How to Scare Birds Away

Advice On Getting Rid of Birds

Birds can become a major issue if they are not kept under control which is why many of our clients ask us about deterring birds and how to do it in an effective way. It’s difficult to find a solution that keeps birds away, so we have collected some bird prevention tips for you to scare unwanted and annoying birds away from your property. We will also reveal what techniques work only for a short period of time. An important thing to keep in mind is that if birds know they won’t be harmed, they don’t go away.

Our tips can be applied to scare birds away from multiple areas of your property and will help you learn:

• How to scare birds away from the garden
• How to keep birds away from the roof
• How to keep birds from apartment balconies
• How to keep birds off fences

Deterring Birds Before It Becomes a Bigger Issue

Pest birds can be annoying and distracting, their nest can obstruct important areas, their droppings can carry serious transmittable diseases and they can easily get into your loft or chimney. The more birds there are, the bigger the issue is. But what are pest birds? Pest birds are pigeons, crows, robins, sparrows, woodpeckers and starlings. They are mostly attracted to food sources – even pet food left outside – and water sources, such as the fountain in your garden.

There are a few anti-bird products on the market that can keep birds away – some of them pricier than others. Natural solutions can work very well, such as falconry, because this solution works by using larger, birds of prey to intimidate smaller birds. But let’s see what other options are out there, shall we?

How Not to Attract Birds?

A simple way to keep birds away from your property is to make the area as unattractive for pest birds as possible in the first place.

By simply cutting all water sources or changing the water in your fountain from freshwater to saltwater means they can’t drink it. Don’t feed your pets outdoors or remove all leftovers once your beloved pets are done with feeding.

Another option is a little garden maintenance. Some birds like to take cover in grass when the weather conditions are rough, so if you are trying to establish how to keep birds away from the garden, it is one small, recommended step to keep your grass mowed, and any hedges and trees trimmed to remove possible cover.

When you see that a pest bird is building its nest, eliminate it with a broomstick or similar. If you do this a few times, the birds will go and look for another nesting place.

IMPORTANT - Don’t try this if the nest is already built, as it is against the law in the UK to destroy or harm any birds, bird nests or eggs. You can contact a wildlife exclusion company for more information or to remove the nest.

What Scares Birds Away and What Doesn’t?

Birds can be frightened easily, although they won’t be kept away permanently if they are not scared enough for their life to return. Let’s look at some of the methods for deterring birds out there, and their effectiveness long and short-term.

1.      Fake Predators

Fake predators, such as fake owls or eagles keep birds away because they are considered birds of prey and will prevent nuisance birds landing or trying to nest near them. This is a temporary solution as birds will eventually realise that the predator is not moving, therefore it’s not causing harm to them. A real predator of course would work best because its scent would mark the territory and keep unwanted birds away.

2.      Bird Spikes

Bird spikes can be quite effective, although it is not aesthetically pleasing. This is more common in urban areas, and they won’t harm the birds. The effectiveness of this solution is mediocre, as they do work most of the time, although birds can still land in-between the spikes. Bird spikes are useful to keep birds off the roof or from apartment balconies.

3.      Strong Scents

Birds also hate strong scents and smells, such as essential oils or even pepper. This solution sounds easy, although you must cover all their living area to make the space uncomfortable. This kind of solution may scare birds from a garden, but is obviously more difficult in the city and therefore if you are trying to secure a large office in an urban area, other options might be best.

4.      Shiny Objects

It’s not known why birds hate shiny objects, but one theory is that they fear their own reflection and when the sun reflects these shiny objects, it bothers the eyes of the birds.

Placing shiny objects to keep birds off the roof is very time consuming and a short-term solution. If the area you are trying to protect from birds is relatively small however, you can try and place aluminium foil over the areas covered in droppings. Hanging up shiny objects at high areas in your garden can also help, but again, it’s not a long-term solution.

5.      Do Windchimes Scare Birds?

The sudden noise of windchimes may assist in helping you to keep birds away from your garden and is a quick and easy way to start out with deterring birds at low cost. 

Birds don’t like sudden movements or loud noises so they would get at least a little bit scared by an object moving and making sounds all of a sudden. But a wind chime is not strong enough to make very loud noises or intimidate the birds, it will simply just be unpleasant to them and they will get used to it. In a heavily commercial area, this solution will not work at all, as birds are pretty much used to the noise caused by people and vehicles.

6.      Fishing Wire

Running fishing wire over your garden pond in a criss-cross pattern can help stopping birds landing near the area. They don’t like the impediment to their flying space, and this is a great solution to help keep birds away from the garden and taking any of your fish.

7.      Baking Soda

If you are wondering how to keep birds away from apartment balcony, try pouring baking soda on your patio area or windowsills can keep them away as they don’t like the feel of it under their toes. You can also try this with double sided bird deterrent tape and see what works better for you.

8.      Bird Netting

Bird netting is a simple solution to physically exclude pest birds from unwanted areas by draping bird nests over it. To prevent them getting through the net, make sure to choose the right size of the mesh on the net and keep in mind what kind of bird you are trying to keep away. A smaller sized bird will need a tighter mesh than a larger bird, like a pigeon.

9.      Auditory Bird Deterrents

Auditory bird deterrents can be expensive, but they are one of the best options out there when you are trying to figure out how to scare birds away. The hearing of birds is much better than humans’ – birds can hear in the 1-4 kHz range.

Sound bird deterrent devices are designed to emit distress calls and predator growls to confuse pest birds and deter them. Some of these devices also have a motion sensor and it’s being activated when birds fly nearby. It is recommended to place these somewhere on the corner of your property at a high point, facing outwards. This is to exclude the deterrent being activated by a squirrel or a cat.

TIP – We recommend turning the device off time to time, because birds will eventually realise that there is no such predator nearby, it’s just the confusing sound.

Deterring Birds with Falconry

For the best results, it’s recommended to utilise predators in the form of falconry, which uses birds of prey to incite the flight or fight response in smaller birds in a natural way through fear and instincts.

How To Keep Birds Away with Birds of Prey

Placing a predator on your roof will send the message to smaller birds that the territory is already occupied, and they will avoid going close because they will be scared to be harmed or even killed by a bigger and more powerful bird. This way of deterring birds is natural and effective in the long-term.

Before you decide on a potential bird deterrent, you can always try the home DIY ideas especially if you want to keep birds off a fence or away from the garden. Overall, the more deterrents you use around your property, the more birds you will keep away. Sometimes, the best solution is to turn to specialists in the field, who will save you time and hassle.

Need Help with Bird Control?

Regional Environmental offers solutions for all bird, bird waste/fouling and pest control problems in the whole of London, Salisbury and surrounding areas with a real understanding of the issue. For all your bird problems from waste removal to bird prevention get in touch with us today by calling 0208 045 0445 or 0845 053 1662 outside office hours.

Regional Environmental provides a comprehensive pest control service. Contact us to find out more.