Most of the time birds are welcome guests on our property. They enhance our yards with their brightly colored feathers and fill the air with beautiful songs. But sometimes birds can be a nuisance, flocking to our front porches, building nests in the eaves and rafters, and leaving a mess for us to clean up. Luckily, there are humane options for evicting birds that have overstayed their welcome. Here’s how to keep birds away.
Ways to Keep Birds off the Porch
Sight, Sound, and Smell-Based Repellents
Keep birds off your porch by adding things they don’t like. Hanging old CDs, pinwheels, or aluminum foil will ward them off as birds don’t like their movement and the bright reflections they create. You can also target a bird’s olfactory senses, by creating a spray with peppermint oil, citrus, garlic, or cayenne pepper and dish soap and spraying it on places where birds typically roost.
Predator Decoys
A predator decoy such as a fake owl or hawk can scare away birds, but you have to get one that really looks realistic. Movement is also key. Birds will quickly acclimate to stationary decoys and ignore them or even use them as a perch. For a long term fix, look for a predator decoy that moves.
Predators
Enlist your pets to take up guard duty on your porch. Birds see dogs and cats as predators and won’t come near if they’re lurking around the porch. Set up a post for your pet on your front porch and put them to work warding off birds.
Bird Spikes
If you’re dealing with larger birds, bird spikes can be a deterrent. Place them in places where pigeons, crows, gulls, and other larger birds perch to take away their landing spot. Bird spikes won’t work for smaller birds like wrens or finches, which will simply nest in the gaps between the spikes.
Create Obstacles
If your porch has a ledge that birds like to land on, install a board or sheet of metal at a 45-degree angle along the ledge to eliminate the landing spot. If birds are getting into exposed rafters on a porch, mount netting along the underside of the rafters to keep birds out.
Baking Soda
Birds can’t stand the feeling of baking soda on their feet, yet it won’t harm them, making it a great solution for keeping your feathered frenemies off the porch. Sprinkle a little baking soda on surfaces where birds perch or create a baking soda solution in a bottle and spray it on these surfaces.
Bird Deterrents to Avoid
There are some deterrents you might have heard of that you should avoid, simply because they don’t really work that well, or because they’re inhumane.
Removing Active Nests
Never remove an active bird’s nest as doing so is illegal for most bird species under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act. Doing so can cause birds to abandon their eggs or young. If you find an active bird’s nest on your porch, wait for the young birds to fledge and move on before disposing of the nest.
High-Frequency Bird Repellents
You’ll find high frequency audible bird repellents available online, but they’re not proven to work. Many bird species can’t hear the ultrasonic frequencies, and those that do quickly become accustomed to the sound and thus aren’t deterred by it.
Wind Chimes
Wind chimes may seem like a good option for clearing birds. They’re more attractive than strips of aluminum foil and make a pleasing noise. The problem is they aren’t particularly effective. Wind chimes are dependent on the wind to create the motion and noise required to scare off birds. Wind chimes will deter birds at first, but after a short time they’ll likely become accustomed to their motion and sound and won’t be scared off by them.
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What Kinds of Birds Flock to Porches
While it’s common to see a variety of bird species visiting your porch, some have a reputation for loitering and nest building. Here are a few species you’ll most commonly find hanging out on your porch.
Pigeons: These plump birds are identifiable by their blue-gray heads, gray bodies and the two black stripes on the wings. They love the shelter and safety porches and other structures offer for nesting, which is why they’re so common in urban areas.
Grackles: These black slender birds, sometimes mistaken for crows, like to travel in large flocks. While they typically stick to trees and other wild areas, they can seek out the safety of porches for shelter, especially if there’s a food source, such as a bird feeder, nearby.
Wrens: These small brown birds with thin pointy beaks love to build nests on structures, including front porches. They particularly like the ledges, porch light and other places that offer shelter from weather and predators.
House sparrows: This non-native small bird, with its brown head, black facial markings and short cone-shaped beak, loves to build its nest in small spaces, which is why it loves your porch. It will build nests in gaps around the porch roof and even in porch lights.
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Signs of Birds on a Porch
The biggest telltale sign and annoyance of bird activity on your porch is the messy bird poop they leave behind. Bird doo is white in color or the color of the berries they frequently ingest. Along with their scat, you might also find other signs of bird activity, including feathers and various nesting material, such as dead grass, small twigs, and leaves.
Benefits of Having Birds in Your Yard
While you may not want birds nesting and hanging out on your porch, there are many good reasons to have them on your property.
Pest Control
Birds are insectivores that eat many insects that can damage your home or spread disease. Their diet includes large numbers of caterpillars, aphids, and other harmful insects that can damage crops and property. Larger raptors can help control rodent populations.
Aid in Landscaping
Birds eat large quantities of weed seed, which helps to control weed growth in your lawn and landscaping. They also help to disperse native plants by consuming seeds from fruits and berries and can even help pollinate as they move from plant to plant.
Natural Beauty
What’s a backyard without the sound of birds singing? From the extensive playlist of the mockingbird to the striking color of cardinals and bluebirds, birds add natural beauty to the yard in both their appearance and song.
What causes birds to come to a porch?
There are many reasons birds may be attracted to your porch. There may be a nearby food source in the form of a fruit-bearing plant, food scraps, insects, or open trash cans. Water sources, such as pooled water from rainfall, also attract birds. A porch also makes an ideal place to seek shelter during storms or windy days. Covered porches also have rafters, nooks, and crannies that are ideal for nest building, and nearby bushes, trees or ledges on the porch roof offer an ideal place for birds to perch.
What’s the best way to remove bird poop from the porch?
Start by using a garden hose with a spray attachment to remove loose or wet droppings from the porch. Scrub dried-on bird poop with a solution of dish soap and water. For stubborn, dried-on bird droppings, allow the soap solution to soak into the droppings for about 15 to 20 minutes, then use a scrub brush to work them off. If those measures fail, try using a pressure washer with a 25-degree nozzle to blast the bird poop off your porch.
