How do you get rid of barn swallows?

[RobJ]

Mine don't even need a ledge!! Just Siding...

 

[Bird]

Rob, I wonder if the type of siding makes a difference. Yours looks much like mine did 2 years ago when the barn swallows were here, but since then, I've had vinyl siding put on everything was wasn't brick on this house (except the roof, of course) and no more barn swallows. We used to always have lots of Mediterranean Geckos on the ceiling of the breezeway at night, but they don't venture onto the vinyl siding either.

 

[LBrown59]

there is a guy in another thread that has them in the boat house where he parks his tractor.
Maybe you could give them to him as he likes them.

I have a rather large (~200' x 40') horse barn. Well, now there's no horses in it. But there are about 2 dozen barn swallows which have made it their home! Admittedly the barn is not in the best shape. One of the doors has basically fallen off as have many of the window shutters so there's plenty of open areas to enter the barn. These birds come around in the spring and nest until the fall. Then they're gone for the winter only to return. I know the best thing would be to just wait until fall and patch up any open access point before next spring but are there any other options? Any advice? I keep my tractor in the barn and these things keep pooping all over it!

 

[Redbug]

We had a problem with them nesting in the chimney, (chimney swifts). You could sit in the living room and listen to the babies chirp as the parents came in with food. There were several nests. I put a chimney cap on the chimney after they grew up and left. I do like hearing them, but they are messy, and the old nests create a hazard when we use the wood stove in winter. I have a pond below my house, and we watch them fly along and dip into the water's surface to gather water for more mud.

 

[Tig]

My father put small sections of eaves trough under the nests to catch the poop and keep it off the house.

 

[Glowplug]

Rob, I wonder if the type of siding makes a difference. Yours looks much like mine did 2 years ago when the barn swallows were here, but since then, I've had vinyl siding put on everything was wasn't brick on this house (except the roof, of course) and no more barn swallows. We used to always have lots of Mediterranean Geckos on the ceiling of the breezeway at night, but they don't venture onto the vinyl siding either.

Too slippery?!

 

[RobJ]

Too slippery?!

Not sure if it matters that much if they really like the place. In our case, on the front porch, we are not there for a week or 2 at a time, nice breeze up the valley, nice view of the trinity river valley below, everyone waves, little car traffic, nice flowers below. What's not to love!! Actually you can see where they put some mud on parts of the wall and didn't use it. Our red clay stains forever!!

 

[MossRoad]

Most vinyl is too slick to hold the mud/spit. They would not build on mine. But they will build on anything that the mud will stick to.

 

[Glowplug]

Not sure if it matters that much if they really like the place. In our case, on the front porch, we are not there for a week or 2 at a time, nice breeze up the valley, nice view of the trinity river valley below, everyone waves, little car traffic, nice flowers below. What's not to love!! Actually you can see where they put some mud on parts of the wall and didn't use it. Our red clay stains forever!!

I'll bet they tried and tried and tried. Then she started yelling at him, "What's wrong with you? Can't you do it anymore?" Then he says, "Well it's your fault, look what you've given me to work with here!" She says, "We've come back here every year after spending the winter in South America without a problem and now, just this year, you can't build me a nest?!?" Finally, they get frustrated, and move on.

 

[LarryD]

If you Google barn swallows+Home Depot you'll find several stories about how they learned to access the inside of the store by flying at the sensor.

I saw it on 60 Minutes (or one of those shows) and they would fly right at the door making a sharp turn at the last minute, door would open and in they went. I think the manager commented that in the morning they would all be waiting for the doors to be activated so they could get some breakfast.