Summer and spring months are warmer and it is the time migratory bird species return around. It is a great time for people to enjoy bird watching as well as listening to birdsongs.
While this is a soothing experience, it also comes with own problems when birds turn your patio into a bird’s nest. You have to deal with the annoying bird droppings that stain furniture or the new fresh paint on your patio.
The worst-case scenario is when you encounter irritating bird lice that drop on the patio as birds flap their wings.
Most homeowners do not mind birds having any other part of their property as long as the patio, porch and the swimming pool remains pristine. But because you do not want to entirely keep them off your property, there are several ways of keeping birds away from your porch or patio, without harming them.
How to Keep Birds Away
You can keep birds away from your porch, patio or deck easily through the following ways:
1. Use some repellant
In as much as birds feed on almost every wild fruit in the jungle, there is one fruit type that does annoy them; citrus fruits. Use a repellant formula with the strongest citrusy fragrance. Lemon-flavored repellant is strong and will not fade away easily, compared to other flavors like orange thus the best to buy.
You can even make one at home by mixing lemon juice with some water in a spray bottle. Spray it during the day and you can rest assured your perky friends will keep off the patio. This is a natural tactic of sending away birds without harming them.
2. Utilize wind chimes
Ideally, wind chimes are meant to provide mild soothing sounds similar to the ones produced by birds. What you may not realize is that these wind chimes can also act as bird repellents. Sounds produced by wind chimes are only soothing to humans while it is a real nuisance to birds and other animals.
You can go even farther and paint the wind chimes brightly and this will scare away the birds even before they think of perching on them. A great example of such wind chime is hanging old CDs. The extra shiny look of CDs is very annoying to birds and other small animals like squirrels.
3. Make the surface sticky
Birds get annoyed when you make their perching, landing, and roosting difficult for them. This is because they interpret this as a way of predatory trickery. There are cheap natural sticky bird repellant gels that you can choose from.
They are applied on patio rails and you do not have to worry about weather elements. Ensure you put on some gloves because these are a bit sticky and can give you headaches when cleaning them off your hands.
But even as you do this, keep the repellant coating thin so that you do not end up messing with the paint.
4. Install some irritating lighting
As previously noted, birds do not like the sight of bright lights. With this in mind, you can install some brightly colored lights on the patio. This works best in the evening since birds will be discouraged from perching on the rails. This way, you can be sure you will not find any bird droppings on your patio in the morning.
Brightly colored lights also work by discouraging any would-be intruder and this is more security for you and your family. The only disadvantage with this method of keeping birds off your patio is that it does not work during the day. Also, with very bright lights come inflated monthly energy bills.
5. Use a large decoy bird
All birds fear big birds such as crows, hawks, and owls. They see the bigger birds as predators, hence making a large decoy bird a great idea to keeping sparrows off your patio. You can buy these from the outdoor décor outlets and they also come in many designs and types. They can even be in the form of small animals like snakes, cats, and dogs.
The best thing about such decoys is that you can easily make them through the DIY methods. Ensure to keep changing the position and posture of these decoys otherwise, some smart birds like fowls will discover your trickery.
6. Keep perching items off the patio
When perky birds are constantly perching on your patio, the first thing you should do is to go back to the drawing board. Evaluate the framing design of your patio to see if there are things that can support or act as building blocks for a bird’s nest.
Upon discovering these loopholes, you should act swiftly and get rid of such items. At the same time, remove the nests and relocate them to places where you would not mind the presence of birds.
Should you suspect the presence of bird’s chicks, you should call in wildlife services to carefully remove the nests without compromising the safety of these young ones.
7. Keep the bird feeder away from your patio
The same kindness you have been extending to these amazing little creatures is the same reason your deck has been taking a lot of beating from droppings and bird lice. This is because as the birds gather around the feeder, they are at the same time dropping their poop on your patio rails and floor.
To do away with birds’ presence on your patio, place the feeder somewhere else on the property. It should be a place where you would not mind sweeping the droppings. Go extra with this hack and place a birdbath close to the feeder to discourage fowls from visiting the swimming pool area.
8. Let the pets take over
Pets and birds have never seen eye to eye and will not start now. Letting your pets play and spend more time on the patio can go a long way in keeping pesky birds off. To encourage the presence of pets on the patio, place some cozy rugs.
The only disadvantage is that a cat will get used to the birds and stop chasing them, over time. On the other hand, pets like dogs may be hard to keep them on the patio for long. This trick works best only when you are around to keep the pets company, otherwise they will not stick around long enough.
9. Paint the surface shiny
On the off chance that you have numerous canines and felines, the ultrasonic gadget is out of the window. You can investigate different methods for pushing the fowls away.
Start by draping some intelligent and sparkling stuff on your entryway and the patio itself. You can buy a portion of these items online that are completely custom fitted for birds proofing.
One of my top choices is the Homescape Creations Bird Repellent Scare Rods. Every one of the spiraling poles is 15-inch long and best to join on your patio without interfering with your entryway.
At the point when the poles are hit with light, it will shimmer and the reflection will confuse the winged animals. It will startle them particularly if the bars are moving in a spiraling movement. You can combine it with an owl fowl repellent from a similar brand for most extreme approaches to keep off winged creatures on the patio.
10. Install a repellant device
Birds repellant devices produce high-frequency pitches that are only annoying to birds. The wavelength is a short wave, and this means it cannot penetrate the walls to your house so you do not have to worry about your safety and that of your family.
These devices are cheap and readily available in outdoor décor stores. They are either batteries or electrically powered. With these, you can be sure birds will no longer perch on your patio.
11. Keep your patio clean
Birds perch on patio rails for various reasons. The main reason is the availability of items and structures to perch on and build nests. They also come to eat the pellets on the feeder. If you do not have a feeder but the birds keep on coming to your nest, it then means there is an underlying issue.
For example, food may encourage the growth of pests and this will attract birds on your patio. To prevent this scenario, keep your patio as clean as possible and remove anything that would harbor the growth of pests. Besides, cleaning your patio is one of the many ways to maintain it for prolonged service.
