8 Ways To Stop Birds From Nesting Around Your Home

Birds bring color into our lives, and their songs can soothe the soul, but their nesting and roosting habits can be literally “for the birds,” as my mother used to say. The acidic droppings that accumulate under bird roosts and nests — which can actually corrode metal and concrete — are unsightly and unsanitary, and some species, like pigeons, remain year after year, making cleanup so onerous that some people simply avoid doing it. All you need is one walk through the back alleys of a pigeon-friendly city like San Francisco to see how bad things can get.

It would be easier for everyone if these flying dinosaurs would stick to the trees like nature intended, but alas, there are several reasons why birds prefer nesting under soffits or porch roofs, in gutters, on ledges and behind rotted trim. However, you can’t just get rid of the nests, as Meg Pearson of Critter Control explains: “Many bird species are protected by state or national laws due to the vital role they play within the ecosystem. This means it’s illegal to move their nests, even if they are in or on your home.”

So what to do? If you can’t live with them, and getting rid of them is against the law, your best option is to discourage them from nesting in the first place. In this post, Pearson shares some techniques for doing just that.

Why Do Birds Nest In and Around Homes?

The main things birds want in a nesting site are shelter from the elements and protection from predators. An enclosed space, such as a nook under the soffit, a ledge under the porch roof or even a chimney, provides both necessities. Spaces that receive warmth from the house, such as attics, are even more inviting.

Birds tend to nest in high places that can provide a birds-eye view of the surrounding area. They want to be able to spot food easily and well as have an early warning of any predators that happen by. If your house wasn’t there, they would probably search for what they need in the surrounding trees, but why look any farther when the perfect nesting site is so readily available in a soffit or under a porch roof?

How To Prevent Birds From Nesting In and Around Your Home

Every home has nooks and crannies that birds find attractive, so if you want to keep them away, you must either construct barriers or make these areas unattractive.

1. Seal access points

“Exclusion methods,” says Pearson, “are used to deter wildlife from areas by making the area unattractive or uncomfortable for resting and nesting. Common exclusion methods of pest control for birds include sealing gaps, adding caps to chimneys and vents, and installing devices to keep birds from roosting and nesting.”

2. Install roosting spikes

Roosting spikes can effectively deter pigeons. They consist of a series of crisscrossed metal spikes attached to a metal base. They’re sold in kits that assemble to 10- to 100-foot lengths, and you install them with a staple gun. They look lethal, but don’t worry — they don’t hurt the birds. They just make it impossible for them to land on your flat ledges, so they stop nesting.

3. Deploy visual deterrents

Pearson suggests placing reflective objects and decoys of predators in the trees around your home, but she warns they often are not effective for long periods of time. Even though they may be startled at first, birds tend to get used to flashing colors and plastic owls, especially if they stay in the same place day after day. If you will use plastic decoys, consider changing their positions every few days.

4. Chase them away with bad smells

Plenty of scents agreeable to humans are obnoxious to birds. Two of these, interestingly enough, are lemon and peppermint. If you want to stop birds from nesting on your porch (on top of the light is a favorite spot), keep them away by making a repellent and spraying it regularly.

Wild Bird World, an online site for bird watchers, suggests the following recipe: Mix seven drops of lemon oil and seven drops of peppermint oil in a solution with 1/4 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup water. You can soak cotton balls with the solution and deploy them where needed or put the solution in a sprayer.

5. Use bird repellent gel

Available in tubes you can use with a caulk gun, bird repellent gel creates a sticky barrier that prevents birds from comfortably roosting. Spread it along ledges and windowsills, under soffits and any other place the gun will reach. It’s harmless to the birds, has less visual impact than spikes and lasts longer than odorous sprays.

6. Install motion-activated lights and sprinklers

Motion-activated lights can deter birds active at night, and motion-activated sprinklers scare them off day or night. The element of surprise is the key, so you might want to readjust the timer every few days to vary the times at which they come on.

7. Clean up your yard

“Keeping your bushes, plants, and trees trimmed is important in deterring birds from your property,” advises Pearson. While you’re out there pruning trees and bushes and clearing away foliage, consider hanging birdhouses in nearby trees. That way, birds still attracted to your property have an easy-to-reach nesting space.

8. Don’t feed the birds

It goes without saying that if you want birds to stay away, don’t offer anything that attracts them. If you like watching birds feeding in your yard but don’t want them to nest, be sure to station bird feeders well away from the house.

Birds are scavengers, so keep your trash well-covered and stored away from the house. If you feed your pets outside, stop. Feed them indoors instead. Jays and crows, in particular, love to chow down on pet food.

How to Safely Get Rid of a Birds Nest

Because many bird species are protected under the Migratory Bird Act and other regulations, removing a nest yourself is never wise. You could be breaking the law, and you could injure or kill hatchlings by separating them from their parents.

It’s safe and legal to remove an empty nest that contains no eggs but wear gloves and a mask while handling it. Nests contain many of the same pathogens as bird poop, and possibly some extra ones as well.

When to Call a Pro

Unless the nest is obviously empty, you need professional help to remove it, according to Pearson. “If you find a bird’s nest somewhere in or around your home, you should not attempt to remove it yourself. Enlist the help of a trained wildlife removal professional who can assess the situation and implement a humane removal and exclusion plan that acts in accordance with the area’s local laws.”

FAQ

When do birds make their nests?

Bird nest building can happen in spring, summer or fall, depending on the species. For most North American species, nesting typically happens from March 20 until July 20, but some species, such as American goldfinches, are late nesters and don’t get around to it until late summer or fall.

Can baby birds survive if you disturb their nest?

Baby birds may survive after you disturb their nests, but generally, no. Hatchlings are blind and featherless for at least five days after hatching and can’t survive independently. If you disturb the nest, the parents might reject them and stop supplying the nutrition they need to survive.

What do birds eat?

Birds have varied diets that depend on the species and time of year. The list of bird food published by Celebrate Urban Birds, a site associated with Cornell University Ornithology Department, includes “seeds, berries, fruit, insects, other birds, eggs, small mammals, fish, buds, larvae, aquatic invertebrates, acorns and other nuts, aquatic vegetation, grain, dead animals and garbage.”

About the Expert

• Meg Pearson is the Training Manager at Critter Control. She is an expert in wildlife and pest control.

Sources

• Wild Bird World: What Smells Repels Birds? (12 Easy Deterrents)
• Celebrate Urban Birds: What do birds eat?