Pest birds are always on the lookout for food, water and safe nesting sites. You’ll want to make your property as uninviting to them as possible by following some of these tips. If you’re looking for how to keep birds away from your house long term:

Grow plants which deter birds

Strongly scented leaves, fruits and flowers act as effective bird deterrents. This means that herbs such as mint, lavender and garlic are handy to keep around. Planting them in a dense pattern around the perimeter of your yard also creates an intimidating physical barrier against pest birds.

Remove sources of food and water

With an appetite for grains, seeds and plants, as well as the occasional small insect, pest birds are also notorious for enjoying food scraps. We recommend avoiding leaving food out, including bird feeders and keeping other food covered. This includes pet food bowls and water.

Manage waste properly

Teeming with rotting food, garbage and compost are popular targets for hungry pest birds, so it’s important to manage waste appropriately to avoid attracting pest birds to your yard.

Keep compost heaps covered and rubbish secured in plastic bags inside tightly sealed bins with well-fitted lids. Empty your bins regularly to avoid overflowing.

Regular yard maintenance

Remove fallen fruit from your yard, as this will attract many different pests, including pest birds. Trimming back overhanging tree branches and shrubs will reduce the chances of pest birds getting easy access to your property.

Keep outdoor dining areas clean

Make sure that outdoor dining areas are free from crumbs, dropped food and scraps. Wipe away spills immediately, and ensure that dining tables, cooktops and food preparation areas are disinfected.

With better eyesight than humans, birds can see further and with more vivid detail. If you’ve been wondering how to keep birds away from your garden or roof without chemicals, visual deterrents are one of the easiest DIY methods.

Here are some ways to make your property less appealing for pest birds to come and visit:

• Many birds perceive colours such as orange, red and silver to be threatening
• Hang spherical garden balls off tree branches, scatter them over the garden beds and lawns
• Shiny objects can cause distracting reflections within pest bird eyes and can be suspended in trees and popular nesting sites. These include foil sheets, aluminium cans and mirrors

Although they mainly use their sharp vision to hunt for food, pest birds have special olfactory organs located on their beaks which help them to also detect smells from a distance.

Strong smelling household items can be mixed with water and poured into a spray bottle and applied liberally along popular roosting sites. These include:

• Essential oils
• Vinegar
• Pepper
• Citrus scents
• Mint
• Cayenne pepper

At Allstate, we emphasise a safe and humane approach to handling pest birds. Your pest technician will choose one or more of the following techniques to stop birds from roosting on your property.

Professional treatments are the most reliable way to keep birds away for good:

Bird spikes

By creating an uneven landing area, bird spikes are designed to discourage pest birds from roosting on leading edges along your roof. They’re best used on exposed ledges, beams, windowsills, railings, gutters, girders, chimneys and signs. They come in a range of types, sizes, shapes and materials including polycarbonate and steel.

Bird netting

Useful for enclosed areas, bird netting physically prevents birds and other pests from entering key areas, while still allowing air flow and light to pass through. Available in a range of flexible and durable materials and colours, they can be customised to fit problem areas.

Bird wire

An alternative to spikes, bird wire is a more discreet bird deterrent suitable for new buildings. Thin, UV protected stainless steel wire is secured between posts to destabilise the landing area and reduce roosting.

Bird Jolt Flat Track System

As a barely noticeable bird deterrent for roofs, the Bird Jolt Flat Track system is an electrically powered, near-flat surface that delivers a very mild electric shock whenever birds try to land on it. Standing at only ¼ of an inch tall, it can be installed on any surface.

Bird traps

For severe outbreaks, you may need to bait pest birds and capture them in a large cage to physically remove them.

Since 1986, we’ve offered reliable quality pest control services to clients in commercial, residential and industrial settings across all suburbs of Adelaide. Our highly trained and fully equipped pest control technicians can deliver a tailored, humane management plan to ensure that you, your family and employees won’t have to worry about nuisance pest birds for years to come.

While all our services emphasise the safety and wellbeing of the pest birds, we also have competitive warranties and payment plans available. So if you’re needing urgent advice on a pest bird outbreak, Allstate is here for you 24/7.

If you’re wondering whether or not you have some bird visitors or a full-blown pest bird outbreak, here’s some signs to look for:

Large numbers of pest birds around your home

You may find them perching and roosting on your roof, chimney, verandah, balcony, antennae, window panels, solar panels, gutters or wooden support beams.

Persistent chirping noises

Birds, and especially chicks, chirp to communicate with each other.

Bird droppings

An accumulation of messy brown, black or white droppings on the ground is a clear sign of a pest bird outbreak.

Nesting material

Pest birds are clever at crafting sturdy nests from various foraged scraps, such as twigs, leaves, straw, pine needles and grass. So look out for nests underneath solar panels, inside your roof, or even tucked between some wooden beams.

We recommend the following tips to help protect your home or business from a pest bird outbreak:

Tip 1: Remove all sources of food and water

Pest birds are expert scavengers and have a wide and varied diet which can include common things you would find in an average suburban backyard. This includes flowers, fruit, vegetables, and insects. Pet food and water bowls, as well as food scraps in compost piles and rubbish bins are also a popular choice.

While bird feeders and bird baths can attract native birds, they’re also likely to capture the interest of pest birds. Where possible, we recommend having less available food and water and keeping compost and waste tightly sealed and covered.

Tip 2: Regularly inspect your home for access points and proof them

Pest birds range in size and have the ability to squeeze into small spaces to enter your home. So, it’s best to check your roof for gaps between loose tiles, uncovered vents and other small openings and either seal them off or cover them with a fine mesh. Overhanging branches and vegetation can also encourage birds to nest close to the building.

Tip 3: Locate and remove nesting material

As territorial creatures by nature, pest birds carefully choose places to nest, roost and breed. Besides harbouring different types of parasites, germs and diseases, nests also provide a safe place to lay and incubate eggs, which attracts more birds and worsens an outbreak.

Regular yard maintenance and keeping your garden tidy and relatively free of small loose twigs and leaves can also help reduce the availability of nesting material.

Tip 4: Clean and disinfect the affected area

Not only do pest birds make a mess with feathers, germ-infested nesting material, debris and droppings, they also leave behind pheromones, which attracts other birds. That’s why it’s always important to clean up the mess from any pest bird infestation.

Allstate offers professional cleaning and property maintenance services to refresh, rejuvenate and sterilise the mess from pest birds. Our services include gutter, roof void and water tank cleaning or pressure washing to keep your property looking sparkling clean and pest-free.

Tip 5: Solar panel cleaning and proofing

With the rise in solar panel installations, pest birds have had increasingly more options for safe and comfortable nesting spots on roofs all around Adelaide.

Unfortunately, they are also responsible for causing messy stains and damage to expensive solar panels, resulting in the loss of efficiency.

You can avoid pricey repair bills with Allstate’s solar panel cleaning and proofing service.

After managing the pest bird problem, we conduct a thorough clean of the area and then install a UV coated mesh skirting to the sides of your panels. This hard-wearing mesh prevents birds from nesting underneath your panels, enabling them to function at their best.

At Allstate, we understand pest bird behaviour so that we can manage all infestations from their source, and use a range of innovative and modern treatments to help prevent the problem from returning.

Since 1986, we’ve assisted homes and businesses across all suburbs of Adelaide with pest bird outbreaks of all sizes in commercial, residential and industrial settings.

Available 24/7 for advice and solutions, we offer payment plans to help keep you and your family protected from pest birds for good.

If you’re wondering whether or not you have some bird visitors or a full-blown pest bird outbreak, here’s some signs to look for:

Large numbers of pest birds around your home

You may find them perching and roosting on your roof, chimney, verandah, balcony, antennae, window panels, solar panels, gutters or wooden support beams.

Persistent chirping noises

Birds, and especially chicks, chirp to communicate with each other.

Bird droppings

An accumulation of messy brown, black or white droppings on the ground is a clear sign of a pest bird outbreak.

Nesting material

Pest birds are clever at crafting sturdy nests from various foraged scraps, such as twigs, leaves, straw, pine needles and grass. So look out for nests underneath solar panels, inside your roof, or even tucked between some wooden beams.

We recommend the following tips to help protect your home or business from a pest bird outbreak:

Tip 1: Remove all sources of food and water

Pest birds are expert scavengers and have a wide and varied diet which can include common things you would find in an average suburban backyard. This includes flowers, fruit, vegetables, and insects. Pet food and water bowls, as well as food scraps in compost piles and rubbish bins are also a popular choice.

While bird feeders and bird baths can attract native birds, they’re also likely to capture the interest of pest birds. Where possible, we recommend having less available food and water and keeping compost and waste tightly sealed and covered.

Tip 2: Regularly inspect your home for access points and proof them

Pest birds range in size and have the ability to squeeze into small spaces to enter your home. So, it’s best to check your roof for gaps between loose tiles, uncovered vents and other small openings and either seal them off or cover them with a fine mesh. Overhanging branches and vegetation can also encourage birds to nest close to the building.

Tip 3: Locate and remove nesting material

As territorial creatures by nature, pest birds carefully choose places to nest, roost and breed. Besides harbouring different types of parasites, germs and diseases, nests also provide a safe place to lay and incubate eggs, which attracts more birds and worsens an outbreak.

Regular yard maintenance and keeping your garden tidy and relatively free of small loose twigs and leaves can also help reduce the availability of nesting material.

Tip 4: Clean and disinfect the affected area

Not only do pest birds make a mess with feathers, germ-infested nesting material, debris and droppings, they also leave behind pheromones, which attracts other birds. That’s why it’s always important to clean up the mess from any pest bird infestation.

Allstate offers professional cleaning and property maintenance services to refresh, rejuvenate and sterilise the mess from pest birds. Our services include gutter, roof void and water tank cleaning or pressure washing to keep your property looking sparkling clean and pest-free.

Tip 5: Solar panel cleaning and proofing

With the rise in solar panel installations, pest birds have had increasingly more options for safe and comfortable nesting spots on roofs all around Adelaide.

Unfortunately, they are also responsible for causing messy stains and damage to expensive solar panels, resulting in the loss of efficiency.

You can avoid pricey repair bills with Allstate’s solar panel cleaning and proofing service.

After managing the pest bird problem, we conduct a thorough clean of the area and then install a UV coated mesh skirting to the sides of your panels. This hard-wearing mesh prevents birds from nesting underneath your panels, enabling them to function at their best.

At Allstate, we understand pest bird behaviour so that we can manage all infestations from their source, and use a range of innovative and modern treatments to help prevent the problem from returning.

Since 1986, we’ve assisted homes and businesses across all suburbs of Adelaide with pest bird outbreaks of all sizes in commercial, residential and industrial settings.

Available 24/7 for advice and solutions, we offer payment plans to help keep you and your family protected from pest birds for good.