Nature’s singers “birds” are quite amazing to have around. Some people even build houses to attract birds to their home. The sweet tunes that come from birds makes us appreciate nature more. However, if you have plans on making a DIY garden you might want to keep birds away because they’ll probably eat seeds and pick away growing plants.
Another reason why you want to drive birds away would be the almost endless messes created by trying to build nests and don’t forget days when you have to clean their poop. If you are fed up with dealing with birds and want them away from your home, we have listed some homemade bird repellent tips that will stop them from coming around your home.
These won’t stop them from flying across your home from time to time, I mean, the sky is their zone, and they are very much free to roam the sky as they deem fit. Our repellent tips will stop them from perching.
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What Attracts Birds To House?
The sky is a big place for the birds, however, they’ll rarely perch in your yard or home without a reason. There are a couple of factors that would attract birds to your home.
Bird Feeders
The feeder might be the major cause of the problem. If you once loved to have birds around, you probably made a DIY bird feeder, you should completely take it down else they’ll always come around.
You can’t have uncontrolled birds and a garden full of seeds, the birds will definitely want some of your tempting seeds. So, you’ll have to let the bird feeder go or allow the birds to have their way with your seeds.
Fresh Water
Your fountain might be another reason why birds are disturbing your peace. You might want to turn it off. Birds love to bathe and cool off, your large, medium or small sized fountain is the perfect place to do that. If you do not want them around you might want to replace your water fountain with something else.
Trees
Birds live in trees, if you have a tree in your home, birds would definitely want to live there. It is almost impossible to drive birds away from trees but researchers have found some amazing ways to keep birds off trees and thus save your garden.
Food Droppings
Some people would rather prefer a very quiet environment with no birds chirping! Even without a garden, bird feeder or fountain you can still have birds come around and the reason might be because of food droppings.
Other Things Birds Are Attracted To
- Worms
- Mammal dunk
- Rodents
- Fish (in pond)
12 Homemade Bird Repellent Ideas And Tips
1. Cayenne Pepper Recipe
This method won’t keep birds away from your yard or home completely, however, it would definitely stop them from eating plants or seeds in your garden. Cayenne pepper has proven to be very effective as birds do not like the smell of it and wouldn’t go near areas where this pepper has been spritzed.
Supplies
- 1 gallon of water
- 6 drops of liquid dish soap
- Large container
- 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper
- Spray bottle
Instructions
- Pour the gallon of water into the container.
- Add cayenne pepper and liquid dish soap then mix thoroughly.
- Allow the solution to rest for 24-48 hours.
- Stir the solution and pour it into a spray bottle.
- Spray the solution in your garden to ward off birds.
2. Chilli Pepper Recipe
Just like cayenne pepper, birds won’t go anywhere near areas that you have sprayed chili pepper with. However, don’t go tossing chilli pepper around your garden, there’s a special method of preparation for this chilli pepper recipe.
Supplies
- 1 gallon of water
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar.
- 4 dozen chill pepper
- Container
Instructions
- Crush the chilli peppers and add them to a container.
- Add water to the container.
- Mix thoroughly.
- Keep the container under sunlight for a couple of days to ferment.
- Add apple cider vinegar to the fermented solution.
- Pour the solution inside a spray bottle.
- Spray the mixture around your plants or garden.
3. Aluminium Foil
This is one of the cheapest ways to stop birds from poking the soil where you have planted seeds and also keep them off your garden for good. For this method to work, you need to place strips of aluminium foil under the surface of the soil. Birds hate it when their beak comes in contact with aluminium foil. You can also hang the foil on trees (in areas where the foil is exposed to sunlight) and you’ll notice that the birds would reduce in number. The combination of foil and sunlight disturbs their sight.
4. Baking Soda
If you are having issues with pigeons and other birds alike in your patio space, this method works like a charm. Simply sprinkle some baking soda around the area where you do not want birds, they hate the feel of baking soda on their feet and would stay off.
5. Predator Decoys
No bird wants to be eaten by a predator, and they are not so smart to differentiate real predators from decoys. For this method, you will need to visit your local hardware store and grab a few predator decoys like rubber snakes, cats, and any other bird eating animal you can think of.
6. Human Decoys
This is one of the most adopted methods of keeping birds away from a garden. You should consider building a scarecrow or two, it will most definitely help keep the birds away from your precious garden. Watch the video tutorial above to make a scarecrow.
7. Garlic Oil Spray Recipe
The strong odour from garlic is very much unpleasant for birds and this can be used to your advantage. You do not have to buy garlic oil from a store, we will show you how to make this recipe, trust me, it will definitely help drive the birds away.
Supplies
- 10 cloves of garlic
- 2 cups of olive oil
- Container
Instructions
- Peel the garlic and crush them properly
- Place the crushed garlic inside a contain
- Add the olive oil to the container
- Mix thoroughly
- Place the mix inside the refrigerator for 5 days. (Do not allow to freeze)
- After 5 days, allow the mix to return to room temperature and they spritz around your garden.
This is a very effective homemade pigeon repellent that you can use to keep birds off your garden for an extended period of time. You can reapply the solution in your garden weekly.
8. Change Fountain Water
If you can’t turn off your water fountain, here’s another tip to try. Simply substitute your fresh fountain water with salt water and birds won’t be able to drink from them. If you do this and still find birds in your fountain, you should turn it off and spritz any of the spray recipes around the fountain and it should keep the birds away.
9. Cover Up Openings In Your Roof
Your roof is the perfect space for some breeds of birds, it is usually always noticeable when birds have invaded your ceiling. A quick fix would be covering up openings with hard mesh wire that’ll make it impossible for them to get in. You might have openings that you aren’t aware about, birds are able to fit into the smallest of holes, walk around your house and check for openings.
10. Hang Shiny Objects On Trees
If you have a lot of trees around your home, you can cut them down (if your government permits this) If not, you can drive birds away from trees by handing a couple of shiny objects from the trees. Birds will naturally avoid anything reflective. The best part of this method is that you can make your trees look better by decorating them with shiny objects like mirrors, CD’s or reflective tape. It’s a win-win!
11. Motion Activated Sprinkler
A motion activated sprinkler is a great method for getting rid of birds and other pests too. The sprinkler will be automatically activated by the motion from birds, thus scaring them away. I found an amazing motion activated sprinkler that works like a charm.
12. Ultrasonic Bird Repeller
An ultrasonic bird repeller also does a great job of keeping birds away. It emits a very high-frequency sound that is guaranteed to scare birds away. The best part is, humans can’t hear the noise produced from some of these repellers, simply provide a power outlet for the device, connect it to the source, activate it and watch it perform its task.
Conclusion
Depending on your location, it might be illegal to disturb birds. If you find yourself in this situation, you should contact a professional to help deal with the bird problem. They’ll remove the nests to a location far away from your home.
Most of the recipes listed in this article won’t land you in trouble as long as you are not killing the birds. Thanks for stopping by, feel free to drop questions or contributions in the comment section below.
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