Hi Moms... I was wondering if anyone had any advice about keeping birds away from pools. Birds have taken over our backyard and there is bird poo everywhere. You can't walk around the pool without stepping in it and I'm tired of washing off the patio and furniture every day. Even when we're out there swimming, the birds come swooping down and sit on the rocks until we shoo them away or splash them. We have an owl, but they usually just use him as a perch and poop on him too. Please help! Thanks!
Hi M.,
www.tanglefoot.com has a few bird-repellant items for pidgeons and sparrows that are non-toxic.
T
Hi M.,
I don't have a pool, but I just got an email talking about the uses of WD-40 and this
34) Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
was one of them. I thought of your request, and I thought, what a cheap way if it really works! Who knows, maybe worth a try? Good Luck!
Val
Hi M. - If you have an owl you need to move it around everyday or every other day and maybe get another. The birds learn after a while that it is not real so moving usually helps. I've also seen people string up old cd's in their trees to keep birds off of fruit. I think its the movement of the cd's and reflections that do the trick so that might work, too. If all else fails, maybe borrow someone's dog for a few days??
Try distracting them by putting a couple of cheap bird baths and feeder as far away from the pool as possible.
Also, birds are afraid of snakes so if you leave a couple of belts where they gather mostly that might help.
Whirl-agigs tend to scare them away also.
We perched one of those fake owls on our patio roof and it seemed to really help. The birds were always landing on our pool fence and you couln't even open the gate without your hand being coated in poop. Hope this helps. We bought ours at a yard sale, but I think they are at Home Depot and maybe Walmart. They were around $30-$40 new.
We had the same problem with many birds taking the local dog food from every neighbor on every side of our home. The birds would dip the dog food into our pool and eat it or take it back to their nests. They are very smart birds. We were getting tired of it as well and tried an owl statue, that worked for 2 days. My husband got out his beebee gun and shot one of them. We are not violent people and this was the first time I saw him use this gun. We felt very bad about it, but the birds remembered this and they have not come back in over 1 year. Of course, my husband made sure he aimed in a place where it would not go into a neighbors yard and injure someone. Other than that, I have researched this on the internet and we didn't find any other way to get rid of the critters. You probably don't have a beebee gun and with your husband out of town, maybe you know someone who has one. Good luck.
I have also heard that fake snakes help. You could try putting a couple of rubber snakes around the pool and see if that helps.
Absolute Bird Control has several different options for this type of problem. Because you can't really treat your pool with surface treatments such as the common bird gel or spikes, try the outdoor sound deterrents, such as the Bird Chase Super Sonic. This emits predator and distress calls and can be programmed specifically to your problem bird. It is also weather-proof. Also consider some of the visual deterrents, such as the Mylar Flash Tape or Scare Eye Balloons. For other options and more information visit http://www.absolutebirdcontrol.com
I have the same problem with my pool. And also including wasps! But I have a friend who has little wire V's on top of all the walls around her pool. I have also seen them under the roofs of places like Costco, where people eat outside. They are placed on the cross bars that support the outside roofs. I have also seen some plastic ones ouside the Children's museum, here in Tucson. But I don't really know where they sell them. Maybe like at a Lowe's or Home Depot. My friend also has some box in her yard that makes a cawking sound every few minutes. Maybe that helps with it. I don't know, but she doesn't have any birds at all. I will call her today and maybe I'll get some good answers.
I'll let you know.
C..
I don't know much about the pool, but check out the rest of your lawn maybe? Do you need to spray pesticide or weed killer on the grass? One year we had the crazy black birds...and then the next year they were gone. No other reason we could figure out except that...and it was unintentional!
I clean pools professionally and most of them with natural rocks or waterfall features or negative edges draw the birds. You could try putting a bird bath and feeder in the yard to attract them away from the pool but birds are difficult to control with the situation you have. You could try getting a dog or cat that goes out into the yard regularly - we have several dogs at our house (and a pool and bird feeders) and the dogs are constantly chasing the birds away - it's fun for them and gives them exercise. Plus feeding the dogs a raw food diet has nearly eliminated their piles of waste so having to pick that up isn't a problem either. Good luck.
My employer didnt like the rabbits that were pooping all over their patio, so they got two cats. The rabbits stay out of the backyard now. I wonder if cats wouldnt help keep the birds away?
Hi M., birds don't like shiny things hanging in trees. I know someone who hangs old CD's from trees to keep birds away. They also make sprial shiny long porch ornaments to hang and these serve as a deterent as well. Is your pool the only water source around? If so they may be really thirsty. You must have created a really inviting place for birds to hang out. Try to make it less inviting with flashy irridescent things that move around in the wind. This scares them. Good luck to you and your family during your husbands deployment. L.
Hi M.!
We use large plastic owls(about 14 inches tall)from WalMart that we fill with rocks and duct tape shut to weigh them down. We use three in the pool area(one on a tall wall and two on opposite sides of the jacuzzi) and one in a large tree the birds like where they mess up our patio in addition to the pool area. We make sure to move them around slightly because we've been told if we didn't, the birds realize they are fake and start ignoring them! I have found this to be true. We also string together old shiny CD discs and hang them in the big tree. The sun's reflection startles them away. The AZ/Sonora Desert Museum uses these in some trees. Good luck!
I've heard hanging CDs works
And I wanted to say thank you to you and your family for your husband's service to our country :)
The most eco-friendly way to keep birds away is shiny tin foil strips that glitter in the sun. That is what all our neighbors do when they plant new grass and don't want the birds to eat it all. You can use Xmas tinsel or something like that and tie it on your furniture. You only leave it up a little while (maybe a month) and then they know not to come in your yard. Make sure to say thanks to your hubby from me and my family. Take care and good luck.
Hi M.,
Unfortunatly I dont have any suggestions about keeping the birds away, as I have the same problem, but I was reading all the requests and it sounds like some of them really work, I may have to try them too. Good luck getting rid of them.
I do want to say thank you to your husband and your family for him helping to protect our country. God Bless you all, and good luck while he is away!!!!
Here are a few websites that specialize in bird control ;)
http://www.absolutebirdcontrol.com/
Google Search: "bird deterent"
Best,
C.
