Birds in the Barn

[weldingisfun]

Has anyone found the secret to keeping birds out of your barn?

We built our hay barn 6 or 7 years ago and there have always been a few birds finding shelter inside it. But, this year year we have a bumper crop of English sparrows and they finally did something to really get me upset. They are depositing their droppings all over my tractor. Now that does it! Time to take action.

I know of folks who have put plastic owls inside their barns to scare birds away but don't know if that actually works. So far I haven't been able to find plastic owls. TSC does not carry them. But, I am still looking.

If there are any success stories out there, please share the secret to that success.

 

[adirondackmtnman]

Has anyone found the secret to keeping birds out of your barn?

We built our hay barn 6 or 7 years ago and there have always been a few birds finding shelter inside it. But, this year year we have a bumper crop of English sparrows and they finally did something to really get me upset. They are depositing their droppings all over my tractor. Now that does it! Time to take action.

I know of folks who have put plastic owls inside their barns to scare birds away but don't know if that actually works. So far I haven't been able to find plastic owls. TSC does not carry them. But, I am still looking.

If there are any success stories out there, please share the secret to that success.

Good luck with that...I get them every year. Best I can say is, try and keep the building closed up tight...a lot of buildings that's impossible though. They're tenacious critters for sure

Sent from my LGL35G using TractorByNet

 

[murphy1244]

I have Barn Swallows and I actually leave the door open for them. I park my Tractor under the Hay loft if I keep it in there. The Swallows keep the skeeters away.

 

[jinman]

Mount a couple of cheap ceiling fans directly over your tractor if you have electric power available.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Mount a couple of cheap ceiling fans directly over your tractor if you have electric power available.

Night time...BB guns...flashlight...kids/grandkids...works for sparrows in the chicken coop too.

 

[dave1949]

Is your overhead space closed off with bird netting or hardware cloth?

 

[weldingisfun]

The hay barn is 24 X 60. The ceiling fans won't work because they would interfere with hay storage. Not to sure about the bird netting because of the construction of the barn. The birds would simply end up being caught above the netting.

Good ideas, but probably not applicable in this case. Take a look at the construction.

I really don't think there is any way to keep the birds out. What I am looking for is a way to deter them from taking up residence.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Get a couple of house cats. They love birds.

 

[oosik]

I don't have a lot of sparrows. Plastic owls sure keep the magpies away. Have one mounted on the peak of the barn at each end. Keeps the barn swallows away also.

 

[dave1949]

There are these things:
BettyMills: Stainless Steel Bird Spikes - Bird-x STS-24

Google "anti bird perch" and you will see others. I guess you could put them on the truss cords above your tractor parking place at least.

 

[zzvyb6]

I picked up an electronic box at an estate sale with up to 12 selectable "distressed bird" calls. You can pick and choose the most effective ones for your area.

Presto change-O: No more sparrows, swallows or woodpeckers.

It also works wonders on the neighbors screaming kids. They seem to get the picture. and keep their yaps under 55 dB.

You can probably find one on eBay. Look for bird chaser or Bird B Gone.

 

[creekbend]

There are these things:
BettyMills: Stainless Steel Bird Spikes - Bird-x STS-24

Google "anti bird perch" and you will see others. I guess you could put them on the truss cords above your tractor parking place at least.

Thanks for posting and providing the Link.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Engish sparrows or house sparrows are not protected so they are fair game. Eliminating them is actually favorable for native species such as Blue Birds. (FWIW, I live and let live with the barn swallows or phoebe's that nest in our barn.)

For anyone building a new barn, wire placed over openings such as the roof vent gap is a good investment.

 

[BrokenAxle46]

I agree with wire over the vent and anywhere else they might get in. Ever notice sparrow's in Wal-Mart and other metal buildings, even Home Depot, Lowe's, Tractor Supply and just about anywhere there happens to be an opening. I doubt if any one idea will solve the issue completely, it may take a combination of things including a few natural predators. I am not in favor of poison since it isn't selective and dead birds do not add favorably to the odor situation. Cats don't always stay but when they do, you can't have just one cat and they can present further adventures in pest management control. I do like the BB gun and grandkids, what a fond memory of times past when things were not so complicated.

 

[SPIKER]

Just wondering if there is Sliders in the barn? those make perfect place for them to get in it seems. I had issues too and had to staple metal SS screen over every truss on my shed roof side of the building. Robins and Starlings were worst. They tore up insulation out of the roof and tore holes in it to make nests. I still have them giving the overhang a nest on both ends in spring, killed a dozen or more starlings with the .177 break barrel pellet gun. It is very accurate and good for 50+ yards. Problem is they learn fast, fly in from 75 or 100 yards out and dont stop flying till they are that far away. The robins are dumb and will stand 20 feet away but most of them I let be just the ones who think making a nest in my barn are ones that have to be eliminated. They will rebuild the nest a dozen times, prior to concrete getting put in I had 12" gap at the roll up door they would fly in set on my tractor seat or ROPS crap and then fly up on top of the poles and build nests. Then there are the wood peckers that thing that every window frame has bugs behind it on the T1-11 siding... I think the Vinyl window nail flanges vibrate some in wind ?? There seems to have only been ONE of them but he put 3 holes in the bld in a month golf-ball size holes. never got a good shot on him as he was always under a $150 window & takes off 150 yards away...

Mark

 

[C4Ranch]

Had birds tearing out the insulation in my barn and nesting. Got plastic birds from homedepot and wired them to the peak on the end and they've worked for me.

 

[kevin37b]

Iknow a guy that put a boardwalk in the rafters and strung weaved fishing line all through them . They quit messing around in there in 2 days .

 

[weldingisfun]

Iknow a guy that put a boardwalk in the rafters and strung weaved fishing line all through them . They quit messing around in there in 2 days .

If I understand this correctly, the fella strung the fishing line to interfere with the bird's "air space". Sort of like the barrage balloons of WWII fame. That makes sense and might work.

 

[the old grind]

Engish sparrows or house sparrows are not protected so they are fair game. Eliminating them is actually favorable for native species such as Blue Birds. (FWIW, I live and let live with the barn swallows or phoebe's that nest in our barn.) ...

These foreign invaders (also 'hosp' for short) are actually of the finch family (broad sturdy beak/weapon). They're cavity nesters that will move in on blue birds, killing all, and then build on top of the mess they make. I bought the trap shown here: Sparrowtraps.net and it's very effective .... but baiting has to be somewhat species-specific (have fun sorting white millet from a mix) and one has to release a fair bit of incidental catches (chickadees, true sparrows ...)

Owls usually work, especially the motion activated ones. Cheap, static crow decoys do more to impress songbirds than other crows. Throwing an old sheet over the tractor or m/cycle keeps dust & bird poo off so far. (Raccoons mess up everything but the vehicles, another topic altogether.) Hanging 'dangly' things near entrance & exit points confounds all birds, & fishing or trimmer line works as good as anything, without maintenance or gathering much dust ...

 

[buckeyefarmer]

only way I did it was to close the barn up tight. until I did, I had the same problem.