Birds tend to explore the outdoors to find a perfect space for building nests and nothing can be better than a safe porch. Thus, it can become a challenge for you to prevent these feathered creatures from nesting on your property during the nesting season.
They are beautiful and unique lookers but building a nest would only invite you to deal with messy, noisy, and damaged outdoor furniture due to bird feces. You might find unwanted mess, such as feathers, food, and sticks accumulating under the nest and these can also clog the ventilation or plumbing system, gutter, or HVAC areas of the home systems.
Moreover, birds also become quite territorial and defensive about their nest. So, if you or your guests approach the areas, they might attack, which can even prove to be fatal for pets and children.
Let’s dive in to know how you can restrict the birds from building nests on your porch.
8 Ways to Keep Birds from Making Nests on Your Property
You cannot remove the nest whenever you prefer as it is considered an illegal act. But, not to worry. Here, we are discussing the perfect strategies that you can apply to prevent the birds from making nests in unwanted places.
1. Using Foul Odor
Foul odor acts as a repellent for birds and it is one of the most effective deterrents for the ones intended to build nests. You can use essential oils that smell like pepperminty, clove or cinnamon. You can also spray them regularly near the porch area and owing to the unappealing scent, the birds would keep away from the area. You can also use citrus repellants, such as mandarin or lemon juice, and spray them on the porch to prevent birds from nesting
2. Clean the Yard
You must remove the previous bird nest, which discourages the birds from building another one at the same place. Trim the bushes and trees and clean all the twigs and other debris from the yard, so that the birds cannot utilize the items or space to build a nest. Prune the foliage, to prevent the flocking of birds and make the yard look attractive.
3. Hang Shiny Objects
Birds get distracted by shiny hanging objects that keep moving and reflect light. You can try hanging foil strips, wind spinners, and streamers around the porch or on the trees overhanging near the porches. Thus, the movement of these objects will deter the birds from building nests or even coming near the property. You can also hang wind chimes, to scare away the bird by the loud tingling noises.
4. Don’t Feed the Birds Near the Porch
If you do not want the birds to build a nest near your porch, then do not feed them, even though it is a kind gesture. When you feed a bird it gets more attracted to the place and eventually starts trusting it to be a safe area for nest building. By cleaning the leftover food from the porch areas and also resisting yourself from feeding the birds you can discourage the birds from invading your property
5. Add a Motion Detecting Sprinklers
Add a motion detector sprinkler, which would remain active both during the day and night. This is a very interesting way of keeping the birds away from the property. So, when any movement is detected, the lights get illuminated and the sprinklers start spraying the water in that direction, thus the birds get alert and fly away.
6. Provide the Birds Alternative Nesting Option
If you do not want the birds to nest on your porch, then provide them alternative options by building birdhouses, creating cavities in the trees, or marking a nesting spot in the year. You can also put up a bird feeder or bird bath near the areas where you want the birds to build nests away from the porch.
7. Restrict Entrance Holes
If you provide nesting options to the birds, then you must also seal all the other entrance points or cavities on your property. The primary access points are pipes, dryers, chimneys, and any small vents or holes around the backyard. You can do this by applying bird-proofing materials, such as wired meshes or bird-repelling wires or boards.
8. Make the Ledges Sloppy
Birds get attracted to ledges, such as window sills and roof edges and they find it safe from predators to build a nest. So, to prevent birds from building nests you need to slope the edges, which won’t allow birds to get a secured footing. You can use bird slide slopes or a board to slope the edge, making it unfit for nesting.
What to Do if You Find a Nest on Your Property?
If you find a nest on your property, then you need to conduct your research and do not try to move or destroy it. Leave the nest until the season is over. Keep monitoring the nest. If you find no signs of activity for weeks, or the nest has been abandoned, then you can consider removing it. However, if the nest is in a safe spot and not bothering you, then you can leave it as it is because some birds nest only a few times during the nesting season.
How to Safely Remove a Nest?
You can proceed with removing the nest only if it has been abandoned. So, wear protective gloves and then touch the nest. Check carefully whether there are any eggs or chicks, if it is empty, then move the nest from its place and place it securely in a sealed trash receptacle or on a compost pile. Use bleach or water solution to clean the nesting area. If you want to prevent the birds from building the nest again in the same place, then seal the space or install bird spikes or netting to deter the birds.
