We have barn swallows that come back every year .They made a home for themselves on the roof under our porch. . It was safe because no other bird would go on our porch. Very messy though & I took away our chairs& put a cardboard box for dropping All my friends thought we where nuts The first year we had them I had put out a decorative bird house ( not meant to be used as a bird house). It did have a flat roof & to our surprise 2 barn swallows build their mud nest ON TOP of the bird house .A chimney made a good roost at night .Its the stangest place I have heard of for nests. The first year they had 2 baby's then 2 years ago 4. They would sit on the railing & sometimes dive bomb us when we sat our there but finally they did get used to us Then last year ,no birds .I do know they fly a long way in winter so thought something happened to them so I tore down the nest & threw out the bird house .This year I put a smaller bird house up & sure enough a swallow found our porch ..I think it may have been one of the baby's from the previous years . It was so funny to watch this male trying to get a mate. For over a month he screamed out to every swallow that went by & even tried to build the bottom of the nest.. FInally he had luck Now these 2 are more scared of us so we try to stay off the porch.as much as possible. Also nest was small .They layed 2 eggs but one day I found a broken one on the ground .Anyone know if this is normal??? One baby was born & he hung around for a week after parents left but yesterday the parents came back overnight to the nest & he finally flew of with them .. WE WILL MISS THEM.. HOPE WE GET THEM NEXT YEAR Don't need bug spay our swallows are great hunters

frugalflowers, are you sure they were barn swallows? Barn swallows have tan chests and usually like to make nests in the corners and under eaves of barns or other structures. Tree swallows have white chests and like to nest in bluebird boxes. We have had a family of them for several years and really enjoy them. Is there any spraying of pesticides to get rid of insects where you live? If so, the swallows might not have enough food on which to live. Last year, when the weather was horribly rainy for weeks on end here, we lost a few to starvation. Poor little things.

You could try hanging an artificial barn swallow cup for them to use.. Here's a link : http://www.americanartifacts.com/smma/per/nestord.htm The maker has done some research,and tested it out multiple times.7 artificial nests had eggs and 2 previously built natural nests had eggs. No new nests had been built. Plus, nest cups are preferred over the more popular nesting shelves.

I have barn swallow nest under my balcony, which of course just has to be where my back door is. They have already had a baby, which they were aggressive towards us when we would walk out the door, but only as we passed it. The baby has flown away. We thought we were in the clear. But it appears THEY HAVE ANOTHER EGG. I Went out to get into my pool today and BOTH of them were extremely aggressive. They were both coming at me at the same time, flying at my head and circling around to come back. Mind you, my pool is more than a few feet away. With the other egg, as long as we walked past, they would fly past as if to Warn us, but then leave us alone. This time seems to be different. They followed me. I have 3 kids that I cannot allow in my back yard because of this. I am at a loss . I can not keep 3 kids locked in my house for a few weeks. There is no baby yet that I can see.