outside bird problems?

Question

i live in a house and have a pool in the back yard, i also have 2 huge tree's 1 in back and 1 on the side, at night there are at least 400-500 birds in them all night long,and the bird poo is just terrible, i have to go outside every morning and wash off the bird poo on the walkway beside the house cause it's about an inch thick just from 1 nights worth,in the day time when the wind blows it blows the flakes and feathers all over the back yard and sometimes in the pool... is there anyway of getting rid of them without killing them, i dont want to kill them just want them to go away,, i've never had this kind of problem before, and it probably atract the snakes in the tree too,, please help me with non killing ideas here, thank you for reading this and thanks for future anwsers

Answer 1

I'm glad to know that you are interested in NON-lethal solutions to the problem, because any lethal solutions would be illegal. All native migratory birds in the US are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and many other countries have similar laws protecting their native species.

What you need are things to deter the birds from roosting in your trees. This will be difficult, as most passerines (perching birds) roost in trees.

First, make certain that - other than natural foods like insects, seeds and fruit - there are no sources of food that would be attracting them.

Then, start making the trees less friendly. Don't waste your money on fake owls. Birds catch on pretty quickly when the owls never move or make a sound. Tie ribbons to the trees, and leave long pieces of them flapping in the breeze. Mount pinwheels and whirlygigs in the area. Use ribbon (NOT thread, string or fishing line, that could injure the birds) to hang old CDs from the branches of the trees, and make sure the ribbon is long enough for the CDs to twirl in the breeze. Use anything that is in motion, that will not harm the birds.

Do not use things like mothballs. All that does is poisons your own environment.

Good luck!

Answer 2

The owls are a waste of time as the birds learn real fast they are fake. A loud noise just after the birds have settled in at the roost for the night. This will send them fleeing. OK, so you can't fires off firecrackers, M-80 or the smaller cherry bomb in your neighborhood without breaking the law. They do make air cannons that are designed for this purpose. They are not inexpensive so you will have to determine how much of a nuisance the birds are verses cost.

Answer 3

You could try getting an owl statuette and placing it outside between you trees. You may need 2 owls.
Find these at farm stores. Owls are used to scare off birds, and sometimes as Turkey decoys because a Turkey will gobble upon seeing one.

The tricky part is that your birds will notice that the bird doesn't move after a couple of days, and will know it isn't real. therefore you need to go outside each day and move the owl to another perch.
Some of these owls also have bobbing heads which will help to fool the birds.

Good luck.

Answer 4

John P gave a good answer however I would like to build on that one. I too use owl decoys but I buy them at Marine Stores and they use ones that move with the wind. We use them extensively at the marina to keep away the sea gulls.

Good One John!

I'm always interested in solving problems in a non-harmful way to our environment or creatures in which we share it with. This is a problem in which we can solve without poison or other "archaic" acts.

Thank you for asking this and I'm going to star it!

Answer 5

GET A SHOTGUN