Flowers are blooming, the leaves are returning to the trees and we are ready to plant our gardens…but who invited those pesky birds? Pest birds such as sparrows, swallows, pigeons and crows can invade our yards, gardens and set up home on our houses. Each year homeowners will spend hundreds of dollars cleaning up after and repairing the damage caused by such pest birds. How do we keep pest birds from ruining our spring and summer? The easiest way to get rid of pest birds is to invest in bird repellents. There are many humane bird deterrents available today that will keep pest birds off your home and out of your yard. They are affordable and save you the cost of clean up and repairs.
Physical bird deterrents are those that keep pest birds from landing and roosting. These include bird spikes, bird netting, bird repellers and others. Bird Spikes are an easy to use and economical way to keep birds like pigeons and seagulls off you’re your home. You simply screw or glue them to the edges and peaks of your roof to keep them off. They also work well on patio covers, fences and other flat surfaces that birds are an issue. Bird netting is used to exclude pest birds from areas such as under the eaves of your home. You can install bird netting at an angle from the roof edge to the side of your home to protect it from swallows and woodpeckers. Netting is also used to protect bushes such as blueberries. There are also bird repellers available. These units “sweep” birds away with rotating “arms”. They are usually solar powered with rechargeable batteries to run during dark times. The repellers are ideal to keep pest pigeons and larger birds off of patio furniture, patio covers, even boats and docks.
Sound deterrents are used to scare birds away with loud sounds. These are usually predator calls and distress calls played in short intervals. The sounds trigger the birds instincts to danger and they will go away. Be sure to get a sonic sound unit that is water proof and easy to program. You should be able to choose your target bird; pigeon, sparrow, crow or what ever bird you are having a problem with. The unit will play a species specific distress call and predator calls that will scare the birds. There are also units that are made specifically for pest geese.
Visual repellents create a visual distraction that causes the birds to fly away. Flash tape is a visual deterrent that can be used in garden areas to keep pest birds away from plants and seeds. You can mount the flash tape on poles in your garden, as the breeze moves the pieces of shiny Mylar tape, the suns reflection off of the tape irritates the birds and they will stay away. There are also scare balloons and diverters available to irritate pest birds. The scare balloons have reflective eyes that cause a visual diversion area and cause the birds to fly in the other direction. The balloons and diverters can be hung from the eaves of your home to keep woodpeckers away. Bird diverters also work well to protect fruit trees from pest birds.
The key to keeping pest birds away from our gardens and off our homes is to first know what type of bird you are having a problems with and what they are doing. It may be necessary to use more than one bird repellent product to get rid of the birds. It is often wise to use the sound deterrents in conjunction with the visual repellents to make it uncomfortable for the birds and keep them away.
About the Author
Fran Prisco lives and writes in Southern California. She has been in the bird control industry for over 8 years. Her areas of interests span from running and bicycling to volunteer work and golfing.
