Success year number two! The darned little devils started swooping and dive-bombing my front yard a few days ago BUT they didn't start any nastiness nest building in my front entry.

AND the cardinals are back! Beautiful birds! I wonder if they were getting run off by the vermin swallows in prior years?

My lawn guy was here aerating the lawn. He commented again how nice it was to not get pecked.

Lucy

Edited to add: Thanks again, Monica!

Welcome! So glad people are starting to chime in and say that it's working for them :) Bought new netting last week but it's 2-3 weeks before the swallows show up here.

I found an easy way to get rid of them. I painted the ceiling UNDER my porch sky blue. I guess they think it is the sky and isn't "safe". After the ceiling was painted sky blue the birds returned and would fly under the porch and then fly out. This continued for quite some time. A few would perch and then fly off. They didn't build again. After a few years very few would fly under take a look and fly off. I love birds but grew tired of the mess especially by my front door. I had tried everything including removing every decoration so they wouldn't have a place to build a nest. They still built nest of the ledges above doors and windows. I had covered the ledges with foil, plastic snakes...you name it. Nothing worked EXCEPT painting the ceiling sky blue, not a bright blue but a soft blue like the sky. It was a miracle. Hope this helps others!

These birds just tried to attack me! I am tired of taking the nests down. The house was pressure washed yesterday. I tried the rubber snake, they knocked them down ( I have 3 posts). Frustrating. I think I twisted my back trying to run from the birds. Ugh!

Why don't you use the mesh backing? It's 100% effective and super cheap. My husband has been very busy with work and the little suckers sneaked up on us yesterday and have started their mess on my lovely front porch! We're fixing to go out there with a hose to wash it down and hang the netting. We keep the tiny finishing nails up year around and take the mesh netting down in the fall. There is mud all over the porch tile, columns, windows, brick (sigh).

Thank you for all who have given your responses to the swallows building nest in areas that poses problems for your personal property. I washed down the nest and they came right back today! They are beautiful birds and we don't want to hurt them so I placed aluminum foil out on the ledges and they flew up looked at it and have not been back! I hope this helps!

This is the first year I've had barn swallows nest on my front porch. I love birds, and have a small birdhouse on my porch with sparrows in it now. I don't mind the swallows nesting on the porch -- the problem is that they are doing it right above the front door! I want to try to get them to build their nest on the other side of the porch, where they will be safe, and we will be "safe" as well. I'm sure I've got some pieces of scrap wood I can put up on the porch, and hopefully they'll migrate to that area instead. They are persistent little buggers though, aren't they? :-)

Same promble here ..... what Im using now is a 6oz cup of bleach. It works perfectly.

The smell of bleach keeps them away. At first I was spaying the area with bleach cleaner ... after it dried they came right back....

Use the 6 oz bleach trick .. It works great...Don't worry it will not kill the birds.

Jo, I hope that works for you but I've found they are a creature of habit. When they pick out a spot, they won't leave it and come back year after year unless you can successfully deter them. I tried every trick in the book, on and off for over 25 years. The rubber carpet mat is the only thing that has been 100% successful. I would guess other material you could drape in the corner or hang over the ledges would work. It's just what came to mind and I had some and it's the same color as the exterior trim...win win! :)

Hi Monica, I have some questions for you re:bathroom stuff. The only way I can email you is if you follow me. So could you do that please. I'm new so sorry this isn't the right topic.

Try moth balls, put them in an old nylon and tack them close to the nest

Sorry folks, all these years later I still think putting up with a mess for a few weeks to allow baby birds to be hatched and take to the skies is so much more important. I have a Pheobe nest YEA! Over my garage light am I am estatic!

I'm writing from outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa. We have had lesser-striped swallows nesting on our patio for the past 15 years. 4 years ago I started a B&B and put up canvas blinds to enclose the patio (where I serve breakfast) during the cold winter months - May to September here - which coincides with the departure and arrival of the migrating swallows. They have an extraordinary mud nest with a tunnel that has been here all this time so there is no building involved when they return but there is poop from time to time whilst there are babies in there. I just put some newspaper under their nest and replace it every day. Even if it's cold I have to leave the blinds open so they can get in and out freely to feed their babies. I simply tell my guests about the swallows and apologise for it being a little chilly! Most people love the fact that they swoop in and out over the breakfast table right above their heads....... I am honoured that they return here every year. Storm Grainger

PAINTING THE CEILING OF THE PORCH SKY BLUE!!!!!!! IT WORKS!!!!!!!

Pretty, too.

I have the same problem with a nest. I sprayed it down and the corner of my carport where it made a huge mess. I don't mind the swallows. I do mind the mess. It's back of course. I'm going to try the CD method. I love nature. So nice that some don't know how to be anything else but nature and sorry they have to be so snotty about it. Maybe others don't want to visit you, anyway, with your attitude. There is a real world, too,

Try hanging a wooden snake where you don't want the birds to nest. Also, if you park your car under a tree on the street where the birds roost at night, a wooden snake on the roof of your car deters the birds from roosting in the tree. Just don't forget to take it off the roof before you leave in the morning! The clattering of it falling off the car can be a little disconcerting! Most dollar stores sell wooden snakes.

I knock down the nest (being sure eggs have not been laid). It is a sure giveaway when my porch is full of twigs and bird droppings. After cleaning I spray, believe it or not, WD40. No nest has been build since. I heard about this somewhere, tried it and it works like a charm. Spray it on all your ledges about once a month. It has done the trick for me.

John S

I have had a problem with swallows nesting around the house for the last 15 years. After the birds had built there nest , I thought I would spray and saturate their nest with Wasp insect spray. This proved totally successful. I also sprayed petrol onto the nest, this also deterred the birds.They have not been back since.

Laws be damned. When swallows build nests on my property

I tear them down even if there are eggs in them. Swallows are a nuisense and we already have too many.

Swallows are nesting on our boat hoist canopy. They are welcome to stay if they'd like to make the payment on our 50k mastercraft boat....until then I will inundate them with wasp spray, moth balls & our BB gun. Judge me all day. I don't care

Barb1900 It sounds like they have already made their deposits so you are stuck now. ha ha

I'll keep fighting! Bird droppings are full of disease. Gross

Barb, use WD 40. I had birds nesting on my patio for a couple of years. I cleaned the ledges and sprayed them liberally with WD 40. I saw where the birds flew near the ledges afterwards but flew away right away. I have not had a problem since. I don't know if it was the smell, the fact that is was slippery or what but my problem is solved.

I'll try that! Thanks

I'm so glad I found this thread...lots of great ideas to try, and the jury's still out on whether the solution I (may have) found this year will work long term. My house is a bungalow with a nice covered front porch. I have been having the worst problem with mourning doves trying to nest in the corners of the porch. The porch is furnished, so I've got rugs, planters, occasional tables, a bistro table and chairs on one side, and a large hanging porch swing with cushions and pillows on the other, plus curtains hanging and tied back around all sides. These freaking birds are the bane of my spring/early summer existence as they like to build nests in the corners where the curtain rods meet. In years past I've successfully used Tanglefoot to deter them, but the problem with that is that it is so sticky it gradually attracts all dirt/bugs/leaves/etc. and makes wherever it's spread look very dirty. I had the house completely repainted this spring and didn't want to spread it on the fresh paint. However...I've basically been removing a nest every day or so for the last two weeks, and then Saturday was the worst - woke up to find new nests in every corner/pillar, and since it rained they were all muddy. The tops of the curtains were caked in mud and droppings, there were droppings on the porch swing cushions and rugs, and there were twigs and debris all over the porch. Incidentally, when I repainted I had the porch ceiling painted sky blue, and so that has not seemed to deter them at all.

Now to the possible solution I've found...while spending the ENTIRE DAY on Saturday removing the nests, washing curtains, washing bird crap and mud off my new paint job, and cleaning rugs and cushions, I got the idea to leave the porch ceiling fan on medium speed 24/7 to see if that would dissuade them. And so far...no nests. I still haven't put the curtains back up...I think I'm going to wait until next weekend just to be safe. I also ordered some rug backing from Amazon and I'll hang that or some cds in the corners as an extra precaution.

Oh, and I do not understand the people who say "oh, just leave them and coexist" - at least not if you expect to actually use your porch. I went to sit out on the porch swing and have my coffee before cleaning up on Saturday morning. Even putting aside the mess, the flies (lots of different types/sizes) were way thicker on the porch than I have ever seen them, and it was so disgusting that I went in after 10 minutes. I also can't afford to replace all of my porch furnishings every year. The birds are welcome to use any of my trees. They're even welcome to build nests on the outside of the porch columns (there's a protected space tucked behind a downspout and under the roof overhang they sometimes use). But on the porch? Nope.

Yard guard worked! Sprayed the nest and surrounding area and they haven't been back!

So happy you found the solution. These little guys have the entire world. They do not need to invade our happy home.

Monica, thank you!! I used your idea with the gripper pad and so far it is working. I ended up getting Contact Premium Grip Liner but it is about the same thing. We live in the country so there are plenty of buildings on our property for them to build their mud nests so I don't know why they always choose the overhang right by our back door.

You're so welcome Rhonda! I love hearing that others have been helped using my discovery :) I've had a 100% sucess rate since April of 2009 (7 years!) using the netting/gripper pad. Now, might they go to a section of patio or porch that isn't covered? Yes. They started on an area around back last week where we had taken down the netting cause it was grungy. My husband has been too busy with work and building our daughter's house that he hasn't had time to put up the netting. I washed down about a4 foot wide section of mud and turned the patio ceiling fan on (a tip one person said worked for him). Texas Swallows aren't afraid of no stinkin' fan...boo! So, I washed down the next attempt and sprayed hornet and wasp spray (another remedy someone said worked). They laughed at me! Since the ladder was already out and no one was here to tell me "get off that ladder before you kill yourself", I hosed down the 3rd attempt, climbed the ladder to scrub the ledge, sprayed it again, climbed back on the ladder to hang the netting. The finish nails were already there. 24 hours later we're still bird/mud/mess free.

Here I am posting on this site while owning not one but 3 large screen tvs. I had to come out of the closet. I must apologize to those that thought I was a true nature lover.

Ha! Love it! Sitting here now watching 96" screen....plus I keep 3 bird feeders!!

Well ladies, aren't we just uber multi-talented to be able to enjoy our large screen tvs AND nature! And yes, I'm still enjoying my tidy porch seven years later :) I'm also still enjoying my backyard birds.

Monica, can you post instructions and a pic maybe? I am going crazy over here trying to fight these little things off! Don't want to do anything that would harm them so your technique sounds like it may be a winner. Just can't wrap my head around how you have done it and how you attached it? Thanks!

• Monica I agree with Mellanie - the birds I have are nesting in an opening that has ceramic tiles on the roof above and I think stucco just below. Do I have to tack the rug backing to the opening or shove it into the opening and what does rug backing look like??? Please need help. Barb

This is off topic, but maybe someone on here can answer this for me... I have a condo and outside my front door a bluebird built a nest on top of the fire sprinkler that sticks out of the wall a few inches from the ceiling... One night I came home to find that the condo management had removed the nest... A few days later I noticed that one of the birds was back... Every night for the last few months the same bird comes back to where the nest used to be and roosts there all night... Is this normal... I feel bad for it... I can't find any info on bluebird habits... If they build a nest and it gets destroyed before they find a mate do they just stay there until next season? Or could it have been a baby that once lived in that nest? It just really bothers me... I'm not sure if there were already eggs or babies in the nest... All I know is that this sad little bird comes back to the same spot every night and seems pretty lonely... I talk to it and I leave food outside a few times a week, but I really would like to know what has caused this behavior... I would just like to know if this is normal, or if loosing it's nest has confused it or traumatized it in some way... Any thoughts on this would be great... Thanks...

Gingrgrl states you should pain the ceiling sky blue. Birds see sky color and won't nest under it. Folks who live by the shore know this.

Hi!!! Had the same problem, as much as I love birds and nature. They nested on front porch and scattered the mud everywhere..I had heard you can affix broken pieces of mirror near their nesting and when they see the reflection, think another bird has built it's nest..I tried it. {was brokenhearted when I accidentally broke my mirror} but did glue the pieces where they were nesting and they have not done so since. good luck! They have now found a place in the carport..and that's okay...

Had the same problem with an eastern phoebe. Cream colored paint on my covered patio with expensive tile below. My solution was to temporarily hang strips of aluminum foil with masking tape in and beside the corners of the roof. They land next to them, watch them blow in the breeze and leave to find more acceptable lodging. I love birds. I feed them and have bluebird boxes as well as other boxes in the yard. I just don't want to clean and repainted each year. Not sure what it would do to the tile.

The first couple years I allowed them to rear their young under my porch. It was very messy. Then at the end of winter, I hung a long strip of tin foil (about 2.5 in. X 3 ft.) from the ceiling right by where they previously built their nest. I suppose the wind flopping the tin foil was enough to spook them and they never came back. Simple, cheap and humane. No harm done.

What is the betting trick?!? Please give details.

Iv read a lot of the comments and will hopefully get to try a few of the methods of keeping these birds away. bird poo, bird fetuses on the outdoor lounge and coffee table are just unexeptable. So before I use any of these methods, what is the best way to remove the nest while they have babies (who are just learning to fly) in the nest. Can I peel it off and relocate it or will they attack me and make it too difficult to do?

I've had swallow bird build just one mud nest in my front porch 3 years in a row, starts building in March, I used to fight it - now I just put newspapers in the entryway and wrap bricks with newspaper to hold it down, i replace newspapers on weekends; bird mama and I have an 'understanding' she does not divebomb anymore, I say 'Hi' , sometimes I whistle (I used to have an African Grey parrot) or say good day to her, she's perched on a pole that I had my handyman put up as I was going to hang the CDs but beat me to it; so I just wait for the eggs to get hatched, then hear baby birds chirping, then the family eventually leaves and then I take down the nest, clean up and sanitize the wall...until they come back around March. I decided to honor my culture which believe birds who choose your house bring good luck. So I welcome them as guests. Happy Easter to all!!

If I did that, my HOA would be fining me up one side and down the other. I'm sorry (actually I'm anything BUT sorry) but I'm not living with filth. They need to nest elsewhere than right on my front stoop where the main door is.

I knock the nests down whenever they show up. I've got one that keeps trying to build a nest on my outside light fixture. Last year I didn't notice it in time and had to leave it until the nestlings had fledged. As soon as they were gone, I knocked it down.

Robins are birds that I enjoy viewing, but not as they try to build nests under our porch lights which are on both sides of an area right by our front entrance door. For three days my husband has removed the straw, twigs, etc in order to prevent a completed robin's nest. They put the straw, twigs, etc. up, he takes them down immediately. Today after reading these posts, I sprayed the area with ant and roach spray that I use when the ants try to visit too close to our outside walkway. Two robins just came with straw in their mouths, but they flew away. I hope this is a long-term solution. This is the first time that we have had this problem in the nineteen years that we have lived here. I am already tired of the mess on our porch and the potential health hazard presented if the robins succeed in building a permanent nest. We have plenty of trees that the birds usually choose for their nests and are still quite welcome to do so. However, why our porch this year is a puzzle. Thanks to all who have posted for their solutions. To the haters, because one does not want a bird's nest in an area that he/she frequently uses in his/her home, does not label the person as an animal hater. Why should my quality of life be compromised daily upon trying to enter my home for the sake of a bird's nest? The answer is that it shouldn't and will not. We will win this fight and reclaim our safety and keep our good health.

We have launched environmentally based sale of
protective bands against unwanted nesting of Swallows and Martins on outer
walls of buildings with simultaneous condition of evaluating one's surroundings
in vicinity of the protected property and subsequent setting up of an
alternative place for placid nesting of these useful birds.

In my case I MUST stop them from building their nests on my front porch. As the babies grow and begin to leave the nest my 4 farm dogs will find them and kill them and it breaks my heart. This year I put some 2x4's on the porch ceiling ledge and in the corners under the ceiling where they like to build. I also have a fake metal bird that is positioned as though it's flying. They seem to be afraid of it. They keep trying to build along the ledge but can not build the nest up that way. Tomorrow I'm heading to the Dollar Store to get some mirrors to put up there. They are quite relentless for sure.

I’m sickened by these nuisances! We left the nests to raise their babies. Now twice as many birds and nests. We cannot even walk out on our front porch with our grand babies for them flying fast past our heads and front door and our nice porch furniture is full of sh-t! Plenty of surrounding woods for these pests! Fake owls didn’t work and they land right beside the plastic snakes. Wildlife exterminator can’t help. Guess I’ll try some of the other ideas.