​How to Keep Birds Off the Porch?

Birds are beautiful and helpful around your home. Nothing feels better than hearing birds sing on a spring morning while having your coffee on the porch. But then, as beautiful as they are, birds can also become a nuisance when they decide to establish next to your patio or perhaps inside the porch. During the first few days, you might be excited about it. Later on, it could become a problem – at that point, it might be a bit too late. Therefore, learn how to keep birds off the porch before they actually settle in – prevention is better than dealing with the actual problem.

If you do overlook this problem and a bird does settle in, you better get ready for some hassle. You will never be able to nap, not to mention having that bird ruin your morning sleep as soon as the sun goes up. You will need to clean after the bird and deal with all those annoying and smelly droppings. In fact, some of his friends may even become aggressive – especially if they are hungry or have babies. The good news is you do have options and you can easily stop birds from nesting or keep birds away from the porch.

The first step makes perfect sense – avoid giving the bird any reasons to come back. Even if they are still there, you want to ensure they have no reasons to stay there. As you learn how to keep birds off the porch, you want to give them no reasons to come back at all. Therefore, this is the first step and not the last one. Begin with it and then work your way out – every bird will find the porch a hostile environment and will never return.

Get rid of nesting materials to keep birds off porch

This is not always going to help keeping birds off the porch, but it is worth a try. A bird will not fly miles away with a twig it can use for a nest. Instead, birds rely on materials nearby. Get rid of all these materials and they will stop nesting. For example, make sure there are no twigs or dead leaves around. The idea is to lose all the small things that could be used in nesting. Once you are done with the porch and the yard, move on to the surroundings.

Check all the trees around and go through their branches. If you can see branches extending nearby, this is one of the reasons wherefore birds hang around. They find good support to rest, hence the wide variety of droppings under trees. Trim these branches – it will not stop any bird from coming over, but at least you will no longer find their droppings everywhere. If you already have a nest there, it is pointless to learn how to keep birds from nesting on the porch or balcony – call a professional to relocate the birds.

How to get rid of birds on porch with a pest control repellent device

While there are other options available when figuring out how to deter birds from the porch, a repellent device is quick and efficient. Such devices can be found everywhere and they run with batteries or electricity. They emit high-frequency sounds that may not really disturb you. Instead, they will annoy birds. Most devices emit sounds that only animals can hear, so they will not cause any hassle – if you can hear these noises, simply turn the device on when you are not around.

This could be an issue if you have other pets around, such as a cat. The high frequency noise could irritate your cat and cause trouble. The good news is such devices emit short waved sounds. They will not be able to pass through walls either. If your cat is mostly indoors, there will be no problems at all.

How to keep birds from nesting on porch with shininess

A bit of shininess will help considerably in keeping birds away from the porch if you do it right. If the ultrasonic device is not suitable because of your pets, there are more ways to stop birds from nesting on the porch. Shiny stuff is highly reflective and will chase birds away. Yes, you read it right, light reflections can help to keep birds off your porch and garden. You can get something shiny from your home or simply look up online – you will find similar products specifically developed for bird proofing. Many of them are good looking and make great decorative items as well.

When these things are hit with light – usually just sunlight, they will sparkle. Reflections will annoy the birds because they feel disoriented. If these things feature spiraling motions and designs, they will literally confuse and frighten birds, so they will no longer come over. Throw in a decorative owl with shiny and reflective eyes and you will never have to worry about birds again. Scaring birds away with reflections will also be an excellent way to keep birds out of wreaths you having hanging on your porch.

How to keep birds from nesting on porch light?

First of all, birds are very fund of outdoor light. Here's why!

As we all know, flies and other bugs are drawn towards outdoor lights. Just have a look at your garden light once it's dark and you'll know what I mean. A bird however tends to see these bugs as flies as a happy meal. Building a nest on that porch light, would mean that the food will come to the bird instead of having to chase it. From the bird's point of view, it's the perfect place to build a nest.

Another advantage is that your porch light is seen as a nice, cosy and warm place to build a nest. If the porch has a roof, it's dry and the warmth of the light will be very welcome, especially in winter time. Outdoor lights are quickly picked up as potential nest building places, since these same lights are the perfect spot to perch. During perching, birds might realize this place could very well be perfectly suited to build its nest.

Well, in this article, you have already learned how to stop birds from building a nest on your porch light. Use bird repellents, shiny things, ultrasonic devices, mirrors, bird netting, bird spikes and wind chimes and your you will keep birds from nesting on the porch light. You could also try to make it as hard as possible for the bird to build a nest on the light, by attaching irregular plastic forms on top of the light. This will remove the flatness of the porch light top and will result in making this place very unattractive to build a bird nest.

Just make sure you act fast when finding a birds nest on your porch light. Once the bird's eggs are in the nest, it is prohibited by law (and thus illegal) to remove the eggs from the nest.

Move your bird feeder away

Everyone loves a bird. While they can get annoying and you do need to find out how to keep birds off the porch, you still want their beautiful chirps around your house. At this point, you simply cannot complain about droppings if you feed birds right next to your porch. Feeding them will not just make them leave droppings all around, but they will also come back for more. If they keep coming around, move the bird feeder somewhere else – take it in the backyard to a place that makes them less invasive. Sure, there will still be droppings around it, but at least they are out of your porch.

To add even more diversion to birds, you can also bring in a birdbath close to the bird feeder. This way, birds will be successfully isolated far from the home. Get rid of any food leftovers from the porch or they will peck on these things – even if the feeder is actually full. While this step may take a bit of planning and preparation, patience and persistence will help you succeed. This is the most efficient way to keep birds around, but without letting them invade your porch.

How to scare birds away from porch with wind chimes

Wind chimes give your home a feng shui spirit – a bit of wind and those crystalline noises will tickle your ears in a pleasant way. The sound might be pleasant for you, but it is one of the most annoying things for birds. When choosing the right model, opt for something shiny that will also reflect light – another issue for birds. The higher the noises are, the better. Birds will be pushed out of the porch while your ears will love the relaxing noise.

You can even create your own DIY wind chimes – get some old CDs and some sparkling materials. They may not be as efficient as the real thing, but they make a good temporary solution. All in all, this method works for most types of birds, but especially on brown grass birds or pigeons.

Get some mirrors

Mirrors are all about shininess. Place a large mirror on a wall or multiple small mirrors around the porch. Glass elements here and there will also help, as glass is highly reflective too. The reflective results will annoy birds, so they are less likely to come close. Place mirrors in different positions – one opposite to another to ensure an even better effect.

Experiment a little when not sure how to keep birds off the porch – find the perfect arrangement and stick to it.

Change your lighting fixtures and add bird spikes

Sometimes, the secret to keep birds from nesting on the porch is in your light. There is no food left around the porch whatsoever. There are no trees around it or loose branches, so there are no reasons for birds to come over. With all these, you may still observe how a bird keeps building a nest on porch. The porch provides a bit of shelter and some warmth, so it makes a perfect choice for birds looking for a safe place to leave their eggs. Moreover, the light in your porch emits even more warmth – this is why many birds build their nests close to lighting sources.

At this point, you can make your lighting fixtures more annoying with various extras. For instance, some bird spikes near the fixture will help. Opt for some clear spikes or spikes designed in the color of your porches – otherwise, they will make it look bad. Plastic spikes are also better looking. We suggest you to have a look at Amazon's large variety of spikes.

Using a spray to keep birds off porch

There are more types of sprays out there and some of them are better than others. When not sure how to keep birds from nesting on the porch, a citrus repellent will work wonders. Not only does it come with a fresh smell to refresh the porch, but it also works against birds. You make the porch smell good and you get rid of birds and droppings.

You can make such a solution yourself too – just make sure it is based on citrus fruit. Get some lemon juice, dilute it into the water, pour the mix into a spraying bottle and refresh everything. Commercial sprays contain more chemicals than a homemade spray. Those chemicals could be harmful for you and your pets, but also for birds – therefore, stick to something organic. As if all these were not enough, the citrus smell will also help against the smelly droppings.

How to keep birds away from patio – Make it sticky

Learning how to keep birds off the porch is quite easy because all you have to do is annoy them. When annoyed, they will find your porch to be hostile, so they will leave by themselves. You can make it difficult for birds to rest or land on a surface in a few different ways. Apart from bird spikes – which can be dangerous for pets or even yourself, a bird gel repellent will make everything easier.

There are more options on the market and they are specifically designed against birds. Most of these gels can withstand all weather conditions and cover large areas. They are transparent too, so they are less likely to affect the appearance of your porch.

Apply a very thin layer. You do not want birds to get stuck and die there. Instead, you want them to panic and understand that there might be a danger if they come back. Sooner or later, they will get the message. Once on such a surface, they will have to break free and struggle a little. Since such gels are quite sticky, use gloves to apply them. Otherwise, you may need to wash yourself for days in order to get rid of everything.

Let the predators out

Nothing beats a real predator when trying to figure out how to keep birds from making nests in unwanted places. If you have pets, let them out at times, but keep an eye on them. A cat will most likely try to catch some birds, while your dog may chase them around. Such a real danger will inevitably chase birds away. You should keep an eye on your pets when they are free outside, as you do not want to kill birds. Plus, some birds are protected by federal laws. Therefore, the intentional or wrongful death of such a bird on your property could put you in trouble.

It may take a few days for birds to realize the presence of a real danger, but they will stop coming over eventually. This solution could be a temporary one though, so you should mix it with others. Some cats or dogs, for instance, could get used to the birds. At some point or another, they will stop chasing them.

Final words

As a short final conclusion, learning how to keep birds off the porch is not as difficult as it may seem. Any of the above mentioned options is likely to work. Mix in a few different options and chances are birds will be chased away in no time. If you still have no success, you can always look for pest control services. They have their own mix of deterrents to control wildlife and keep that birds of your porch.

Remember that killing birds is not just unethical, but it could also be illegal. Plus, it is never going to work – other birds will take over, so it becomes an ongoing cycle. Therefore, the best way to get rid of birds on your porch is to prevent them from coming over in the first place.​