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What Smells Do Birds Hate? Top Tips To Humanely Get Rid Of Birds

lemon slices

If you’re looking to keep birds away, consider taking advantage of the smells birds hate. With this knowledge, you can create homemade bird repellents or keep these products around your home in an attempt to scare birds off. To begin planning your bird deterrent process, consider what smells birds dislike most. 

What Smells Do Birds Hate?

Certain natural products produce an aroma that repels birds for different reasons. If you already have these products at home, consider using them to keep birds away. If you don’t already own some of these, they are easy to find and implement as a bird deterrent method. Some smells birds hate include:

  • Essential oils. These scents are overpowering to birds, especially peppermint oil. The strong smell of peppermint is enough to repel birds on its own. 
  • Peppers. With most peppers being spicy, their smell often creates a burning sensation. Specific types of pepper that can deter birds include chili peppers and cayenne pepper.
  • Garlic. Birds avoid garlic because it contains allicin, along with its strong, natural odor. 
  • Cinnamon. The aromatic scent of cinnamon is irritating to most birds. 
  • Vinegar. Birds can be triggered by the harsh, unpleasant smell of vinegar and will avoid it. 
  • Citrus oil. Birds tend to avoid the smell of citrus because they don’t like it. However, if you plan to use citrus oil as a deterrent – it must make direct contact with the bird in order to be effective. 

Related: How To Keep Birds Out Of Hanging Plants

How To Make Homemade Bird Repellent

Choose from the above scents as a base for your homemade bird repellent. Any of these scents can be the main ingredient to create a spray that will repel birds. Using these scents, you can mix water, apple cider vinegar, or liquid dish soap. Some recipes to try are: 

Peppermint Oil Spray

  • 14 drops of peppermint oil
  • 14 drops of lemon oil
  • ½ cup of white vinegar
  • ½ cup of water 

Cayenne Pepper Spray

  • 6 drops of liquid dish soap 
  • 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper 
  • 1 gallon of water

Garlic Spray

  • 8 cloves of garlic 
  • 2 cups of olive oil

Cinnamon Spray

  • 3 parts water 
  • 1 part cinnamon

Are Homemade Repellents Effective?

When creating bird repellent at home, it is crucial to not harm the birds. You must use products that are non-toxic and safe to use. Especially if you plan to spray areas that include plants, you don’t want to contaminate your own produce. 

Dealing with bird repellent requires a plan. In order to repel birds from your property, you need to be aware of the legal actions in place to protect birds. Most species of birds are protected by law depending on location. Before taking action to disrupt birds in your area, research your local regulations. 

 Related: Do Homemade Bird Repellents Really Work?

What Is Liquid Bird Repellent?

To eliminate the stress of creating your own repellent, consider purchasing liquid bird repellent. These pre-made mixtures are non-toxic and safe to use around birds, plants, animals, and humans. Professionals have mastered the ingredients of this product to create lasting results so you don’t have to use trial and error with homemade repellents. 

Related: Best Practices For Effective Bird Pest Control 

How Avian Can Help

At Avian, we offer liquid bird repellent methods that are EPA registered and non-toxic. This allows our product to be safe to use around you, your family, your plants, animals, and more. It is important to us to help you deter birds without causing them harm. 

Our liquid bird repellent has proven results that last up to two weeks. Eliminate the stress of guessing which at home products can repel birds and trust Avian Control to get the job done. Call 888.868.1982 to order or contact us for more information today!

What Smells Do Birds Hate? Top Tips To Humanely Get Rid Of Birds