Getting birds away from my window!

JoeUser · May 2008

Here's the situation: I live in a condo on the second floor of the building, and some birds have decided to make a nest right outside my window, behind the shutters.

This would be OK, except they chirp all the time, waking me up when I'm trying to take a nap or just sleep any time after dawn.

I don't want to knock out the nest if there are eggs or baby birds, but otherwise that might be an option. What can I do to keep them from returning and/or get them to leave?

Sarcastro · May 2008

a) Shoot them. Claim self-defence.

You're pretty much boned, other than nest removal. If there aren't any eggs, you could either push the nest (heartless bastard) or get an ultrasonic emitter (still pretty heartless). Or maybe get your own falcon. In which case they will be eaten, and you may as well have gone with option A above.

b) Earplugs.

LadyM · May 2008

Are you able to check if there are eggs or babies in the nest? (If it's hard to see around the shutter, maybe cobble together some MacGuyver type contraption involving mirrors?)

If there are no eggs/babies in the nest, you could just remove the nest. If there are eggs, you could take them and the nest away, if you wouldn't feel too bad about it. The parents will probably renest somewhere else and lay more eggs if you do this. If there are babies, there's pretty much nothing you can do, except bear it as best you can and get earplugs.

urahonky · May 2008

Don't use human urine. My roommate and I thought it would help our situation, so we tied a sock to a broom and peed on the end and mashed it around the nest... They came back... Actually they chirped more.

Honestly just remove the nest. That's probably the best option if you can reach it.

Trowizilla · May 2008

It shouldn't take too long for the baby birds to grow up and leave the nest. I mean, you could remove the nest and doom the babies, but I'm pretty sure that sends you straight to hell. Why not just get some earplugs and plug up the nesting hole once the birds move out?

Edit because I fail at expressing myself: Earplugs are obviously for your ears, not for plugging the hole.

DarkPrimus · May 2008

Whatever you do, DON'T let the baby birds grow up and leave the nest.

We've had bird nests in a planer at my mother's house for the past seven years because birds keep coming back there.

The Doctor · May 2008

Get a cat.

The Cat · May 2008

urahonky wrote: »

Don't use human urine. My roommate and I thought it would help our situation, so we tied a sock to a broom and peed on the end and mashed it around the nest... They came back... Actually they chirped more.

Honestly just remove the nest. That's probably the best option if you can reach it.

That... how did you think that was a good idea? Birds don't really respond to mammal body signals, apart from the signal generated by being et. Scents are for other mammals, and I'm pretty sure they're mostly only supposed to get the attention of members of the same species. And humans don't really work like dogs either! I'm laughing way too much :P

but yeah, you have to move the nest. Or you might have a chance of scaring them off by hanging scarecrow-like devices in the window frame. Strips of metallic streamers, things that make weird noises, etc. honestly though, just moving the nest is less effort.

Djiem · May 2008

Obviously, you could also just knock the nest off without checking first if there is anything inside of it. Yes, it's evil and cruel, and not everyone could bring themselves to do it, but I could, so I guess there are other people who could too.

bsjezz · May 2008

oh god i ignored this thread for a bit but then i saw your avatar

look at that guy. you can't possibly hurt the birds now, i'll be mad.

what sort of birds are they?

JoeUser · May 2008

bsjezz wrote: »

oh god i ignored this thread for a bit but then i saw your avatar

look at that guy. you can't possibly hurt the birds now, i'll be mad.

what sort of birds are they?

Haha, I noticed that right after I posted. I don't want to hurt the birds; I just want them to find somewhere else to nest! I don't know what kind they are, very small and chirpy.

If there's nothing in the nest, I'm just going to move it. My concern is then making sure they don't come back and just rebuild. Is there some kind of scarecrow-like thing that doesn't look terrible? Would a fake snake work?

Another restriction is that since this window is facing the outside of my condo complex, I can't put anything that's really tacky that's visible.

Thanks for the advice about the earplugs; I'll probably try that while I figure out a sustainable solution.

NightDragon · May 2008

Well, once the nest is removed, I was going to suggest placing some of those anti-pigeon "strips" there (not even sure what they're called, specifically - but they're these strips that you attach to places where birds might perch, and they've got these little plastic or wire spikes all over the place. It doesn't, like, mortally wound them or anything...but if they try to land they get poked and realize they can't stay there. If you can't find them, I'm sure you can make something similar. You can put it just behind the shutters, if you can reach...and have the spikes face out. )

[edit] something like this:

dokranim.jpg.w180h135.jpg

LadyM · May 2008

A fake owl might work. Most are really big, though. Maybe you can find a smaller one somewhere.

Daemonion · May 2008

I had this problem once. Not only was the bird nesting by my window, but it also kept ramming my window with it's head.

It knocked himself out and fell to his death, so the problem sort of fixed itself after a week.

My vote is for picking up the nest and putting it somewhere/tossing it.

BahamutZERO · May 2008

LadyM wrote: »

A fake owl might work. Most are really big, though. Maybe you can find a smaller one somewhere.

Fake predator birds like that work quite well from what I've heard.

tastydonuts · May 2008

Nightdragon is right... they're called Bird Spikes. If there are no eggs in the nest, you should just remove it. Remember to wear heavy gloves when doing so.

In certain areas (the valet/sitting area near a hospital I work at, for instance) what they put out are these spikey looking things all along the edges of the overhang. It keeps the birds from being able to land and perch on your window sill. Given the lack of a crusting on the marble around the overhang/seating area over the past few years I'd say they're pretty effective. However, if your landlord/whatever may have to approve them, since they're also very ugly and noticeable.

They cost anywhere from 15 - 50 bucks, looking off a Google price check.

Bliss 101 · May 2008

Since these birds "chirp", I'm going to assume they're small birds and thus not pigeons. Small birds are immune to pigeon spikes. They'll happily make their nest among the spikes as the spikes provide perfect support.

bsjezz · May 2008

yeah, they sound like sparrows

it's probably worth identifying them at least so you can google up some common solutions

urahonky · May 2008

The Cat wrote: »

urahonky wrote: »

Don't use human urine. My roommate and I thought it would help our situation, so we tied a sock to a broom and peed on the end and mashed it around the nest... They came back... Actually they chirped more.

Honestly just remove the nest. That's probably the best option if you can reach it.

That... how did you think that was a good idea? Birds don't really respond to mammal body signals, apart from the signal generated by being et. Scents are for other mammals, and I'm pretty sure they're mostly only supposed to get the attention of members of the same species. And humans don't really work like dogs either! I'm laughing way too much :P

I don't know! We were desperate!

It was actually pretty funny the whole time we were doing it. We were ASSUMING that they didn't like the smell of humans (if you hold a baby bird, doesn't the mother leave it to die or whatever?) so instead of farting on the sock and sticking it up there, we figured urine works.

It didn't. :P

Bliss 101 · May 2008

You can actually move a nest with baby birds in it and the parents won't necessarily abandon it, as long as you move it a short distance (a few meters max) at a time and into a comparable location (similar elevation, similar amount of cover). I don't know if that's an option in this case though.

The Cat · May 2008

Depends on the species, I think, and how established the nesting site is. There was a pigeon nest in the bouganvillea around my mum's pool, but mum got too close while watering the garden one day and the pigeon abandoned it (she hadn't laid anything yet). She didn't come back until the following year, and we kept our distance, and now she doesn't seem quite so picky. That's probably another argument for getting in early and shifting the nest.

Zsetrek · May 2008

The Cat wrote: »

Depends on the species, I think, and how established the nesting site is. There was a pigeon nest in the bouganvillea around my mum's pool, but mum got too close while watering the garden one day and the pigeon abandoned it (she hadn't laid anything yet). She didn't come back until the following year, and we kept our distance, and now she doesn't seem quite so picky. That's probably another argument for getting in early and shifting the nest.

I had a lark's nest in the tree growing against my bedroom window a few years back. I enjoyed having the birds there, but the mother was so freaked out by my close proximity that she never returned in later years in any case. So, OP, if you can wait it out for a few months, you'll probably never have to deal with it again (especially not if you move the empty nest).

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