Birds can be beautiful creatures to have around, filling our gardens with cheerful songs and vibrant colors or providing a soothing and joyful activity like birdwatching. However, these charming visitors can quickly turn into unwelcome guests when they decide to make your space their home. Nesting birds can be a nuisance, especially when they choose inconvenient places to set up shop, like your eaves, attic or under your porch.
When birds nest in these areas, they can cause a host of problems. For starters, their droppings can stain and damage surfaces, and their nesting materials can clog gutters, leading to water damage. They can also create fire hazards by building nests in or near electrical equipment. Additionally, nests can attract parasites like mites and ticks, which can pose health risks to you and your family. Lastly, singing and chirping are not always pleasant, and can disrupt your sleep in the early morning hours, causing frustration.
Given these potential issues, it’s crucial to address unwanted bird nesting before it becomes a serious problem. By understanding bird behavior, employing preventive measures and knowing when to seek professional help, this guide will walk you through how to stop birds from nesting in places they shouldn’t. After reading, you can enjoy the beauty of birds without the associated hassles.
The Importance Of Preventing Bird Nests
Preventing birds from nesting in inappropriate areas is crucial for several reasons, including health risks, structural damage, noise disturbances and cleanliness. Here’s a deeper look at each of these aspects:
- Health Risks: Bird nests can harbor a variety of parasites and pathogens that pose significant health risks to humans. Mites, ticks and fleas commonly infest bird nests and can spread to your home, causing itching and potential allergic reactions. More seriously, bird droppings can carry diseases such as histoplasmosis, a respiratory illness caused by fungal spores found in bird droppings, and West Nile Virus, which is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites. By preventing birds from nesting in or near your home, you can reduce the risk of these health hazards.
- Structural Damage: Bird nests can cause considerable structural damage to buildings. When birds build nests in gutters, vents or chimneys, they can block the flow of air and water, leading to problems like water damage and poor ventilation. Clogged gutters can overflow, causing water to seep into the roof or walls, which can lead to mold growth and rot. Furthermore, nests built near electrical equipment or light fixtures can create fire hazards. Birds pecking at wood or siding can also cause physical damage to the structure of your home.
- Noise: Birds can be noisy, and it isn’t always pleasant. Since they are early risers, they often disrupt the sleep of their human neighbors with chirps and squawking. This can be especially stressful and irritating during mating season when bird noises will be more plentiful than at other times of the year.
- Cleanliness: Bird droppings are not only unsightly but also highly corrosive. They can stain and damage paint, wood, metal, and other building materials. Over time, the accumulation of bird droppings can erode surfaces, leading to costly repairs and maintenance.
Common Bird Species That Nest Near People
Many different species of birds nest near humans, but some of the more common are:
- Wrens
- American Robins
- Blue Jays
- Cardinals
- Red-Headed Woodpeckers
- Owls
- Sparrows
- Martins
Depending on where you live and if there is water nearby, you may also see ducks, swans and geese around your property as well.
Identifying Potential Nesting Sites
Birds are smart and adaptable creatures and will make a nest almost anywhere they feel could be a safe and undisturbed area. Be sure to inspect these areas of your property periodically to ensure that you don’t have unexpected new housemates:
10 Effective Strategies To Prevent Birds From Nesting
- Timing: Choosing the right time to deploy your preventative tactics is crucial in preventing birds from nesting around your property. If you can implement these measures during late fall or winter when birds are not actively nesting, you may be able to prevent the issue before it starts.
- Visual Deterrents: Visual deterrents can be highly effective. Reflective objects like CDs or foil strips can be hung around your property to scare birds away. Predatory bird decoys (think foxes, owls, and other predators) can also be used to create an inhospitable environment for nesting.
- Auditory Deterrents: Ultrasonic devices can be an effective tool in keeping birds from nesting. These devices emit sounds that are unpleasant to birds, keeping them away from your space. Wind chimes can also be an effective and inexpensive option to deploy.
- Bird Spikes: Installing bird spikes on ledges, rooflines, gutters and other possible nesting sites can be a great bird nest deterrent. Bird spikes are strips of long spikes that are not usually sharp, which are attached to potential nesting areas to stop birds from making a home there. These don’t harm the birds but make it very difficult to land or nest wherever they are placed.
- Bird Wires: Similar to bird spikes, wires are placed anywhere that birds might land or nest. Bird wires are made up of a wire suspended between a series of poles. The wires are attached to springs, and when a bird lands on the wire, the spring causes the wire to be an unpleasant and unstable landing place. These are great because they are harmless to the birds yet remain effective at preventing birds from nesting.
- Bird Gel: This gel is a non-toxic, sticky substance that can be applied wherever birds might nest or land, like gutters and eaves. Even birds don’t like to be sticky, making this an effective strategy for keeping birds from roosting near your home.
- Habitat Modification: In addition to deterrent products, you can also make simple adjustments to your lawn or yard to prevent birds from making it their home. Keeping your property free of food scraps, regularly trimming trees and shrubs, and strategically placing birdhouses and feeders away from where you want to protect are all effective strategies.
- DIY Solutions: There are many scents that birds hate, and using this knowledge to your advantage can be useful in protecting your property. Peppermint oil, cayenne pepper, garlic and cinnamon are all viable options for creating a natural repellent spray.
- Professional Solutions: Sometimes, professional help is needed. Pest control experts can provide tailored solutions and safely remove nests if necessary. They have access to specialized tools and methods that are not available to the general public. Check your local listings for pest control companies near you.
- Avian Control or Avian Migrate: Avian Enterprises offers products specifically tailored to repel birds from residential and commercial properties. These non-toxic products are safe to use around plants, other animals and children, and are simple yet effective. Spray your yard or any other area where birds might nest to prevent them from moving in.
Other Ways to Protect Your Property
In addition to the strategies listed above, there are other steps you can take to protect your property from birds. Conducting regular inspections of your property to ensure that you don’t already have a bird infestation is a crucial first step in early detection of bird nesting activity. Regularly trimming trees and shrubs can discourage birds from nesting due to the reduced availability of foliage, and trimming branches that are close to your house can prevent birds from easily accessing your roof and attic.
Strategic placement of birdhouses and feeders can attract birds to an area that you don’t mind sharing with them, motivating them to stay away from other areas. Securing potential entry points is another great preventative measure. Birds often enter through small gaps and openings, so use materials like mesh, caulk or weather stripping to seal these openings. Lastly, properly disposing of waste and food will help deter birds from sticking around. Since there won’t be easy access to food and nesting supplies, they’ll go searching elsewhere for these things.
Step-By-Step Guide On What To Do If You Found A Nest
If you find a bird’s nest on your property and want to get rid of it, follow these steps to ensure a safe and lawful removal.
- Identify the birds: Before taking any action, identify the bird species as some birds and their nests are protected by law. Research local regulations before getting started. If you’ve identified that the birds you are dealing with are protected by law, wait until the nesting season ends to take action.
- Remove the nest: First, inspect the nest to determine if it is truly abandoned. Watch closely for a few days to make sure no birds are coming and going from it, and that there are no eggs present. After determining that it has been abandoned, suit up with protective gear like rubber gloves and a face mask to reduce the risk of contracting an illness. Then, carefully remove the nest and dispose of it in a composting pile or yard waste bin. Alternatively, seal it in a bag and dispose of it away from the home in a designated trash receptacle.
- Clean the area: Still wearing your protective gear, disinfect the area with a cleaning solution, then dispose of your gloves and mask and immediately wash your clothing.
- Relocation and Rehabilitation: Relocation should only be considered if the nest poses an immediate threat to human safety or property, or if the nest is in a place where it cannot be left undisturbed like inside active machinery. In such cases, it’s best to involve a professional to handle the relocation process. In other cases, birds may need rehabilitation due to injury or displacement. Wildlife rehabilitators are trained to care for injured or orphaned birds, providing medical treatment and support until they can be released back into the wild. Contact a local wildlife rehabilitation center immediately if you find a bird that needs attention, or research ways to provide temporary care in the interim.
- Implement Preventive Measures: If one bird thought your home was a good nesting place, chances are that others will have the same idea. The preventative measures listed above can be used to ensure that another nest doesn’t spring up after initial removal.
Keep Birds From Nesting On Your Property
Are you struggling to stop birds from nesting near your home? Let Avian Enterprises help prevent the issue before it starts, with Avian Control or Avian Migrate. To learn more, check out these product pages or contact us today.
A Complete Guide On How To Stop Birds From Nesting