You can appreciate a bird from a distance, but when they invade your space it can lead to a variety of issues. Bird droppings are corrosive, which can cause serious damage to your property over time – not to mention it just looks untidy and gross. They can ruin any fruit and veg you’re trying to grow by eating the seeds and their nesting can be disruptive. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to keep pesky birds away and avoid all of these issues. Here are 6 harmless and humane ways to keep birds away from your property.
1. Use Smart Technology
We live in an age of technology. This means that there is something for everything and ensuring that you have a bird-free environment is no exception. If you want to keep birds away from a specific area you should look into the various smart solutions out there. Some systems make use of ultrasonic frequencies to deter birds. These frequencies irritate the birds, causing them to eventually fly off. Another option is a device that identifies different bird calls by recording and recognizing the calls (like Shazam for music). It then plays the appropriate bird’s warning and danger calls, effectively chasing the bird away. You wouldn’t want to stay in an area where there is danger, the same applies to birds.
2. Install Bird of Prey Decoys
If the technological route doesn’t appeal to you, the old faithful decoy route, like scarecrows is a great way to get birds to keep their distance. Installing things like owl decoys can give the impression that an owl lives on your property. Birds will opt to avoid areas that they know are actively occupied by birds of prey. Some owl decoys have eyes that flash at night, mimicking an owl, while others make jerking movements every now and then, effectively scaring birds away. These are often solar-powered. You’ll need to move it around every 3 days to keep up the illusion and keep the birds away. Another decoy to consider is a bird of prey kite. Birds have a natural instinct to cower and flee at the site of a bird of prey as it flies over. Having a kite in the shape of a bird of prey will keep birds away from your property.
3. Roosting Spikes
If you have a problem with birds roosting on your property, roosting spikes could be a good idea. These are an especially good option for homes that have tons of surfaces where birds might choose to stop by and rest. Roosting spikes are a deterrent that you can install on a surface where you tend to find birds resting and potentially even nesting. The intention is not to hurt birds, but rather to make the area uncomfortable. The prickly uneven surface makes it irritating for them to balance on the surface, so they simply fly off to find somewhere better to perch.
4. Motion Activated Sprinkler
One of the most humane ways to keep birds away is with motion-activated sprinklers. An unexpected shower of water coming from a noisy source is enough to scare them away for a little while. The great part about them being motion activated is that they only stay on for a short time. This doesn’t waste water as it only stays on while it detects motion. These sprinklers have adjustable settings that allow you to adjust the sensitivity of the motion as well as the duration of the spray.
5. Remove Food Sources
Another way to make your property less appealing to birds is to get rid of their food source. Depending on the type of birds you have on your property, the food source will differ. This requires a little bit of reading up. Some birds go for things like grain and fruit, while others go for certain insects and worms. It is a good idea to watch what they are eating and to eliminate it that way. You can cover your fruit-producing plants with netting or install bug zappers and traps to get rid of insects.
Birds are easily frightened by anything that moves quickly and in an unnatural way. If they can’t make sense of it, they aren’t interested in sticking around to find out what it is. The moving light of a laser is unnatural and unpredictable, causing them to assume that it is something dangerous and fly away.
There are plenty of humane and harmless ways to keep birds away from your property. It is important to consider what your needs are including what sort of property you are trying to keep the birds away from. With all of these options, we hope that you find one that works for you.