Bird Management

[Black_Fly]

Birds make a mess of our carport - it’s like their own condo. I tear nests out every day. This is the heavy season. So now, I’m tarping my canoe, trying to devise a cover for the entire rack and its occupants. I’m wondering if there’s not an effective deterrent to settlement. Maybe used cat litter. They just pooped on the fake owl I tried. Not sure if birds act on scent but I’m going to give cat litter a shot. So far I’ve tried foam, wire, the plastic owl, smoke, water, noise and constant nest clearing. If baby chirps emerge, I admit defeat and leave the brood to occupy.

 

[clemency]

What are they building nests on? Put in wood blocks to make it less attractive?

 

[lowangle al]

They not only build nests on the decks of my overturned boats but one persistent robin kept trying to build on where the center thwart meets the hull.
I've seen posted here somewhere that you can put a beachball in your stems to displace them.

 

[Sedges]

We have had a problem with Phoebee building nests and messing up an outdoor kitchen at a local park. Black rat snake being great climbers and a major bird predator, we entwined a length of black rubber hose in the rafters. We have been Phoebee free for several years now. Works with Wrens in the canoes, too. There are fake plastic snakes on the market, but a ready to discard piece of hose worked fine for free.

 

[CaptainOllieWest]

Try a bobblehead owl decoy.

 

[Boatman53]

A neighbor put a couple of rubber snakes in strategic locations, they will not be back till after nest building has begun so I’ll let you know if they work.
Jim

 

[Odyssey]

It's too easy for me to criticize an anti-avian thread being somewhat of a twitchy-bird lover, but I do sympathize, since we park our 2 black cars directly under a tall oak tree every day. When the squirrels aren't plinking them with acorns the birds are adorning them with splat.
I wonder if your carport design can be adjusted slightly to deter them? Some birds will fly directly to/from their nests (starlings, robins) while others will swoop under and search for roosts (swallows). What birds decorate your boats? I draw the bird-loving line at pigeons. Have at er.

 

[RBourg]

When wrens build nests in my endcaps it just means I am not paddling enough. Seriously though, maybe try some rubber snakes??

 

[Black_Fly]

I put old cat litter in one end. They just nest on top of it. Snakes it is!

Not an anti avian thread, and I’ve planted enough trees on my lot to qualify for the Audubon Society habitat enhancement award,

 

[ScottS]

Robins get ridiculously aggressive during mating season. They will attack their own reflection, smacking into house windows and crapting all over car windows and mirrors that are close to their nesting site.

 

[Black_Fly]

Our garbage can gets so nasty my wife won’t take it out. We’ve never been able to utilize the space without covering, hosing, power washing. So far, denying them sedate nesting is the only way to mitigate the white paint on everything. I’ll rake the nests out every day for a couple months, then weekly. Now I’m googling rubber snakes.

 

[Occidental]

Bird spikes have worked for me.

 

[sailsman63]

I've also seen birds build nest right on top of the spikes.

How much modification is possible with the carport? Permanent structure, or one of those prefab things?

Classically, people would paint their porch ceilings a light sky blue to deter nesting. The theory is that it triggers the birds' "It's open sky/not sheltered/not safe" response. I haven't had opportunity or cause to test this, but might be worth some research.

 

[stripperguy]

Does the carport have open rafters and soffits?
It doesn’t take much time or money to box them in and eliminate the issue forever. I had the same problem when I first finished building our new house, left the carport unfinished in the spring and had bird condos everywhere.
Side benefit to boxing in, the carpenter bees and paper wasps no longer hang around either

 

[jdeerfoot]

As soon as we added a door hood over the back door, the local birds began to attempt construction of their nest on top of the light under the hood. From a bird’s perspective this was an ideal place for a nest - out of the weather with nighttime warmth from the dusk-to-dawn light and a great view of our tastefully landscaped backyard.

I am proud of my repurposing creativity. I made my own bird spikes from the wire guard off a defunct fan. Bungee cord it in place and birds setup shop for the spring nesting season someplace else.

 

[gumpus]

There's something wrong with your ecosystem. Try adding chipmunks.

 

[Black_Fly]

Cleaned the nests out today and a thought occurred to me: Can a person catch bird flu from breathing in nest litter? Adding a N95 mask to my nest remediation gear.

 

[Boatman53]

Never hurts to be careful.
Jim