To get rid of birds on your porch, you can employ various natural methods. One effective strategy is to sprinkle baking soda around roosting areas, such as eaves or the tops of outdoor lights. Birds dislike the feeling of baking soda under their feet, so they will avoid landing there. Additionally, using wind chimes can create noise and movement that will scare birds off your deck, patio, or porch. Reflective items like flash tape or small mirrors can also deter birds as they are sensitive to bright, reflective colors.
Signs that Birds Visit the Porch Area
If you find bird feathers or partially digested food such as berries on the porch, then birds definitely come to pay a visit to the porch. They might even leave behind poop which can be liquid or in dried form.
Why Do Birds Come to the Porch?
Birds are always looking for nesting or roosting areas and nothing can be better than a porch. They might even come to the porch to gather nesting items, which have either blown to the porch or can be any left behind household items. They might even find dried grass or twigs around the porch. If any tree branch is hanging over the porch, then it can also attract birds.
Shrubs around the porches are also a choiceable place for the birds to hang out. If you have placed a bird feeder or birdbath close to the porch, then it would definitely draw hungry birds in search of food and water.
5 Strategies to Get Rid of Birds on the Porch
Here are the quick methods that you can apply to keep the birds off the porch.
1. Visual Repellents
Using shiny objects that reflect light and keep moving in the wind is a huge distraction for the birds. You can buy a pinwheel or get the aluminum foil right from your kitchen. Hang these items near the porch and let the breeze do its job. Try the same using small mirrors or CDs which can reflect light and move in different directions due to the wind.
Birds are quite intimidated by pets, such as cats and dogs, so you can allow the furry friends to be around the porch and every time they spot a bird, they will drive them away. Otherwise, you can fake predators, such as installing a fake owl model, which is cheap, easily available, and highly effective. They also act as decorative items and also scare away the birds. Keep one such model near the porch, so that birds do not sit or poop on it.
2. Sound Repellent
You can use wind chimes if you want to try out sound-based repellents to distract the birds. There are many other different options as well to scare the birds with noise. You can use sonic units that mimic the distress call of a bird and act as a bird repellent.
Birds tend to believe that this distress call indicates a threat or warning and marks the porch as an unsafe area. However, you need to change the frequency, sound pattern, and loudness periodically, so that birds don’t get accustomed to the noise and identify the areas as no danger.
3. Smell Repellent
Birds cannot tolerate certain smells, such as lemon oil or any other citrusy smell, so spray these bird repellents around your porch to keep the birds away. Baking soda is also a great bird repellent, mix it in appropriate amounts in water and spray the solution near the porch areas.
You can also create a solution of 3 spoons of baking soda into one glass of water, shake well, and leave the solution on the porch, the bird won’t keep their feet on this mixture.
4. Motion Detectors
Using motion detector sprays can also scare away the bird. Set up one such device near the porch, on the lawn, and even at the slightest movement, the device will detect the motion and start springing water in that direction. However, you must keep it far away to avoid soaking the porch in water.
5. Tactile Repellent
You can install bird spikes, which are long metal rods attached to sticky substances and bunt points. Birds tend to avoid these places as they cannot perch, roost, or land on them comfortably. These are available in different sizes based on the small, medium, or large-sized birds.
Place these tactile repellents on ledges or roofs or near the entry to drive away the birds from the porch. You can also choose the narrowest set of spiles and attach them in combination. These spikes are not sharp enough to harm the birds, pets, or children, so it is a safe way to deter the birds. Also, these bird spikes are easy to remove, clean, and reinstall.
How to Prevent Birds from Flocking Near Porch?
You need to keep the porch clean and tidy, without any food crumbs lying around. Also, remove any kind of nesting material from the porch. Hire a tree service, cut down the branches that overhang the porch, and try to prune the grasses and shrubs around the porch. Move the bird feeder and the birdbath away from the porch.
Can You Use High-Frequency Bird Repellents?
Yes, you can use high-frequency bird repellent devices to drive away the birds from the porch, but it also affects the cats or other pet animals. They can also run away due to the intolerable sound.
Can Birds Detect Fake Predators Placed to Scare Them?
Yes, if the fake predator to scare the bird is kept in the same place day after day, then these smart feathered creatures would eventually crack it and spot that it is fake. So, you need to keep changing the position of the fake predator periodically.
