Cleanliness is next to birdlessness if you want to prevent birds from nesting. Removing nests and mess wards off birds and disease. Putting in a little effort up front will be worth it in the end.
As the cold, wet winter gives way to spring (and none too soon), we look forward to warmer weather, flowers in bloom, and nesting season. That’s right, the birds will soon be back, looking for safe places to grow homes and families. Is your facility on their radar?
In a previous article, we discussed how to prevent birds from nesting in your building. In that article, we acknowledged that despite your best efforts, birds may still end up in your rafters. When that happens, you’ll want to embark on an immediate cleaning campaign.
Prevent Birds From Nesting: Step One – Maintain a sanitary facility
Birds, whether they’re nesting inside or not, leave awful messes. They destroy inventory, menace people (often inadvertently), and leave droppings. These droppings may contain microbes and diseases like salmonella. Like other fecal matter, bird droppings contain uric acid, which is corrosive and eats away at paint, metals, and other materials. Feces also harbor pheromones, which attract other birds.
The best defense against these hazards is to clean beams, walls, rafters – any place you see bird signs. This will help you protect your inventory, workers, and your customers from sickness, an unsanitary environment, and general ickiness.
Prevent Birds From Nesting: Step Two – Remove the nest
If a bird does start building a nest inside your building, removing it during the building process is ideal! When you remove the nesting materials during construction, it prevents birds from laying eggs in that location. If birds are born there, they will associate that location with home and continue to nest and breed in that vicinity.
Getting rid of nests also gets rid of bird pheromones. Since birds use bodily fluids as building components, a bird’s nest literally stinks of them. Eliminating another source of pheromones means eliminating one other thing that attracts birds. If a nest is completed or in use, contact us so we can guide you on any appropriate next steps. 
Prevent Birds From Nesting: Step Three – Clean up the mess
As we’ve discussed numerous times before, maintaining a clean facility is a valuable step in deterring birds. Some tips worth repeating:
- Make sure to clean up any seed or food in or near your facility.
- Move trash receptacles and break areas away from buildings or move them into interior spaces.
- Get rid of standing water – for example, in birdbaths, containers or warped surfaces.
- Clean up trash in and around your building, especially plastic and other artificial building material. These materials can also be hazardous to birds. It goes without saying that dead birds are also a health hazard!
Meridian Bird Removal can always help with removing nests and advising your business on being bird-free. Contact us if you need help for quick and effective bird removal. In the meantime, remember that removing nests can help avoid a mess.
More Advice to Prevent Birds From Nesting:
- How to Prevent Birds From Completing Nests And Laying Eggs At Your Site
- What to Do if You Discover a Bird’s Nest
- Don’t Let Nesting Ruffle Your Feathers
- Birds Nesting Season: What to Expect
Learn about the seasonality and month-to-month bird activity in this article: A Bird’s Eye View of the Year