Expanding foam that birds can't eat

   / Expanding foam that birds can't eat #1  

BeezFun

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I've got a spot where rain blows in along a lean to roof on my barn that I've tried closing with expanding foam, but the birds like that spot and/or the foam because they keep pecking it away. Is there any kind of foam that hardens enough that birds can't peck it? It's a prorib style roof and I've tried the closure strips that are made for that kind of roof, but the birds eat the closure strips. I'm thinking of putting in some of those bird spikes in that area, then foaming it. Problem is if that doesn't work it will be a mess to get out.
 
   / Expanding foam that birds can't eat #2  
You can try covering the foam with flex seal or the dollar store knockoff. So far nothing has messed with that. YMMV
 
   / Expanding foam that birds can't eat #3  
There's an expanding foam which is supposed to deter rodents, I don't know if it will work for birds.

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   / Expanding foam that birds can't eat #4  
If you can cover the foam with some kind of steel screen mesh or hardware cloth that should deter the birds. They will go through window screen.
 
   / Expanding foam that birds can't eat
  • Thread Starter
#5  
   / Expanding foam that birds can't eat
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#6  
If you can cover the foam with some kind of steel screen mesh or hardware cloth that should deter the birds. They will go through window screen.
That's a thought, I could make a tube out of hardware cloth and shove it in the space, then spray the foam in the hardware cloth.
 
   / Expanding foam that birds can't eat #7  
That's a thought, I could make a tube out of hardware cloth and shove it in the space, then spray the foam in the hardware cloth.
Maybe a combination of foam and steel wool?
Mice/squirrels can be a problem here, never heard of birds doing that.
 
   / Expanding foam that birds can't eat #8  
Birds often go after what they perceive as good nesting sites, but they also go after places where they can sense insects.

Many years ago we had a woodpecker that attack a particular corner of our house for many years, before we ripped the wood trim/siding off and found a carpenter ant colony behind the wood. After removing the colony, we had no further issues with bird attacks.

+1 on embedding metal or metal mesh to dissuade the birds. If it were me, I might dig around to find a way to make the joint all metal with minimal caulking by layering the flashing in a different way.

All the best,

Peter
 
   / Expanding foam that birds can't eat
  • Thread Starter
#9  
After snooping around up there and taking down some of the old nests, I've decided to take off the existing flashing so I can get to this properly. I'm going to make some aluminum flashing that will serve to block the blowing rain and block access for the birds. If they can get through sheet metal, I'm calling Stephen King with an idea for a new novel. Thanks for all the ideas.

Kind of a funny story, I used expanding foam to block up holes and cracks in the barn. We kept finding little bits of foam floating in the horse troughs. Turns out the birds were pecking the foam out and using it in their nests, some of which were close enough to the troughs that the bits blew into the water. There isn't one shred of foam left up in those areas, it looks like they used solvent to clean off every last piece. These are sparrows, I'm glad I'm not dealing with crows or I'd have to call for armed backup.
 
 
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