Whether you have a large porch or small balcony, it’s likely that at some point in your life you will be dealing with bird poop. How to keep birds off your porch becomes more of a priority than you’d like it to be.
It can be frustrating to clean up after birds and even more frustrating when they come right back within minutes of cleaning. Birds are messy creatures and as much as we love them, we don’t want them on our porches.
And let’s face it. A front porch that is covered in bird droppings won’t have the best curb appeal.
So let’s discover how to get rid of birds where we don’t want them to land (and poop).
Luckily there are plenty of ways to deter birds and keep those pesky feathered friends away for good! We’ve done the research, finding the 10 best ways to keep birds off of your porch or deck.
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- What Attracts Birds to Your Front Porch, Anyway?
- 1 | Determine what you can move or change to discourage the birds
- 2 | Wind Chimes
- 3 | Shiny Things
- 4 | Spinners and Pinwheels
- 5 | Lemon Repellent
- 6 | Baking Soda
- 7 | Hot Pepper Repellent
- 8 | Fake Owl Decoys
- 9 | Sticky Surfaces
- 10 | Bird Spikes
- Conclusion: Keeping Pesky Birds Off Your Porch
What Attracts Birds to Your Front Porch, Anyway?
The most common types of bird species that hang out on front porches are Sparrows, Pigeons, Grackles, and Starlings.
These birds are usually drawn to porches because they offer a good place to perch and view their surroundings. There are some neighborhood doves and sparrows that enjoy gazing out from my deck railing on occasion. They may also be looking for food or water.
Nest-building is another reason why birds may be attracted to your porch. If you have a porch light fixture that is on at night, you may be attracting bugs which in turn will attract the birds.
How can you get rid of birds and keep the bird droppings away?
The best solution for how to keep birds, and smelly droppings, off your porch, is to make it less attractive to them. By making your porch less desirable with a bird repellent device (or more), these messy creatures will fly right on by. Hopefully.
1 | Determine what you can move or change to discourage the birds
Before you start purchasing any type of deterrents, take a look around your porch and yard. What do you see? Is there a bird feeder or perhaps bird baths nearby? Is there a tree or bush close to your porch? How to keep birds off your porch?
If you can, think about ways you can move or change these things to keep birds from nesting on your porch.
For example, if you have a bird bath on your property, try moving it to a location that is furthest away from the porch.
If you have bird feeders, try moving them to the front yard or the very back of the yard.
If you move the feeder as far away from your porch as you can and the birds are still hanging around your patio, you may have to eliminate it.
Another thing you can do is trim any trees or bushes that are close to your porch.
Remove materials that birds could use for building nests
Remove any leaves, twigs, or other materials that may be utilized by the birds as a nesting component. While you can’t literally cut down all the trees in your yard, if you keep the porch and sidewalks areas free of debris, it might help deter them from building a nest right there.
What colors do you have on your porch?
Birds are also attracted to certain colors, so if you want to stop birds flocking onto your porch, look around and see what you have there that might be attracting them.
For example, orioles and hummingbirds are attracted to things that are orange or red. Some birds, like blue jays and bluebirds, are attracted by the color blue, while others like green.
If you can, move or change these things use neutral colors instead. It could help!
If you’ve done the more obvious as noted above and the birds are still enjoying the porch or deck instead of you, consider one or more of the tips below.
Realistically, you’ll most likely have to use more than one repellent to effectively discourage your feathered friends from spending time on your porch. Just so you know. 🙂
2 | Wind Chimes
Wind chimes are typically made of metal that makes bell-like sounds when the wind blows through them. This is what scares many birds off, they don’t like this noise. If the wind chimes are shiny, even better.
Not only do these scare birds away, but wind chimes can also be very calming and relaxing for you, so it’s win-win. You might need to install more than one wind chime in order to see a result.
Be aware that if you live in a community with a homeowner’s association you’ll want to check and make sure that wind chimes are allowed. Some neighbors might not appreciate the sound, no matter how pleasant it is!
3 | Shiny Things
Birds can become disoriented with the motion and reflective light of a shiny rod or another type of deterrent. You can place a shiny object in an area where the birds might gather.
The motion and color contrast from something like this will keep them from returning to your porch time after time, and some of the bird deterrents can be pleasing decorative accents, too.
Shiny things are a great way to help prevent birds from landing on your porch.
4 | Spinners and Pinwheels
Spinner and pinwheels are also effective deterrents for birds on your porch. The spinning or circular motion confuses the bird’s sense of equilibrium, and they don’t like it.
In addition to the motion, some also make a bit of sound when fluttering in the wind. The birds find that less than appealing, which is what we want.
Some of these deterrents are reflective, which increases the likelihood of scaring away the birds. It becomes a shiny thing.
5 | Lemon Repellent
Birds don’t like citrus scents. To keep them from hanging around on your porch, try this simple lemon repellent.
In a spray bottle, mix the juice from a lemon with 1 quart of water. Shake the bottle well and then spray it like you would air freshener, or on any surfaces that you don’t want birds to land or sit on.
Add some slices of lemon on the porch and it will increase the scent. Bad for the birds, but pleasant for you!
This mixture will last for about a week, so reapply as needed.
6 | Baking Soda
If you want to keep things simple, sprinkle baking soda on the areas that you don’t want birds to land on. Why is this an effective bird deterrent?
The birds won’t like the feel of the powdery baking soda under their feet and so will avoid the area.
Remember to reapply after it rains.
7 | Hot Pepper Repellent
Here’s a DIY repellent that can be quite effective, as birds don’t like the smell of cayenne pepper:
Mix 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper and a few drops of liquid dish soap in one gallon of water. Stir it really well and allow to sit overnight.
The next day, stir it well again, then pour the mixture into a spray bottle.
Spray the porch area; reapply weekly or after it rains.
8 | Fake Owl Decoys
Fake owl decoys are a common way to scare away birds, and they work. The reason the fake owls are effective is that the birds believe that there is a predator in the area and they don’t want to be around when one is.
You can buy plastic owl decoys or even make your own out of materials you have around the house. The important thing is that they look realistic.
Place the owl decoys in areas where you find birds flocking, gathering, or landing. You will probably have to move them frequently from one location to another because the birds will get used to them and be less apt to be frightened away.
9 | Sticky Surfaces
Birds hate to land on something sticky. You can use this to your advantage by placing sticky surfaces around the porch area, on a deck railing, etc.
This transparent gel is applied to horizontal surfaces with a caulk gun and lasts up to 6 months. It can be removed with mineral spirits.
It’s effective in deterring a variety of birds, so worth a try. The birds don’t like the sticky surface and they’ll look for another landing spot.
10 | Bird Spikes
You can install bird spikes to deter the birds from hanging out on your porch. These are narrow strips of spikes that can be attached to window sills, eaves, roofs, or anywhere else where birds are landing.
The bird spikes come in both plastic and stainless steel, with the latter option being preferred because they can withstand hot temperatures and direct sunlight. They are also offered in different lengths.
Although it sounds like a type of bird-torture, the bird spikes are not dangerous to birds. They are human and also environmentally friendly. Birds will have a difficult time landing, so they will avoid the area that has the bird spikes installed.
Bird spikes will be most effective with larger birds, as small birds may be able to land in between the bird spikes.
Conclusion: Keeping Pesky Birds Off Your Porch
There are so many things to love about wild birds, but having bird droppings all over the porch is not one of them!
We hope that these 10 tips will be helpful for you to find success getting rid of birds, and keeping birds away from your porch.
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