Looking for a safe and easy way to keep birds from building nests on your house, patio, garage, barn or shed? You might just be surprised how easy it can actually be – and even more amazed at the simple method that can do the trick in an instant!
It is safe to say that birds are quite beneficial to have flying about the landscape. For starters, they are amazing at helping to keep insect populations in check. Whether it’s bluebirds eating mosquitoes or robins dining on beetles, flies and more, birds are pivotal in keeping pest populations under control.
Even more, many birds also help with pollination. Hummingbirds are a great example of this, spreading pollen as they visit and revisit plants. As if all of that wasn’t enough, many bird species aid in weed control too, consuming hundreds of weed seeds a day to supplement their diet.
But, even with all of those benefits – when birds decide to build a nest in the eave of your house or garage, or even worse, in the light housing right over your head at the entrance to your front door – it can be a nightmare.
Unfortunately, we know this all too well on our new farm. But, luckily, we have found an incredibly easy and effective way to stop them from building in an instant. And without harming a single bird in the least!
Fighting Birds Building Nests At The Farm
When you add a little decoration to your home and outbuildings with a few corbels and overhangs, the birds are quite appreciative too. They think of them as the perfect home structure.
We first battled nest building last spring – but with only half of the structures up on the farm – we only had to defend a few areas. That is certainly not the case this year with all of the construction now complete.
As the temperatures started to warm up a few weeks back, we noticed the first of the robins flying about with grass and straw in their beaks. And as soon as we saw that – we knew it was time to jump into action!
Finding A Safe Way To Protect Our Structures – How To Safely Keep Birds From Building Nests
One thing we are not interested in is harming any bird or bird species. Not only do we appreciate the benefits they bring to our farm and garden, we also enjoy seeing them fly about. In fact, we like them so much we put up bird feeders to bring them in!
Using bird spikes is simply not an option for us. Both of us enjoy the birds in our yard too much to risk putting them or their young at harm with spikes. Of course, poison is out of the question for us as well.
Not only is it inhumane for the birds, you risk harming other animals. For us, all we really wanted was a safe and simple solution to keep them from building their nests on our porches, under the eaves, and on all of the other locations that create big messes!
For years we tried some of the old stand-by tricks. We placed bottles of water where they would build. It didn’t work. They actually built a nest on top of the water bottle once – but usually would just knock it to the ground to build.
We would spray the surfaces with hot pepper powder and other anti-bird organic repellents. Again, it did not seem to phase them in the least. In fact, in some cases, we both thought they liked it even more!
Finally, frustration set in and we tried wrapping some of their favorite nesting areas in chicken wire. That one actually worked for the most part. But not only was it time consuming to put up, it also looked awful!
The One Secret That Keeps Birds From Building Nests – The Amazing Solution That Works Like A Charm!
So what is this amazingly easy solution that works like a charm? Well, a few years back, after watching us battle nests day in and day out, our neighbor at our old farm mentioned that she used to simply put up little 2″ to 3″ plastic people figurines wherever birds would build a nest. And she said without fail, they would stop.
To be honest, we didn’t really think it would work. After all, we had used water bottles and other items and it didn’t stop them in the least.
Oscar & Ernie To The Rescue – How To Safely Keep Birds From Building Nests
But after another day of taking down 3 new nests, we figured what the heck? We happened to have a few Sesame Street figurines in the house. So, in pure desperation, we put them on top of our back porch lights. Both of the lights had been ground zero for nest building for a solid week plus.
To be exact, we used Oscar the Grouch on the right light and set up Cookie Monster to protect the left. And much to our surprise – it worked! The two robins that had been building nest after nest for nearly a solid week suddenly stopped.
Fast forward to our new farm this spring and the birds once again jumped into action. On the barndominium and several outbuildings, we have decorative corbels. We absolutely love the look of them, but the birds think of them as personal nest holders.
Putting The “Crew” Back To Work – How To Safely Keep Birds From Building Nests
So when nesting activity began in earnest – we went to work too! This time, with an assortment of 20 figurines, which was enough for each of the corbels. And as crazy as it sounds, they stopped building immediately.
For pure laughs, we have stuck with our Sesame Street figurines. However, any small two to three inch “person” will do the trick. For us, there is just something kind of neat about our childhood heroes growing up now protecting our structures from nests! Affiliate Product Link: Playskool-Sesame-Street Collector Pack 5 Figures
No matter what figurines you use, the most important thing to do is to secure them well. Trust me, if they fall down on the job, the birds come back quick!
We use small stick and peel velcro patches to hold ours in place. They hold the figurines up in the strongest of winds – and keep the birds from knocking them over too. Affiliate Link: Velcro Double Tape
Yes, it may sound incredibly crazy – but we are two believers for sure now! Here is to safely keeping birds from building nests – and to neighbors who help you out! Happy Gardening – Jim and Mary.
Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.
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