my front porch - and the birds! - Page 3

luvmyteddy4 · ‎09-04-2010

I guess I'm lucky I have sparrows. I put up a birdhouse on my front porch, right in front of the door years ago and every spring and summer they come back to nest. They are busy little birds, so many babies all summer. They don't get mad or swoop down on you but if I sit out there they will get very verbal but wait their turn. The male and the female both hunt for food all day long and take turns feeding the babies. They are not messy either.

I put it out there for my cat to watch. He loved it.

ivey · ‎03-10-2010

I was having trouble with birds making a mess on my covered porch. I bought a painted tin ominous looking owl as a decoration--but I placed him at a height that I think scared them away. I think THEY think he's real.

RedTop · ‎09-01-2010

Robins love to build their nests on the top of my porch lights beside the front door. The only thing that has worked to keep them away permanently is a radio. Since we generally enter the house through the garage, our front porch is usually a very quiet place that provided a great covered, safe place for their nests. As soon as we put "noise" in the area, it scared the robins away. For the last 15 years, we put the radio out there several weeks each spring, but have had no more birds, or nests, on the porch. If you put small rubber snakes in your hanging baskets, the birds will not build nests in them either. If you have issues with bats on your covered porch, spray the area where they roost with ammonia, or place an ammonia soaked cloth in that area, and they will not return.

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

THose fake snakes didn't scare our birds. They just pulled them around their nests. I was so mad at them!

LilacTree · ‎03-25-2012

One of my homes had a front porch and I hung a very large wreath made of wood on the inside wall next to the door. We had a pair of doves come every year to nest, only one litter (?) a year. They did this for eight years. We looked forward to them coming and they were not afraid of us. They never "messed" on the porch, we had a tree nearby and they would fly back and forth to the nest to tend to their offspring, which were usually only two. We would anticipate when the babies would fly away and sometimes caught them doing so. After they were gone I would take the wreath down and thoroughly hose it clean and put it back up. Sure enough they showed up every year and that was the only time we saw them.

Long after we moved from that house, we kept the wreath and at one time one of my daughters hung it over her fireplace. It's a sweet memory, we loved those doves.

Formerly Ford1224
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Elie Wiesel 1986

shesallthat · ‎03-09-2010

On 4/6/2014 Sooner said:
THose fake snakes didn't scare our birds. They just pulled them around their nests. I was so mad at them!

OMG - that is so crazy!!!

it has been raining buckets here since last night and i thought i would have a few on the porch but i have not seen any yet. i saw them last night and scared them away a couple of times before we went inside for the night. i researched it a little last night and saw a couple of people say they put something like scouring pads or tacks where they always went to on their porch - anything really that would make it uncomfortable for them - and it worked for them. i don't want my new paint ruined again - and i don't want to have to clean the porch every single time we want to sit outside and enjoy it!

ETA - thank you all so much for your suggestions!

shesallthat · ‎03-09-2010

On 4/6/2014 RedTop said:
Robins love to build their nests on the top of my porch lights beside the front door. The only thing that has worked to keep them away permanently is a radio. Since we generally enter the house through the garage, our front porch is usually a very quiet place that provided a great covered, safe place for their nests. As soon as we put "noise" in the area, it scared the robins away. For the last 15 years, we put the radio out there several weeks each spring, but have had no more birds, or nests, on the porch. If you put small rubber snakes in your hanging baskets, the birds will not build nests in them either. If you have issues with bats on your covered porch, spray the area where they roost with ammonia, or place an ammonia soaked cloth in that area, and they will not return.

i will try that this year!!! ${#emotions_dlg.thumbup1}$ no bats around here - thank goodness!