Discourage 'flying rats' from nesting at your house

June 2024

In an earlier column this spring,  we talked about dealing with unwanted household pests. However, we didn’t mention one that is a big problem this time of year – nesting birds.

What would spring be like without the sights and sounds of birds returning?

But, as much as we enjoy the variety of birds that arrive each spring, their arrival means that they will also be on the lookout to find a cozy place to build their nests. So, as a homeowner, you need to stay alert so that birds making their tidy homes don’t disrupt your tidy home.

Many people don’t think twice about birds nesting in their eaves, but would be horrified to learn of rats living in their basement. The two kinds of critters aren’t all that different!

Some birds, such as starlings, English sparrows and pigeons. are exceptional opportunists and should be discouraged from living anywhere in your house or garage.

At best, they might only roost on all the roofs in sight of somebody’s regular handout, all the while depositing prolific amounts of acidic droppings on each roof nearby the food. This poopy environment creates ideal conditions for supporting a healthy crop of roof moss. And worse than that, they can spread harmful diseases and create expensive structural damage to your home.

Starlings are the worst!

In this area, one of the worst pest birds to the average homeowner is the starling. It was introduced to America from Europe in the 19th century. With the abundant habitat of the South, starlings soon became noisy, swarming menaces, in flocks of millions.

Recent to the west in the last few decades, starlings are dark and muscular and can be distinguished from other blackbirds by their oily sheen, short tail and long and slender yellow bill.

They are a prolific bunch, with each pair having two broods and averaging eight offspring a year. They often travel in huge flocks numbering in the hundreds or thousands.

If you have encountered a starling pair creating a nest in your house, you will recall the extraordinary persistence and dedication to their task. True opportunists, starlings are also known to stand by and watch a pair of other birds make a nest, then kick them out and use the nest!

Why should I care?

If you’re a bird watcher, you probably already think of starlings as the enemy. They are considered invasive species along with pigeons and English sparrows.

As a homeowner, you’ll want to do what you can to discourage them from building a home in your house. For one thing, they use copious amounts of straw, twigs and grasses to make their nests, potentially making a fire hazard for you.

Also, gutters and drainage pipes clogged with starling nests often back up, which can cause extensive water damage.

In addition, bird nests built in chimneys and ventilation systems can block air flow and spread diseases through the system.

Bird droppings, being very acidic, can actually eat away at many substrates, especially tar-based roofing materials, eventually causing leaks. The uric acid in the feces will also corrode stone, metal and masonry and do great damage to siding, insulation, air conditioning equipment and machinery.

Health Hazard

You really should consider pest birds the same as you would a colony of mice or rats. The bacteria, parasites and fungal agents in their feces can pose a serious health risk.

Besides direct contamination of food or water, airborne spores from drying feces in air ducts and vents can settle on exposed food and transfer disease.

Pest birds also harbor ticks, fleas, mites and other parasites, which are great transmitters of several hundred viral and bacterial diseases.

Keep that in mind when you’re trying to remove their nests or disinfect their messes – you may want to wear gloves and facemask!

How to get rid of them!

So, how do you discourage starlings from nesting at your house, especially if you would like to encourage other birds to nest nearby?

First, imagine you are a bird looking for a nesting place in a warm, dry place.

Tour the exterior of your home, paying close attention to the eaves and gutter areas, as well as where the siding meets the roof and all of your exhaust fan vents.

You’re looking for any kind of 1-inch to 1½-inch holes, open spaces between trim boards, missing soffit, roofing or siding materials and especially nesting material and white bird poop present or protruding from your house. Maybe you will find what, an old nest site from last spring.

Since starlings and many other birds use the same nest for generations, you will want to remove any nesting materials from the cavity and seal the hole. Also, look for a secondary entrance.

In your inspection, look closely at the roof ventilation holes or vent strips under your eaves. They are critical to the health of your home, so you don’t want to seal them.

At the same time, they are the premium nesting sites in your home, providing shelter, heat, ventilation and a view.

If there is a damaged or missing vent screen or just open vent holes, we suggest securing some heavy gauge, galvanized hardware cloth with a ¼-inch wire mesh over them. That should effectively let the air in while keeping the birds out. If the birds have created holes, block or replace the wooden material.