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Last updated: March 18, 2022
While having birds around in the front or backyard is a wonderful thing (for me at least), you would want them to stay away from the porch, for various reasons.
Perhaps the biggest reason is bird droppings, which can, in the long term, cause significant damage to your porch and surrounding area. Plus, bird droppings also don’t look and smell very good, and can carry diseases.
Additionally, bird nests on or close to your porch can increase the risk of fire and can block ventilation systems. In other words, birds nesting on the porch is something you want to avoid at all cost, because a porch should be a clean, pleasant and safe environment.
In this article, I am going to share 10 practical tips to keep birds from nesting on your porch.
10 Ways to Keep Birds off the Porch
In no particular order, here are ten ways to keep birds, such as pigeons, crows and sparrows, off the porch and have them nest elsewhere.
All of the below measures are designed to make the porch to be perceived as a less attractive, or less safe, space for birds to nest.
1. Wind Chimes
Using wind chimes is a great and effective way to keep birds off your porch, and may even be considered a nice outdoor decoration piece.
The sound that wind chimes produce is what birds don’t like or are afraid of, even though those sounds aren’t aggressive or loud by any means.
Some wind chimes are designed to also create light reflections during the day when the sun is out, which is another way to keep birds away.
2. Decoy Predator
A classic scarecrow may be a bit excessive, but a fake lifelike predator can do the same job just as well, while not negatively affecting the aesthetic appeal of your porch.
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A plastic owl or hawk decoy is perfectly suitable as a fake predator figure, as most birds will try and stay far away from owls and hawks.
Decoys are a low-cost, easy-to-install, and simple-to-use solution for pest bird problems around the porch.
3. Strategic Bird Feeder
If your outdoor space, your backyard, is large enough, you can use a traditional bird feeder and place it as far away from your porch as possible.
This is a good solution for those who do enjoy having birds around, but just not on the porch or anywhere near the actual house.
You may need to use one of the other measures on this list to further minimize the chances of birds choosing your porch as a nesting place, if you do decide to place a bird feeder in your yard.
Have a look at our list of bird feeder types to see all the different designs you can choose from.
4. Citrus Repellent
Bird don’t like certain smells, and citrus is one of them. A citrus-based repellent will work wonders in keeping birds away from the porch area.
Other smells birds don’t really appreciate at all are essential oils, cayenne pepper, garlic, and vinegar.
Of these smells, citrus and vinegar might be the best solution, because humans typically don’t have any issues with them.
5. Remove Nest Building Materials
This one might sound super obvious, but you might be surprised how good birds are in collecting materials to build their nests.
Even if you think your porch area, garden and backyard are clean and tidy, birds will always find twigs, leaves and other things to help creating their nesting spot.
So, have a good look around in your outdoor space and pick up anything that may be used by birds.
Make sure to do this clean up process regularly because twigs and leaves reappear much quicker that you might anticipate.
6. Bird Spikes
Birds will typically do a bit of “research” in an area before deciding to nest in a specific spot. They will try and perch to test out a nesting spot candidate.
Bird spikes are extremely effective in keeping those birds away in that testing phase, so you won’t have a problem with birds trying to build nests.
Spikes come in various different shapes and sizes, and some can simply be glued while others will need to be drilled and mounted with screws.
7. Reflective Tape
Wrapping reflective tape around sections of your porch, railings, or fences, is a simple yet very effective way to keep birds away from those areas.
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Reflective tape typically has a bright diamond pattern that reflects the sunlight, and often makes a light sound in the wind. This type of repellent is completely harmless to birds, and surely keeps them away.
Reflective tape is not the only option though. Any other reflective products such as mirrors, CDs, pinwheels will be helpful in keeping birds off your porch.
8. Bird Netting
Use purpose-designed bird netting to close off open areas above or under the porch, with the help of a staple gun.
This will prevent birds from choosing those secluded and hidden spaces to build their nests.
Copper mesh also works really well as a type of netting, and is specifically useful to cover small areas such as narrow openings and holes.
9. Ultrasonic Device
Another idea is to use a device that emits ultrasonic sounds when birds, or other wildlife, come close to this device.
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I personally have never tried this method, but so many people claim that it actually works really well.
Just be mindful that these devices not only “target” birds, but also other animals and pets such as dogs and cats.
10. Pets
Okay, this one is a bit of a tongue in cheek measure. But seriously though, if you do have a cat at home, let it roam around the porch and I can guarantee you that your porch will remain bird free.
Once birds can see that there is a real predator lurking in the porch area, they’re going to stay away.
A dog can of course be useful in this regard too, although a dog will have a more playful attitude towards birds, whereas a cat will instinctively try and prey on birds.
