Home Bird Control

[verticalhorizon]

Does anyone have any suggestions for humane ways for bird control around your deck or patio?

I found this product by Bird-X, but it seems expensive. $100 for a gallon.

It seems my small apartment patio is a haven for birds, clearly evident by their gifts they leave behind. The rafters above are open leaving them plenty of room to roost. I gotta get rid of them!

Thanks.

 

[JCJD]

Hi VH! Do you happen to know what kind of birds they are? European starlings? Grackles? Crows? Pigeons? Sparrows? Also, do you live in a city or town, or out in the country (outside city limits)? What area of the country?

Thanks in advance for the info! I'm studying animal behavior in graduate school right now, so hopefully I can come up with some environmental modifications that will help.
JCJD

 

[JCJD]

Oops! Should have read more carefully.

So, you're in an apartment, in a building with open rafters. Any way you can convince your landlord to close them up? There are tons of citations that you can find on the web about bird-borne illnesses if you can't convince them otherwise...

Mylar streamers might be a good deterrent for roosting birds - the streamers rustle in the wind and will touch the birds while they're trying to sleep, encouraging them to find a new roost. And streamers can double as party decoration!

If your city simply has a large population of these birds, they probably will have to move pretty far from your patio to find an open spot, so they might resist moving for a while. Let me know the other information I asked about previously, and I'll try to think of some more solutions.

JCJD

 

[verticalhorizon]

Thanks for answering. I'm not sure what kinds of birds they are. I rarely seem them in the act... I just get to appreciate the aftermath. I suppose the majority of probably pigeons and small birds.

Although as it turns out there is a bird sanctuary behind our apartments. I'm in the mid-atlantic... Northern VA to be precise. It's a suburb of DC, but certainly not like those suburbs of 1950's New York. The metro area is pretty dense.

The management company is going through and replacing portions of the porches, but I think it's only the railings. I asked them about the open rafters and they said there was nothing they could do.

Where would you suggest I research bird borne illnesses in order to strong-arm them into a solution. I think eliminating the rafters would go a long way to eliminating the problem. Maybe I can petition the rest of the complex?!

I was also considering installing some wire mesh with some carpet staples and enclosing the space myself. The only problem is, if a bird were to get in there anyway (from the deck above?) the wire mesh would only make it easier for them to roost.

When I moved in a little while ago, there actually was a (unpopulated) birds nest and 2 wasps nests which would lead me to believe that the apt was vacant for awhile.

I've seen the mylar streamers and wasn't sure how good that would be. I've also seen other visual deterrents like owl statues and predator balloons. Of course, I had assumed there would be some commercially available home remedy that involved scent.

I appreciate any help you could give me. Thanks.

 

[JCJD]

Hmmm.... I've read somewhere that the scents of predators, like wolf or cat urine, can be effective avian deterrents. But you probably wouldn't be too popular with the neighbors if you sprayed that all over your porch!!

If you can manage it, I'd suggest you take pictures of the birds when they're roosting, and pics of the aftermath, and as many as possible. That way, you can 1)ID the birds, and 2) demonstrate to the management (and perhaps a judge if necessary) that this is a serious problem.

I'm emailing you a copy of a paper I wrote for a conservation biology class in college about controlling starling populations. I reviewed some literature on trapping, shooting, poisoning, predator effigies, sound repellents, etc, so it should be useful (I hope!!). There are a few URL's in the reference section that I found useful. I hope they're still up and running.....

I think that the wire mesh would be effective. Just make sure you enclose the entire rafter-system so birds can't sneak in somehow. Perhaps wire mesh plus some sort of tactile deterrent (spikes or sticky material on all roosting surfaces), and maybe Mylar as well would be most effective. (might not be pretty though...) You might be able to talk the managers into paying for it, especially if you come armed with photos of the mass of birds and the aftermath plus a detailed list of specific bird-borne illnesses that could be transmitted if the birds stay there. If this situation endangers your health in any way, they're legally required to fix the problem with your patio, and they know it.

Most familiar among the bird-borne illnesses are West Nile virus and avian influenza, but wild birds can transmit salmonella and chlamydia to humans, as well as other viruses, bacteria, fungal infections, etc. I ran a google search for "zoonotic disease bird" and came up with lots of sites. Zoonotic diseases are simply diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans.
Here are a couple:
http://medicine.bu.edu/dshapiro/zoobird.htm
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_PS019
This one seems particularly good:
http://research.ucsb.edu/connect/pro/disease.html

Once you've identified what species of bird you've got on your patio, you can run a more specific search on their diseases, and make a stronger case for yourself.

Since it's getting late in the year, these birds might eventually migrate off of your patio to warmer climates, or they might search out a warmer place to roost in your city. However, they're still a problem and a health hazard for you now, and probably will be again next year. Good luck!!!

JCJD

 

[glitterata]

I control my home bird by offering him tasty treats such as broccoli and string beans when he does fun tricks.

(Actually, it's more like HE controls ME.)

(He's a parakeet.)

Okay, seriously--have you tried one of those plastic owls? I'm not sure if they actually work (JCJD, do you know?), but I see them on ledges around my neighborhood. Maybe if you put one up and moved it around every few days so the birds didn't get too used to it?

 

[verticalhorizon]

I wasn't sure about the plastic owl thing. I saw it at Home Despot. It doesn't seem like it should work. I mean, after all... birds pirch on statues right?

 

[yowahking]

If they are regular birds, they often do not like the smell of wd40. If they are pigeons, I suggest the not so humane bb gun. My area is very high end but has a pigeon problem. Many have spent big bucks on solutions only to have the pigeons sit next to the "owl" or the plastic strips on the roof. My wife will not let me shoot them, but Kmart's gun dept is starting to look good to me.

 

[fire&ice]

For Pigeons, the plastic owl worked for us. Not 100% - but did cut down the population.

 

[JCJD]

Yes, plastic owls will work IF, and ONLY if, you move them FREQUENTLY!!!! The birds will learn very quickly that it's not a real threat if it's in the same place all the time. Maybe even taking it inside occasionally.... Hee hee - that'll really freak them out!!!

I hadn't heard about the WD-40 smell... Anyone??

Since VH lives inside the city limits (and I'll assume you do too, Scott/ yowahking), shooting live animals is prohibited by law (check your local legislation). Also, you might want to check whether or not it is illegal to kill pigeons in your city at all, by poison even! Even though city pigeons (the Rock Dove) are the descendents of escaped pet birds, it is illegal in many cities and/or states to harm them. It is even illegal in many areas to kill the European Starling even though they are an introduced and invasive species!

Basically, if you don't want birds perching or otherwise congregating in your area, you have to make your area less appealing to them - remove or alter perch sites, remove food sources, introduce annoying or frightening stimuli to the area, stuff like that.

 

[Matata]

I'm sure the plastic owls will work for a short time...until a smarter pigeon comes along

 

[JCJD]

LOL!!!!!! What a great picture!! Where did you find it?

 

[verticalhorizon]

With the expression on that birds face it looks more like he's reading pigeon ****!