When you hear the word “pests,” rarely do you think of birds. But when birds invade your home, they can prove to be as big a nuisance and can cause as much damage as more obvious pests.
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Consider the following:
- It can be a headache having birds fly into your home.
- They can nest in or around your home. Not only do nesting birds create a commotion, but they also often pack nesting materials in stove, dryer and fan vents, creating hazards or preventing their use.
- Bird nests can also clog or block drains, gutters or downspouts. This can lead to standing water on your roof, which, in turn, can cause roof damage.
- Bird droppings contain uric acid, which can eat away at car paint and building materials and are unsightly.
- As wild animals, birds often carry pathogens that cause a range of communicable diseases and parasites. Microorganisms from birds can be transmitted to humans in a variety of ways.
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How can you help keep birds away from your home and surrounding areas? Here are some precautions you can take:
Remove food scraps from around your home
Think of the pigeons that hang around by outdoor cafes. Birds like to eat. And many scavenge for food scraps left behind by humans.
Make sure to promptly remove food scraps and any open trash from around your home. Also, be sure trash containers are tightly secured.
If you like to maintain bird feeders or bird baths, keep them out in the yard, further away from the house, and only put out enough feed for a few birds. Clean up spilled feed regularly so it will not be attractive to other types of wildlife.
Install vent covers
Vent openings are a popular place for birds to cozy up and build secure nests. To help prevent birds from occupying these openings, you should have a professional install covers or screens over any open vents.
Use perch repellents
Perch repellents are rows of bird spikes that a professional can install on ledges, window sills and/or around the perimeter of your roof. They will discourage birds from alighting on the perch.
Set up visual repellents
Help keep birds away by placing plastic predators, such as hawks, owls, snakes or coyotes, on your porch or around your yard. Birds will tend to avoid the plastic predators. But remember to move the plastic predators around periodically or birds will grow used to them.
You can also hang reflective bird diverters from strings around your porch. The image, coupled with the movement of the diverters, may cause birds to avoid the area.
While visual repellants can be helpful, it's important to remember that they are often short term solutions and shouldn't be relied on for long term bird prevention.
There are many simple ways to try to keep birds away and try to stop your bird problem before it starts. While you can take many preventive measures on your own, you can also contact professionals to help with more complicated cases of bird control.