If you are looking for a few simple, safe and effective ways to stop birds from building nests around your home, garage, sheds or barn – today’s article is right up your alley!
Birds are incredibly beneficial to have around the landscape. Not only are they great for consuming all kinds of potential weed seeds, they are also one of the most helpful creatures of all when it comes to keeping insect populations in check.
Birds feast on everything from mosquitoes to caterpillars, moths, aphids, ticks and more. All of which can do quite a bit of damage to your plants and humans. But as much as gardeners love birds and the benefits they bring, they are not so fond of them when they decide to build their nests on their house or outdoor structures!
It’s one of the reasons many try to create homes exclusively for birds to inhabit. A great example of this is gardeners who install bluebird houses in their landscape. This allows the valuable insect eating bird species to live nearby – without the worry of them building nests on your home or outbuildings. See: How To Attract Bluebirds – And Why They Are Great For Gardens
Unfortunately, not all birds prefer to use man-made bird houses as their home. But they do like to use your house or other nearby structures as a support for their nest. And when they do – it can create quite the mess!
Bird Nest Issues – 3 Simple Ways To Stop Birds From Building Nests
Although it may be fascinating to watch eggs hatch and young birds take their first flight – it’s not always so wonderful trying to clean up the remnants that a bird nest can leave behind.
Not only does the straw, mud and twigs from a nest create quite a mess, the bird droppings that mom, dad and young babies leave behind can damage paint, stain concrete and wood – and even be dangerous to humans as well.
If all of that wasn’t enough, some bird species get quite protective of their nests. That, of course, can certainly make it challenging to go anywhere near the nest once the eggs have hatched!
One thing is for sure, it can seem incredibly difficult to keep them from building. Especially in early spring when birds can be relentless in their efforts. Even if you are diligent in checking and removing the initial start of a nest, within hours, they can have it almost nearly rebuilt.
It can be frustrating for sure. It’s not like most of us have endless hours to patrol for bird nests. But that is exactly where today’s simple methods for keeping birds away can come to the rescue. All of them are not only easy to put into place – they are also safe and humane for the birds, allowing them to simply move on and find another place to build a home.
With protecting your home from bird nests in mind – here are 3 great ways to keep birds from building nests!
3 Simple & Safe Ways To Stop Birds From Building Nests
#1 Using Figurines To Stop Birds From Building Nests
Believe it or not, one of the easiest and most effective methods of all to keep birds from building a nest is to place miniature figurines where they like to nest.
By simply placing small two to three inch figures on ledges where birds build their nests – they almost always decide to move elsewhere. It can be plastic people, animals – or even tiny characters from your favorite cartoon or movie. But once up, they protect as if they were real! Product Affiliate Link: 7 Everyday Heroes Plastic Figurines
The funny thing is, once birds see a little figure, they simply won’t create their nest by them. It may sound strange – but it works. And incredibly well, too!
We actually have a complete story on how we use this method at our farm every spring to keep birds from nesting on not just the house and garage, but also on all of the various outbuildings. And judging by the countless emails that came in after the story, it worked well for others as well! See: A Simple Method To Keep Birds From Nesting
To secure against winds, the easiest method is to install figurines with double sided tape. In just a few minutes, you will have an amazing barrier against bird nests!
#2 Install Plastic Bird Spikes – How To Stop Birds From Building Nests
Although metal and super sharp spikes can actually harm birds, by installing deterrent plastic spike strips where birds like to nest, you can more than keep them away – without worry of harming the birds in the process.
Plastic spikes will not injure birds, they just make it uncomfortable for them to stand or roost. And they certainly don’t allow any room for nesting. Even better, they are extremely easy to install and can be left up year round if you wish. Product Link: Bird Spikes for Outside, 20 Pack Bird Deterrent Spikes
Bird Repellent Reflectors – How To Stop Birds From Building Nests
Last but not least, if you want a bit of a decorative approach to keep birds from building nests around your home – you can use bird repelling reflectors.
Birds are not fond of shiny, moving objects. This is why aluminum pie pans have been used for decades in vegetable gardens. The shiny, rattling pie pans help to scare birds from dining on the produce. Playing on that concept, bird repellent reflectors are smaller, decorative versions that can be hung wherever birds build nests.
There are a whole slew of choices to fit your needs. From shiny circular shapes to long spiraling spikes, they can add a touch of decoration to your eaves and ledges. Affiliate Product Link: Hausse Bird Repellent Spiral Reflectors Silver Mylar Spinner
The good news is that they do a great job of keeping birds away. And perhaps best of all, at a relatively low cost! Here is to keeping birds from nesting near your house or outbuildings. And doing so safely and effectively to keep your home clean – and the birds from being injured!
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Simple Garden Life is a website dedicated to keeping gardening fun, simple and enjoyable! We publish two new articles each week along with a new garden podcast episode every two weeks. This article may contain affiliate links.