topic Re: my front porch - and the birds! in Community Chat

my front porch - and the birds!

shesallthat — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 01:31:05 GMT

i have this same problem every year around this time - it drives me crazy!

the birds love to invade my front porch. we are in the process of having the entire house painted and one of the reasons was because the birds always did their "business" in one corner and it was ruining the paint and of course it looked awful. it was so yucky!!! i don't know what to do to keep them off my porch! putting a screen up is not an option. i don't like that look for the front. i hope someone has a suggestion for me. the other problem is i hang big baskets of ferns every year and they always try to lay a nest in them! one year we could not come out the front door for WEEKS - they would swoop down on us as soon as the door opened thinking we were after their eggs!

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

SHAYDIE — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 01:35:19 GMT

Try putting bird feeders far away from your porch and that should draw them away.

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

LaterGator — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 01:35:43 GMT

Are they Barn Swallows? Barn Swallows love to build their nests under the overhangs of porches. And they are swoopers and will dive bomb right at you when you get too close to their nests. They are very difficult to get rid of because the offspring will come back the next year and build their nests in the same place.

Good luck to you.

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

Kachina624 — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 01:42:08 GMT

I have a brick arch over my covered entry. Every year a pair of swallows think my place is Capistrano and nest at the top of the arch. They raise two ""litters"" a summer. They either fly a few feet to a light to perch and scold me or fly up in my face every time I go out the door. I also have birds nesting in and pulling flowers off my artificial hanging baskets and wreaths.

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

shesallthat — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 01:42:08 GMT

shadydie - that is a good suggestion! i will try it.

latergator - thanks for the luck! i don't feel like it when it comes to this! they don't build any nests at all on the porch until my ferns are hanging. they just love to use my porch for their restroom!!

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

SHAYDIE — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 01:48:36 GMT

You are welcome! I had the a similar problem only they were bombing my car so I moved all my feeders to the back of the house and it worked like a charm. Good luck!

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

shesallthat — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 02:02:08 GMT

On 4/5/2014 kachina624 said: I have a brick arch over my covered entry. Every year a pair of swallows think my place is Capistrano and nest at the top of the arch. They raise two "litters" a summer. They either fly a few feet to a light to perch and scold me or fly up in my face every time I go out the door. I also have birds nesting in and pulling flowers off my artificial hanging baskets and wreaths.

yes i have had this very problem,too!!! and they get so upset at ME for opening MY front door!!

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

gazelle77 — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 02:05:46 GMT

You can hire people who get rid of pests including birds. We had a problem with wood peckers a couple years ago. $4000 dollars worth of damage on one side of our house! They will put up netting and other deterrents to make the birds go away.

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

Kalli — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 02:05:53 GMT

In several key areas hang up a bunch of old CDs dangling on strings. That's what's recommended to keep birds from nesting in barns. The CDs twinkle and shine as they twist and turn in the breeze. This scares birds away. HTH

Maybe scatter a few wind chimes along with the CDs? Just a thought. ('Course, the sound of them might drive you nuts!)

-Kalli

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

Melania — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 02:09:22 GMT

I have to take my wreath down for awhile till nesting season is over otherwise I have the same thing happen.

Right now I some nutty bird keeps pecking my window. It is all scratched and filthy now. I put a couple of magazines on the sill of people's faces and that seems to help for now. I think the bird is PO'd I took the nest opportunity away with the wreath.

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

shesallthat — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 02:17:21 GMT

gazelle - i am just about at that point where i need to call a pro! i don't think i can take it another year.

kalli - i saw something online about shiny objects like a mirror or cd. or things that make a noise.

melania - that is exactly what i said! they acted like they owned the house and i was the one bothering them by using the front door.

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

just bee — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 02:19:25 GMT

On 4/5/2014 LaterGator said:
Are they Barn Swallows? Barn Swallows love to build their nests under the overhangs of porches. And they are swoopers and will dive bomb right at you when you get too close to their nests. They are very difficult to get rid of because the offspring will come back the next year and build their nests in the same place.

Good luck to you.

I lived in a large apartment complex when I was in college and the swallows did nest under the overhangs. Every time I got out of my car I'd be dive bombed. Got a swallow in the neck one day -- no pun intended. (I felt like Tippi Hedren.)

I have bird feeders in the yard and we attract all types. One day I noticed my window screens were missing. The birds take pieces of them to build their nests. The nerve!

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

madzonie — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 02:51:01 GMT

We tried the ""shiny thing"" idea with holographic streamers....didn't phase the birds who wanted to build their nest on the transom over the front door. We finally put up some mesh to block off the transom.

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

Melania — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 02:52:55 GMT

On 4/5/2014 shesallthat said:
gazelle - i am just about at that point where i need to call a pro! i don't think i can take it another year.

kalli - i saw something online about shiny objects like a mirror or cd. or things that make a noise.

melania - that is exactly what i said! they acted like they owned the house and i was the one bothering them by using the front door.

LOL...when they start paying the bills then maybe they can move in. It is frustrating.

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

skuggles — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 03:06:18 GMT

I had what amounted to a shelf for perching that ran the perimeter of the porch ceiling. Took a year to figure that out. I asked a carpenter to put a molding with an "unperchable" degree of slant around the entire area. Cheap, and it worked like a charm. A better carpenter could have done a more esthetically pleasing job, but it works like a charm. So I am happy.

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

LaterGator — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 03:12:25 GMT

I called a pro one year to get rid of our swallows but the nest had eggs in it and he would not move the nest with eggs in it. He basically said "live with it" cause it was illegal to move them at that point. after the birds hatched and left the nest, every time I saw them try to rebuild, I would take it down but the next day it was back. They are relentless.

But if you have swallows, they eat insects so moving bird feeders won't deter them. You will need to put screens around to keep them from nesting where they want to.

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

151949 — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 03:15:05 GMT

I can't imagine anything you could do unless you put up screening.

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

jlkz — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 03:27:11 GMT

Had a problem with birds building a nest behind the lantern-like front porch light and the wall. Finally put a scrunched up plastic bag behind the light. It worked and every year a new white plastic went up.

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

Sooner — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 04:04:52 GMT

Can't you keep the nests knocked down and pulled out? We have to do that every spring with several places around the house. My mother has to do that with those birds that build mud nests, and it is a mess. But you can't let varmints live on and in your house.

Re: my front porch - and the birds!

~moxie~ — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 04:21:19 GMT

The mud sparrows have been nesting on my porch for years. Last summer I purchased two owls from walmart. Their eyes glow in the dark and their heads swirl around when it is windy. For the first time since we moved to the house the birds have stayed away and no messy mess has to be cleaned because of the bird poo and the mud nests. The best thing ever.