birds wont stop building nests on my porch!!!

ranger7489

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This happens twice a year without fail. The same bird keeps trying to build a nest under my porch. Ive tryed EVERYTHING, I covered the area with wood..they built around it... i drove very sharp nails up there, but they built on top of them, i sprayed it with a strong tree poison..nothin.... An even last year, i finially had had unuff of being attacked by these birds everytime i leave or come home . But now 5 months later the same bird is back with another male bird building another nest!!!

I'm not sure of the type of bird but it builds the nest of what appears to be mud and feathers. An i live in the woods (literitly my drive way is almost a mile long) so i know i cant really blame them, but my home is my home an im sick of getting bit by birds. Any advice?
 

strange_wings

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Mud nest - sounds like it may be a type of swallow. Can you screen in your porch? Then it would be cat safe. No more birds with cats on duty and screen in the way!
 
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ranger7489

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Mud nest - sounds like it may be a type of swallow. Can you screen in your porch? Then it would be cat safe. No more birds then!
No, my porch goes completely around my house an it would cost a fortune. An my cat doesnt even go onto the porch, shes an inside cat. I dont want to her to risk getting hurt by a wolf or getting ticks, ect..
 

gailc

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If you don't want the nest, keep on removing the nests. We have robins build two nests on my garden shed and one on a downspout and we remove the nests on my shed. Same with sparrows in the bluebird houses-we keep on removing the nests. The birds could be swallows?? BTW are you in the UP??
 
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ranger7489

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Originally Posted by GailC

If you don't want the nest, keep on removing the nests. We have robins build two nests on my garden shed and one on a downspout and we remove the nests on my shed. Same with sparrows in the bluebird houses-we keep on removing the nests. The birds could be swallows?? BTW are you in the UP??
Whats the UP?
 

strange_wings

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^I guess not? Surely you'd know if you lived in "da UP".
It means upper peninsula, btw.
 
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ranger7489

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

^I guess not? Surely you'd know if you lived in "da UP".
It means upper peninsula, btw.
I'll just say...If i ever need anything from home depot, walmart, ect..

Its an hour drive, an if im going home. I better have at least a half tank of gas to get back into town lol


It took some getting used to...
 

gailc

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You know in Michigan you are either a Yooper or a Troll so when I see Northern MI I think of the Upper Peninsula!!
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Ranger7489

I'll just say...If i ever need anything from home depot, walmart, ect..

Its an hour drive, an if im going home. I better have at least a half tank of gas to get back into town lol


It took some getting used to...
That's how it is here were I live, very very rural.
130 miles just to get to a home depot, but at least walmart is close.

When I lived in Michigan I lived right across the Bridge in St. Ignace - my mother and her family still lives in Cheboygen.
 
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ranger7489

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

That's how it is here were I live, very very rural.
130 miles just to get to a home depot, but at least walmart is close.

When I lived in Michigan I lived right across the Bridge in St. Ignace - my mother and her family still lives in Cheboygen.
I learned the hard way when me an my girlfriend first moved here...AAA is a good investment when you live at least 60 miles from a gas station
 

gailuvscats

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Do you have a porch light? My mother stopped birds from building nests on her porch by leaving the light on all night.
 

strange_wings

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The porch light is worth a try. You can also get these weird clicker things that are supposed to deter birds - though I'm not certain that they do... You could also try placing cheap fake rubber toy snakes near where they put nests.
 

calico2222

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Over the river and through the woods...
Aren't there some things you can buy that emit a high pitched noise that deters birds and rodents? Although, I don't know how the cats would react to that.

When I was growing up, we usually had birds build nests in the spring around the top of out porch and we loved it...until one build a nest in my mom's hanging flower pot which was right outside the door. I can't remember what kind of bird it was, but we did have to do the "duck and run" coming in and out of the house and it was annoying. We didn't go so far as shooting the bird though. We just moved the hanging basket. Guess you didn't have that option though.
 

pippy-pops

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Instead of trying to take down each and every nest they try to build, give them at least the option of a birdhouse outside of the porch. They are obviously looking for somewhere safe and protected to nest so putting up 2 or 3 ready made bird houses away from your porch might do the trick. I know here in the UK you can get ready made swallow houses in a local garden/nursery shop.

Perhaps that's the secret?
 

fwan

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Originally Posted by Pippy-pops

Instead of trying to take down each and every nest they try to build, give them at least the option of a birdhouse outside of the porch. They are obviously looking for somewhere safe and protected to nest so putting up 2 or 3 ready made bird houses away from your porch might do the trick. I know here in the UK you can get ready made swallow houses in a local garden/nursery shop.

Perhaps that's the secret?
This was going to be my suggestion, although i would not advise to shoot another bird
 

pippy-pops

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Originally Posted by fwan

This was going to be my suggestion, although i would not advise to shoot another bird
I have recently moved into a house (from a very small flat) and we welcomed the birds into the garden by providing them with a small feeding table and bird bath. We are also planning to put up some nesting boxes around the garden but have to be selective as to where we put them because we don't have any trees in our garden so it's rather open and the fence is our only option (but the children kick their ball against it - drives me potty - so it's also a good deterent to them to stop)
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I don't understand the problem of allowing a bird to build it's nest?
Birds carry diseases. Having nests around an area that people use (sit out on their porch, maybe even eat out there on nice evenings) and leaving droppings everywhere is a big health risk. They also carry mites.
 

pee-cleaner

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I've heard that if you spray PAM where they are trying to build, the mud won't stick. Other things to try: a small plastic snake put in the area they are trying to use, or an owl decoy.

We have swallows on our front and back porches. We love them. We simply install a "potty" (empty pizza box) a foot or so under where the nest is built to catch the droppings and then spend the summer watching nature in action.
 
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