historic England's failure mode is the gap behind a spike row, which can become a nesting shelf. This is not a stainless pigeon spike for a masonry ledge. The RSPCA treats safely fitted non-lethal spikes as a humane barrier when they do not impale. Natural Resources Wales says sharpened tips are not the lawful pattern. A strip does nothing for the vegetable bed. A strip fitted while a nest is in use is the legal stop.
EarlyGrow EarlyGrow fence spikes, 10-pack

Testsieger

EarlyGrow EarlyGrow fence spikes, 10-pack
8.3/10about £6.95
View offer

What a scarer can do until the birds learn it

The best value flash is the six KOKMEYA rods at about £6.29, 3.7 from 329 reviews, about 29 cm, with a hanging loop. They have diverted pigeons on a London balcony and failed beside feeders. The Big Cheese owl at about £12.99 is wind-action, 3.5 from 3,903 reviews: sometimes the head turns, sometimes pigeons are beside it in about 10 minutes. WML-GU01 says move a scarecrow ideally once a day, and at least every two or three days. Laptony's kite at about £38.59 is the 4 m option with the large file, if you have wind and swing. A kite is the wrong substitute for spikes on a balcony. The British Pest Control Association says scaring rarely lasts on pigeons, and that proofing is what removes the perch.

Which to buy, and when to use both

Buy the strip when you can cover the whole rail the bird stands on, you will add screws and the warning signs, and the timber is a fence rather than a stone parapet. Buy a scarer when the problem is an area and you will move the device. Do not buy a scarer to replace an uncovered ledge, and do not buy spikes to guard a seedbed. Using both means strips on the roost fence and a visual over new seed. You do not have to buy both on day one. Names and who should skip each product are on the best bird deterrent page. Fitting is on how to use a bird scarer.

Common questions

Should I buy bird spikes or a bird scarer?
Buy spikes when the bird stands on one rail you can cover completely. On this shelf that is the EarlyGrow plastic strip, with screws and warning signs. Buy a scarer when the bird is on seed, fruit, or a lawn and you will move the device.
Do pigeons get used to spikes the way they get used to a plastic owl?
They get used to an owl they can inspect, which is why WML-GU01 tells you to move visual scarers. A spike they cannot stand on is a missing perch. They do get past a strip that stops short.
Will reflective rods keep birds off a fence cap?
Rods hang and flash. They do not cover the timber. The fence cap needs the strip if that is where they stand.
Are plastic anti-climb spikes the same product as stainless ledge spikes?
No. EarlyGrow is a 50 cm plastic fence strip with 1.8 cm spikes, at about £6.95 for ten. Stainless ledge spikes are sized to a masonry coping. Use the plastic strip on a timber fence you can screw.
Is a hawk kite a substitute for spikes on a balcony?
A 4 m kite needs wind and a clear swing. On a balcony the line wraps, and the rail stays bare. The balcony job is a barrier on the rail after any nest is finished.
Can I use both, or do I have to pick one?
You can use both, on different surfaces. Strips on the roost rail and a scarer over the seeded lawn match GOV.UK's advice to keep a range of non-lethal methods.
What fails if I only cover the long rail and not the return?
The return becomes the perch. Pigeons, and the cats this strip is also sold against, use the short bare piece at the end. Cover the return, and fit the warning signs.

Related pages

Bird deterrent buying guide

Bird deterrent

Best bird deterrents for a fence, lawn, or balcony

How to use a bird scarer and move it before it fades

Pigeon deterrent for a balcony rail or timber fence

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Shelf prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures captured for these 11 listings. Last checked 20 October 2026.

  1. Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, protection of birds (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  2. GOV.UK, prevent wild birds damaging land (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  3. Natural England GL41 (2026) (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  4. Natural England GL42 (2026) (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  5. WML-GU01, legal methods (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  6. Defra annex on non-lethal alternatives (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  7. Natural Resources Wales, deterring birds (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  8. RSPCA, pigeons in the garden (retrieved 20 October 2026)