REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, INDRAMAYU - Farmers of Indramayu District in West Java have unique method to repel pest bird from their fields towards the harvest time by using firecrackers.
"The sound of firecracker can drive away the paddy-eater pest birds. The farmers used to have them repelled by clanging used cans," one of the farmers, Martono said recently.
Martono said the pest birds were overwhelming towards the harvest time as they often came in thousands that the farmers needed to anticipate them to prevent crop failure. The farmers still use the traditional method as well by using scarecrow to repel pest birds while firecracker is used to startle and drive away the birds.
Meanwhile, another farmer, Tarwita said birds were not only pests they needed to anticipate, but planthoppers also put threat towards the harvest time.
Spokesperson of Indramayu Food Security and Counseling Office Anang Rusmana said that the pest repelling tradition is preserved and applied by the local farmers to prevent them from crop failure due to pest infestation.