While a few birds on your property may be welcome, they can become a nuisance if present in large numbers or if nesting in your home. This is a situation that may require bird removal in Whitby to resolve. You may not notice at first that you have an infestation. Here are some signs of birds on your property and what you can do to prevent an infestation.

How Do You Know if You Have a Bird Infestation?

Signs of a bird infestation can be subtle at first. As the infestation grows, the signs may be more obvious.

1. Damage to Roofs and Eaves: Apart from looking for food, the main goals of birds are to build nests in which to raise babies. They want to build nests that are as safe and secure as possible, which is one reason why they build far off the ground. Nests in roofs may also provide shelter from wind and cold. If there is an existing flaw in your roof or around the eaves, birds may exploit it by making it larger to accommodate a nest. While you may not have noticed the initial damage, you may be more likely to notice the extra damage the birds have caused.
2. Greater Numbers of Birds: There are times of year during which some bird species tend to flock in large numbers, usually around the time of their yearly migration. If the large numbers persist out of season and the birds seem to be sticking close to your property, it may be a sign of an infestation.
3. Bird Droppings: Bird droppings are one of the surest signs of an infestation, one that you are likely to notice even if you do not see the birds themselves. Bird droppings cause unsightly white patches on outdoor surfaces and may produce a foul odour. They can spread disease-causing microbes and cause surfaces to become slippery, increasing the likelihood of a fall injury. Bird droppings also contain substances that can cause property damage by eating away at metal or painted surfaces. The more birds that are present, the more droppings are produced, compounding the problems that they can cause.

What Can You Do To Prevent a Bird Infestation?

One of the most effective ways to prevent an infestation of birds or any other animals is to remove food sources from your property. Food attracts animals and encourages them to find a home nearby. In the case of birds, this means removing bird feeders from your property, but it also means depriving birds of other food sources.

For example, birds feed on insects and their larvae. You can avoid attracting insects to your property by keeping lawns and shrubs well-manicured to deny them places to hide. Adding beneficial nematodes to the soil of your lawn can help to rid it of insect larvae.

Birds also feed on fruit, seeds, and nuts. If you have trees on your property that produce them, you may be able to use netting to prevent the birds from getting them if you do not want to remove the trees themselves. At the very least, you should clean up any windfalls as soon as possible.

The perceived threat of predators may deter birds from a property. Some homeowners put up an artificial owl as a decoy to discourage birds from the property.

What Should You Do if You Have an Infestation?

No prevention methods are 100% effective against wildlife infestation as animals are tenacious in their pursuits of food and shelter. If you have a bird infestation, you should not try to cope with it yourself. Not only could you put yourself at risk for disease or injury, but you could violate laws that protect many bird species. Instead, you should trust the trained professionals at Skedaddle for bird removal in Whitby.