Buildings can provide reliable food, shelter and safe places for birds to roost or nest. Removing nesting material or clearing away droppings might solve the immediate problem. However, birds can return if the conditions that attracted them remain unchanged.
Your Building Provides Good Roosting Sites
Modern buildings can provide many of the features birds would naturally seek elsewhere.
Pigeons, for example, readily use ledges and other elevated structures. Depending on the species, birds might settle around:
- Roof ledges
- Window sills
- Guttering
- Chimneys
- Balconies
- Signs
- External pipework
- Air conditioning equipment
These areas provide somewhere to rest while keeping birds above many potential threats.
A building with numerous sheltered ledges can support significant bird activity even when the birds aren’t nesting there.
Food Is Readily Available
A regular food supply is one of the strongest reasons birds remain around a property.
For residential buildings, potential food sources can include bird feeders, pet food and poorly secured household waste. Commercial properties may have additional problems around bins, outdoor dining areas and waste storage facilities.
Even small amounts of discarded food can encourage birds to visit regularly.
Once a dependable feeding location has been established, birds may incorporate the building into their daily routine.
Reducing access to food can therefore form an important part of a wider bird control strategy. Bins should be closed properly, spills cleared and waste storage areas kept as clean as practical.
Suitable Places to Nest
Buildings can also provide sheltered nesting locations.
Birds may establish nests beneath roof coverings, around guttering, inside damaged structures or within other protected areas. Solar panels can create another attractive location because the space underneath provides shelter.
Once birds have successfully nested somewhere, the same building will remain attractive in future.
However, nests and nesting birds are protected by UK wildlife legislation. This means bird control work needs to account for whether nests are active before they are disturbed or removed.
Preventative work is therefore the most valuable solution. Proofing suitable areas before birds begin nesting can prevent a problem without interfering with an active nest.
The Building Offers Protection From the Weather
Birds need somewhere protected from wind, rain and extreme temperatures.
Recesses, overhangs, roof structures and covered areas can all provide shelter. Larger commercial and industrial buildings may offer particularly attractive locations because of their size and structural complexity.
Some buildings also provide warmer areas around machinery, ventilation systems or other equipment.
When a property provides both shelter and nearby food, it can become an especially attractive place for birds to remain.
Birds Can Become Familiar With the Area
Bird activity isn’t always restricted to a single feature of the property.
Birds can become familiar with an entire area. They may know where food is available, where they can rest safely and which parts of a building provide shelter.
Removing one attraction may therefore not be enough.
For example, blocking access beneath solar panels might prevent nesting there. However, birds could simply move to a nearby ledge if the rest of the property remains suitable.
Looking at the building as a whole can help identify why activity continues.
Why Can Repeated Bird Activity Become a Problem?
Droppings can accumulate on roofs, entrances, pavements, windows and other surfaces. This creates additional cleaning requirements and can affect the appearance of the building.
Nesting material can also enter gutters and drainage channels. If enough material builds up, rainwater may no longer drain away as intended.
For businesses, repeated bird activity can be particularly inconvenient around customer entrances, loading areas and outdoor seating.
Addressing the reason birds are gathering can be more effective than repeatedly cleaning up after them.
Why Do Some Bird Deterrents Stop Working?
Property owners sometimes try visual or noise-based deterrents before considering professional bird control.
These may initially cause birds to avoid an area. However, some birds can become accustomed to deterrents if they learn there is no genuine threat.
Moving birds from one part of a building can also shift the problem elsewhere.
How Can Bird Control Prevent Them Returning?
Effective bird control focuses on making problem areas less suitable for roosting, nesting or feeding.
The right approach depends on the building and the bird species involved. Possible measures can include bird netting, spikes, mesh and other physical proofing systems.
Food and waste management may also form part of the solution. And where birds are entering a building, damaged areas or access points may need attention.
Professional assessment can identify where birds are spending their time and what is attracting them. This makes it possible to target the cause rather than simply responding to the symptoms.
Preventing Birds From Returning
Clearing a nest, cleaning droppings or frightening birds away may provide a temporary improvement. But if food, shelter and suitable roosting areas remain available, the birds may simply return.
Long-term bird control looks at what is attracting them in the first place.
Finding food sources, nesting opportunities and common roosting points, appropriate preventative measures can be introduced. This helps make the building less attractive while avoiding a cycle of repeatedly dealing with the same bird problem.
