How to Stop Birds From Nesting

by Alex A. Kecskes

Tired of swallows building mud nests in the corners of your front porch? Had it with birds nesting in attics, eaves, vents and awnings?  Fed up with trying to wash bird nests and their droppings off your walkways, lawn furniture, BBQ and cars? And even after you do, the stains remain! You’re not alone.  Thousands of property owners across the country face the same dilemma. 

Birds generally build nests that are inaccessible, hidden, or camouflaged. Though in some cases, birds will build nests on top of chimneys. They like the heat produced by chimneys. Other birds are drawn to a chimney’s cavity shape, which they find ideal for nesting.

If you have a flat “under-hang” over your porch, it makes an ideal sheltered spot for birds to nest, and it can be nearly impossible to get rid of birds once they settle in. No matter how many times you knock down their nests, they’ll come back.

There are lethal ways to keep pest birds from nesting on your property. But you should be warned that the Migratory Bird Treaty and Endangered Species acts prohibit the trapping, possession, or killing of most birds, their eggs and nests without a permit. Only house sparrows, starlings and pigeons are unprotected by state or federal law; however, local ordinances may still protect these birds. So check with local authorities before you take action against birds or their nests.

Your other alternative is to use humane and non-lethal bird deterrents to discourage nesting.  One property owner hung a series of small mirrors under the eaves of his home where pest birds often chose to nest. When birds came to build a nest, they saw their reflection, got tricked into thinking another bird had already claimed the space, and moved on. Of course, there are other equally effective bird deterrents if you don’t fancy covering your house with mirrors.

To keep swallows, starlings, pigeons, seagulls and other pest birds from nesting on ledges, eaves, beams and similar areas, there's the Bird Slope. Birds slip and slide right off these angled, slippery PVC panels. And if they can’t get a foothold, they soon get frustrated and leave.  The best bird slopes are U.V. protected to stand up to extended periods of weathering and sunlight. They’re easily mounted on the underside of eaves with special mounting clips. Some bird slope panels have a "snap-on" extender to streamline installation on wider ledges and coverage areas. Mounting clips are also available for vertical installation on the sides of buildings. You should use the “end caps” provided by some manufacturers to keep birds from getting behind the sloped panels. Architects like to use these sloped panels because they are less visually obvious that other bird deterrents, and because they come in stone and grey colors to better blend in with a building’s color scheme.

To discourage pest birds from building nests atop chimneys, install stainless steel bird spikes. They prevent birds from landing. And if they can’t land, they can’t build a nest. The spikes come in 3-, 5- and 8-inch widths. They’re easy to install and you’ll typically only need a single strip of spikes to cover your entire chimney.

To keep birds from building nests on patio covers, awnings, gazebos and other flat surfaces, some homeowners have had considerable success with Bird Spiders. These versatile bird-proofing devices feature stainless steel “arms” that whip around in the breeze. No bird in her right mind would build a nest near such a threatening display. Spiders come in various sizes--usually 2-, 4-, 6- and 8-foot designs to provide increasingly wider diameters of deterrence. Spiders do a nice job in discouraging pigeons, seagulls, and larger birds. They are easy to install and move, and there’s nothing to replace or maintain once they’re up. The best spiders will feature a U.V.-protected polycarbonate base and come standard with a glue-on base, allowing them to be glued down permanently to flat most surfaces. 

How to Keep Gulls Away from Your Home

by Alex A. Kecskes

If your home has been besieged by gulls, you know what a nuisance they can be. These scavengers will eat just about anything that’s on your patio, boat dock or backyard. That includes fish, insects, mollusks, worms, mice, young birds, bird eggs, and berries. When gulls feast and gather, they'll leave an awful mess. They can cover your backyard and patio area with smelly, disease carrying droppings and rotting fish. If they use your rooftop to tear apart their prey, they can dislodge and damage roofing tiles and other rooftop structures.

Like most birds, it’s not just one type of gull you have to worry about. There are over 45 species of gulls. Your typical gull is a medium to large bird with a mostly white body and grey or black markings on the wings and tail. Their stout, orange bills and webbed feet make them easily recognizable. While gulls are often found near large bodies of water like bays, inlets and lakes (as well as the ocean), they have been known to venture inland for food. So don’t be surprised to see them on the roof of your home or patio if your home is miles inland. 

To keep gulls away from your home, you should first remove any open food source such as open trashcans or pet food. After that, you’ll need some effective bird control measures to keep them away. Here are three bird deterrents the pros use:

Bird Spikes for Gulls

Gulls regularly choose the roof of a home or structure to roost on. The peak of a roof is an especially desired area as it provides a nice look out point for food and predators. Bird Spikes are a humane product used to keep gulls off roof lines, parapet walls, pilings and other areas. Bird Spikes simply create an uneven surface that gulls know they cant land on. Spikes that are pre-assembled, such as the Stainless or Plastic versions are easiest to install.

Bird Spiders

Bird Spiders have spindly arms that whip about in the wind. Gulls see these and will simply move on to a friendlier landing perch. Bird Spiders are easy to set up on decks, posts, atop light fixtures, rooftops, fixed umbrellas and awnings. These bird deterrents are available in 2-, 4-, 6- and 8-foot arm lengths to create larger and larger areas of bird deterrence. Look for bird spiders that feature a glue-on base, which can be attached to most surfaces.

Sonic Gull Control

No gull likes to hear his fellow gulls being attacked. Or the sound of Peregrine falcons screeching in for the kill. Bird Sonic Deterrents exploit these fears and drive gulls away. These devices broadcast prerecorded distress and predator calls that resemble normal bird sounds to humans. One popular device features a built-in speaker that covers up to one acre. The unit can be programmed to turn on or off at night, and you can even adjust the volume.

Bye-Bye Birdie Yes, You Can Scare Birds Away

by Alex A. Kecskes

While most birds are loved by man, pest birds represent a significant and ongoing problem. According to the FAA, bird strikes cost civil aviation almost $500 million a year. Keep in mind that just one bird can destroy an expensive jet engine in just seconds. The fact is, bird strikes on military airfields endanger our troops, can jeopardize the mission and ruin equipment. It's easy to see why many people look for ways to scare birds away.
Growers don't much care for pest birds either. Native and non-native bird species have been known to cause crop losses in vineyards--typically 30 percent to as much as 100 percent. Pest birds can quickly devour seeds and ripening fruit. Many growers pull out all the stops to scare birds away.

In the cities and urban areas, pest birds can wreak havoc with building facades, statues, schools, public playgrounds and parks. Bird droppings can destroy the paint on cars and buildings. They leave an unsightly mess and can carry a number of communicable diseases. Diseases transmitted by birds include aspergillosis, salmonellosis, thrush, avian tuberculosis, coccidiosis, cryptococcoses, encephalitis, histoplasmosis, Newcastle disease, toxoplasmosis and West Nile virus. No wonder so many municipalities have spent considerable sums of money to scare birds away.

The feral pigeon is by far the most prolific urban pest bird in the world. Originally descended from the domesticated rock dove, they are now wild and live in close proximity to man. Feral pigeons are scavengers, scrounging for food in cities and town centers, where they are often eagerly fed by the general public. Feral pigeon populations are on the rise due to a lack of natural predators, the constant supply of food and their ability to breed year around.

Other pest birds include the house sparrow, the starling and the gull. Gulls are scavengers and feed from scraps of food in town centers as well as sewerage outlets and domestic garbage dumps. Starlings often gather in huge flocks where their droppings ruin structures and monuments. Small but still a nuisance are sparrows, which often clog rain gutters and downspouts, and frequently cause electrical equipment shorts and fires.

To scare birds away without harming them can prove to be quite a challenge. Fortunately, there are a number of pest bird deterrents that are available to humanely discourage birds from landing, roosting and nesting.

For pigeons and large birds, consider the use of the highly effective Bird Spike strip. Harmless to birds, the intimidating spikes simply discourage birds from landing. Some bird spikes are made of stainless steel, others use rigid unbreakable polycarbonate spikes (the poly spikes are less expensive).

For flat even areas, the Bird Spider has proven its worth as an effective pest bird deterrent. The spindly spider arms whip around in the wind to scare birds away. Spiders come in several diameters to deter various bird sizes. Harmless to birds, spiders are easy to maintain and easy to install. Similar to the spider, the motorized whirly-gig utilizes rotating arms to scare birds away. Ideal for parapet walls, roofs, signs, and billboards, some of these products are powered by batteries and others are even powered by solar energy.

Next up are the growing number of balloons and banners of iridescent reflective foil and shiny tape, which create an “Optical Distraction Zone.” Some of these bird scare products feature lifelike reflective predator eyes. Others have "day-glow" backsides to scare birds away at night. One of the many things that make these bird scare products so appealing is their low cost and easy installation. They're ideal for use on boat docks, pool areas, overhangs, gazebos, and other troublesome areas.

We know people get irritated whey they walk across a carpet, reach for a doorknob and get shocked. It's the same with birds. Electric Shock Bird Repellers have been used for years to scare birds away. Ideal for pigeons, seagulls and larger birds, these electrified tracks mildly zap birds that try to land. Easily mounted on ledges, signs, rooftops, and flat or curved surfaces, many electric tracks have a low profile tracks, so they can't be seen from below.

While screaming at birds or blasting loud horns can scare birds away, there are bird deterrents that use ultrasonic sounds that annoy birds--annoy them enough to discourage them from landing. These audio deterrents imitate distress calls and predator calls. They're ideal for enclosed areas like parking garages, overhangs and sheds, where  pigeons, sparrows, starlings or seagulls sometimes gather in flocks.

Farmers and growers have long used this next category of bird deterrents to scare birds away. Known as Foggers or Misters, these disperse a food-grade, non-lethal aerosol of methyl anthranilate. The chemical has been approved by the EPA and won't harm birds. It simply irritates birds that fly through it, convincing them to avoid the area. Some misting systems feature multiple remote spray nozzles to allow specific areas to be treated and pinpointed.

How to Get Rid of Pest Birds at Open-Air Produce Markets

by Alex A. Kecskes

Let’s say you own or manage an open-air produce market, the kind that’s becoming increasingly popular as today’s quality conscious consumers shy away from big chain supermarkets.

You pride yourself on the fresh, clean appearance of your store, something that draws a discriminating clientele to shop there, week after week. What you don’t want to draw are pest birds. They not only bother your customers, but they can ruin the image of your store with their smelly nests and droppings. Droppings that can contaminate your produce, deface your signage and awnings/umbrellas, and create filthy walkways your customers will sidestep to avoid. Worse yet, bird droppings on open-air produce can bring a citation or two from health inspectors who can easily shut you down.

So how do you get rid of pest birds? BB guns, poisons, noisemakers--they’re just too dangerous or intrusive to be practical. The only viable solution is modern effective bird control. These devices and systems have been specifically designed to deter pest birds from commercial premises like yours. Here are a few of the more popular pest bird deterrents:

Bird Spike. Pest birds love to loiter on roofs, parapet walls, signage, awnings and other lofty areas. From there, they can “dive bomb” onto open food carts and displays, pick food off tables and chairs, and scavenge for scraps on the ground. Bird spikes deny them these loft perches, making it impossible for birds to land on or near them. Ideal for pigeons, crows and other large birds, bird spikes come in strong, rigid unbreakable polycarbonate or flexible stainless steel. The best spikes are made of marine-grade stainless steel and feature a U.V.-protected polycarbonate base. You can also get bird spikes with a crush proof, non-reflective metal finish. If you opt for less expensive plastic bitrd spikes, you can choose from a variety of colors--like white, tan, gray, black, brown, brick red and crystal clear. To keep birds like crows and pigeons out of your rain gutters, you’ll need the Gutter Spike, which has an adjustable clamp at the base for easy attachment to the lip of a gutter.

Bird Spider. To protect specific areas of your market from pest birds, Bird Spiders can be quite effective. These portable devices can be easily moved onto most lofty areas birds like to frequent. They include a glue-on base, which allows them to be permanently affixed to flat most surfaces. Place one or two on a roof or fixed awning and birds will definitely avoid the area. How do they work? Simple. Bird spiders use long spindly spider-like arms that whip about in the breeze, making pest birds too nervous to land near them. If your market has outdoor seating areas, you can temporarily place a spider on an outdoor table or two before opening hours to keep pest birds from landing on them. Spiders come in several diameters (arm lengths) to discourage many types of pest birds--typically, 2-, 4- and 8-foot arms to cover increasingly larger areas. Ideal for use against pigeons, seagulls and larger birds, spiders have no moving parts to wear out, so they’re basically maintenance free. Look for bird spiders that have a U.V.-protected polycarbonate base.

Bird Sonics. Certain sounds can be perfectly innocuous to humans while at the same time striking fear in the hearts of pest birds. Bird sonic systems have been scientifically designed by ornithologists to do just that. These systems and their portable speakers are easily mounted on storefronts, patio covers, and under eaves and awnings. They can keep pest birds away from outdoor areas by emitting predator and distress calls most birds find alarming and disturbing. Once installed, they’re designed to ward off all manner of birds--including pigeons, crows, starlings, swallows, gulls, woodpeckers, sparrows, grackles, cormorants and many others. One super-flexible sonic system emits distress and predator calls for 22 types of birds. Something to keep in mind if you’re being invaded by several bird species.