Resolving Backyard Wildlife Problems
Backyard Habitat: Attracting Wildlife to Your Garden ... Bird Feeding Stations ... Nesting Habits of Wild Birds and Build-Your-Own Nesting Boxes ... Wild Bird Houses / Nests (Fancy & Practical) .... Water Fountains ... Bird Baths ...... Books, Videos, CDs & DVDs
Controlling Critters in Your Backyard
- Cats ... Dogs ... Snakes ... Squirrels ... Other Rodents ... Raccoons and Opossums ... Snails ... Bears
Keeping Away or Helping / Rescuing Birds In Your Garden:
All wild birds (except pigeons, English sparrows and starlings) are protected by federal and state laws. You may not trap, kill or possess protected species without federal and state permits. So it is important for you to identify the bird and the next step would be to see what is attracting it. Your goal is to remove what attracts the bird, or build a barrier between the bird and what it finds so attractive. If in doubt, call your US Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Office for advice.
- Handling Potential Nuisance Birds:
- Woodpeckers ... House Wrens ... House Sparrows and Starlings ... Birds of Prey ... Waterfowl ... Fruit-eating Birds ... Fish-eating Birds... Roosting Birds ... Nesting Birds
- Injured or Orphaned Birds:
- Sick or Injured Birds: What to do when you see sick birds ... Baby Bird "Orphans"
- Resolving Dangers Birds Face in Your Yard:
- Birds and Window Collisions ... Insecticides and Lawn Chemicals ... Problems at the Bird Nest Box ... Birds Trapped in Feeders ... Seeds That Causes Sickness ... The Problems with Bird Baths ... Insect Infestations in Bird Houses / Nests ... Bird Mites
- Generally woodpeckers are welcome birds in our backyards as they are not only beautiful and fun to watch, but they also consume millions of insects. Tips for Attracting Woodpeckers to Your Garden
- However, occasionally woodpecker single out a house for drumming, a ritual that occurs when m ales set up territories and attract their mates. At that time they make their presence known by "drumming." Normally they pick a resonant dead tree trunk. However, as more homeowners remove dead trees, woodpeckers may turn to metal gutters, house siding and television antennas.
While drumming may be aggravating, it usually doesn't physically damage your house. You can eliminate the drumming noise by deadening the resonant area. Fill the hollow space with caulk.
Then distract the bird from the drumming site by using scare techniques: balloons, a child's pinwheel, flash tape, and strings of shiny, noisy tin can lids, wind chimes and/or pulsating water sprinklers.
If that doesn't work, create a physical barrier by screening the drumming site with hardware cloth, sheet metal or nylon "bird netting."
You might encourage the bird to leave altogether by creating an alternative drumming site nearby (but away from your bedroom window). Here's how to make a drum: Fasten two overlapping boards, the back board firmly secured and the front (covered with metal sheeting) nailed to it at only one end.
- Serious structural damage occurs when woodpeckers drill holes in unpainted, untreated plywood and cedar siding, window frames and roofing. While no one knows for sure what attracts a woodpecker to a house, your first step in eliminating the problem is to check for signs of insect infestation -- carpenter ants, carpenter bees and cluster flies.
You may want to consult with a licensed pest control operator on how to remove the insects and eliminate future infestations. It may be as simple as caulking their tunnels and painting with exterior latex. If you can't find any insects, try "scare" techniques.
If you have a bird feeder that attracts woodpeckers, you might think removing your feeder will cause the bird to leave. Just the opposite may be true. Keeping a feeder full of suet may encourage the birds not to look at your siding for food.
If you have dead trees in your yard, you might think removing them (and the insects they harbor) will solve woodpecker problems. Again, the opposite may be true. Cutting down dead and decaying trees deprives these birds of nesting, drumming and food sites, and may force them to take a look at your house.
If you don't discourage them, these two pest species introduced from Europe will bully or kill cavity-nesting birds. Since house sparrows and starlings are not protected by law, you may destroy their nests. But, remember, other birds are protected by law.
At times house wrens interfere with the nesting success of other birds by puncturing their eggs. But unlike the sparrow and starling, these birds are part of the natural system. They are protected by law. Don't intervene.
It is understandable that proud gardeners get upset when they see that their crop is being harvested by birds. The best way to keep them off the fruits are barriers.
- Hot caps (opaque plastic "hats" used to cover young plants to prevent freezing) and inverted crates can keep starlings from pulling up small plants.
- Netting may keep starlings, catbirds, orioles, robins, blackbirds and jays from your grapes, apples and raspberries.
- Scare techniques may repel birds from gardens.
- Placing feeders filled with sunflower, millet, nectar, and peanuts nearby may also distract birds.
Koy enthusiasts get very upset when their prized koi fish are being eaten by fish-eating birds, such as gulls, terns, herons, egrets kingfishers, diving ducks, pelicans, cormorants and ospreys.
- First try scare techniques, then exclusion.
- While they may be unsightly, physical barriers can deter most fish-eating birds. For small ponds, complete screening with bird netting may effective.
- Properly spaced monofilament lines suspended over a pond may exclude gulls (every 4 feet), mergansers (every 2 feet), and herons (every foot).
- Perimeter fences provide some protection from wading birds.
Homeowners don't like the droppings piling up under a flock of roosting, especially if they roost on their roofs, their balcony railing, carport rafters, or and gulls basking on their boat dock. The problem is especially severe if they roost by hundreds or even thousands -- potentially creating a serious health hazard.
- Physical barriers may be the most effective way to control birds roosting on buildings.
- To eliminate birds on ledges try porcupine wire, stretching a "slinky" toy, or stringing rows of monofilament, one or two inches above each other about two feet apart.
- Sheet metal or hardware cloth placed at an angle on ledges may also make roosting more difficult.
- Pruning may eliminate birds roosting in trees.
- Removing some cover may be enough to make the roost site less attractive.
- Scare tactics may provide temporary relief.
Birds often pick what seem to be the strangest places to nest:, such as people's gutters, clothes driers or kitchen fan vents, above their front doors, in hanging baskets, on window sills, or in shrubs near or at the house.
- House (or English) sparrows, pigeons and starlings are not protected by law. You may remove the nests, eggs and adults.
- Other wild birds, their eggs and nests may be protected by federal and state laws. You must have a federal permit to disturb the adults, nests or eggs.
- The most effective way to eliminate these problems is to discourage the bird before the nest is built by offering an alternative artificial "nest" nearby, but out of your way.
- If that doesn't work, contact a federal or state agent for advice. Resist the temptation to destroy the nest or harass the adults.
People who raise free-range poultry or small animals, such as rabbits, have good reasons for wanting to keep birds of prey, such as hawks and owls, away for obvious reasons. Federal and state laws prohibit the capture, killing or possession of hawks and owls.
- The best solution to most raptor problems is prevention. Keep your pets indoors, and your livestock in pens.
- If you feed wild birds, expect a visit from a hungry hawk or owl. Raptors at a bird feeder are a problem only when they perch nearby all day. When they do, you are not likely to see any birds at your feeders.
- Stop filling your feeders for a couple of days, and the raptors will look for dinner elsewhere.
Ducks, geese, swans and cranes can cause problems near rivers, ponds and lakes. They feed on crops, grass and other vegetation. During their summer molt, flightless birds may create more problems by trampling plants and leaving droppings. Whatever the problem with waterfowl, immediate action is crucial to successful control.
- Farmers are encouraged to use early-ripening and damage-resistant plant varieties. Another strategy, delaying fall plowing, allows waterfowl to feed in harvested fields.
- A combination of several frightening techniques may produce the best results: scarecrows, noisemakers, flags, balloons and dogs.
- Scarecrows should be of simple construction and move in the wind. Put one in every five acres and move them every two to five days.
- Old cars, farm machinery, pinwheels, streamers, fluorescent traffic cones and aluminum pie plates, if they move in the wind and make noise can also be effective waterfowl scares.
- Noisemakers. Contact your state animal damage control expert for advice on using explosives as noisemakers.
- Flags may be the most effective and least expensive control tool. Make two by three-foot black plastic flags on four-foot posts. Put one flag per acre in fields where waterfowl have been feeding, one per five acres in fields with no damage.
- Balloons, if properly maintained and frequently moved, can be effective waterfowl scares. Fill a two-foot diameter balloon with helium and anchor it with a 50 to 75 pound monofilament line.
- A free ranging dog, trained to chase birds as soon as they land, will discourage waterfowl.
Contemporary homes and modern office buildings often use reflective glass for insulation purposes, as well as having aesthetic benefits. But they can be lethal to birds, who can't distinguish the difference between the real sky and a reflection of the sky in a window.
In the United States alone, it is estimated that each year during migration, millions of birds fly full tilt into windows and are seriously injured or killed. Migration isn't the only time homeowners have trouble with bird-window collisions. Birds may hit your windows during breeding season, and in the winter too. During breeding season, male cardinals, woodpeckers and mockingbirds may "fight" their own reflections in windows (and car mirrors). They'll stop banging into the window as the breeding season ends.
You can do various things to minimize these collisions:
- Break up the reflection on the outside of the window with a window screen, flash tape and bird netting.
- Planting trees and installing window awnings to block the sun from hitting the window may eliminate some reflection. Regardless of the season, birds can fly into windows when they're frightened while visiting a feeding station. Either move the feeders a considerable distance away from the window, or immediately adjacent to the window (so birds don't get up to flight speed before hitting the window).
- Please note: Life-size, animate "scares" (plastic falcons, owls and balloons) and falcon or owl silhouettes attached to windows with suction cups are only short-term deterrents.
Insecticides and Lawn Chemicals
If you attract birds to your yard, keep in mind that many herbicides, insecticides and fertilizers are deadly poisons.
Ornithologists have known for several years that many lawn-care chemicals kill songbirds and contaminate their food. Mechanical and biological techniques may provide less hazardous pest control options.
- Please visit this website for tips on how to control weeds and unwanted insects in your garden.
- Attracting the Right Birds: Many homeowners wanting to attract birds of their choice, do so by putting up nesting boxes. Almost two dozen species will consider a human-made nest.
The problem is how do you make sure the right animal is using your bird nest?
- Learn all you can about the birds you want to attract and offer them a box that opens at the top and the front or side. Monitor the nest box, and evict starlings and house sparrows.
- Protect the Birds from Predators:
- If you find birds attacking the adults, eggs or nestlings, what you can do depends on the perpetrators. You could choose to eliminate house sparrows and starlings (although it is not something that I would do or like to see.). All other birds are protected by federal and state laws. You may not harass or otherwise harm hawks, owls, falcons, crows, grackles, jays and shrikes.
- If snakes and climbing mammals are a problem, use physical barriers to deter them. Try a PVC pipe over your metal bird house pole, or metal sheeting on a tree or wood pole. Smear the PVC or metal with Vaseline laced with hot (cayenne) pepper. Avoid automotive grease, it can be lethal to wildlife.
- Put a predator guard over the nest entrance hole.
- Do not use bird houses with perches below the entrance hole.
- Eliminate Insect Infestations:
- The safest solution to insect infestations is physical removal and soaping the inside top of the box. If insects infest the box during nesting, apply a light dusting of rotenone or pyrethrin. Do not use chemical sprays.
Some poorly designed bird feeders can actually lure the birds inside, where they become confused and may die in a panic. Avoid clear plastic feeders with feeding ports an inch or larger in diameter. Chickadees will squeeze inside to get that last seed, and try to fly upward and out, forgetting the entrance is at the bottom. The same can happen in a wood hopper feeder with plastic walls tight to the roof.
If you're going on vacation, never leave your feeder full. It's better to take it down than take the chance that a bird will become trapped.
Birds are attracted to sunflower because of its high oil content. Some of that oil saturates the shell. If you don't remove the spent shells, rodents are attracted to the smell.
The obvious solution is to rake up the shells. An easier way to eliminate the shell problem is to use hulled sunflower (also known as sunflower hearts or chips).
Regardless of which seed you use, store it in a metal garbage can in a cool, dry place. Seed will turn rancid when it sits in a hot garage or shed in the summer. To avoid insect infestations in warm weather, don't store more seed than you can use in a couple of weeks.
Put the seed in a feeder where it's dry and protected from contamination.
Bird baths can present problems to birds if they are too deep (small birds can drown in three inches of water) or the water is dirty (birds drink, bathe and defecate at a bath).
- Hose out the bath daily and wash it with hot, soapy water at least once a week. Add liquid bleach or, even better, 3% hydrogen peroxide to the soapy water to help kill algae and bacteria.
Winter is the most important time to offer water. There's no easy way to keep water from freezing. Contrary to some reports in the popular media, glycerin and antifreeze will kill birds.
- The only way to keep water from freezing is to add an electric water warmer.
Be careful with electricity and water. Use a UL (Underwriters Laboratory) listed warmer, and connect your appliance to a GFIC (ground-fault interrupt circuit) outdoor socket.
For a selection of bird baths, including heated baths, please click here.
Pet dogs are a hazard to nestlings in the spring and summer. All it takes is one swift bite and the baby bird is gone. Don't let your dog or cat run loose during nesting time.
Stop other dogs from entering your yard through proper fencing.
Raccoons and opossums will stick their arms inside nest boxes and try to pull out the adult, young, and eggs. Adding a predator guard to the bird house or to its pole support is a simple solution.
Putting out food for your pet dog or cat will also invite these critters to your yard.
It is important to prevent bear problems and that is everyone's responsibility. Work within your neighbors to encourage others to manage their garbage, dog food, birdseed - or anything else that might attract a bear.
- Garbage: Do not put out garbage for pickup the night before. Store garbage and animal feed inside secure buildings or in bear-proof containers. Keep your garbage secured until just before scheduled pickup.
- A bear-proof container would be, for example, a steel drum fitted with a locking lid.
- Don't bury or burn your garbage, as this may still attract bears.
- Don't Feed Them!
- Bears like pet food, horse feed, meat scraps and fish. Keep them in a secure place.
- Barbecues can also be powerful attractants. Storing them in a protected place and burning off grease after each meal helps to discourage bears.
- Avoid composting anything you think a bear might like to eat. Fish and meat are favorites, and seaweed and kelp have enough fishy smell to attract hungry bears.
- Domestic animals draw bears. Keep them where they are safe. Chickens and rabbits kept in outside pens are easy and attractive prey
- Bears, especially black bears, like birdseed and suet. If you have a problem with bears, don’t feed birds between early April and late October. Clean up uneaten food and seed hulls each spring when you put your feeders away.
- Place your garden so it doesn't attract bears. Placing your garden in the open, away from cover and game trails, helps to discourage bears.
- Electric fences can be effective. If used properly, electric fences can keep bears out of gardens and compost piles. They can also protect homes and domestic animals.
- Ref.: Living in Harmony with Bears, a project of the Alaska State Office of the National Audubon Society. It is designed to help people co-exist with brown/grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and black bears (Ursus americanus).
Snakes are an important part of the natural balance between predator and prey. If you find one of these reptiles in your bird house, please don't kill it.
Snake-proof your house by putting it on a metal pole lathered with vaseline or hot red cayenne pepper.
Many insects infest bird houses. You should inspect your bird houses for signs of mites, gypsy moths, blow flies, wasps, ants, gnats, and bees.
- You can keep bees and wasps from attaching their nests by coating the inside of the roof with bar soap.
- In areas where gypsy moths abound, avoid placing boxes in oak trees, which are favored by the gypsy moths. Pyrethrin and rotenone insecticides are recommended for killing fly larvae, bird lice, and mites after birds have finished nesting for the season.
If you would like to add to or correct any of the above information, or would like to share with the AvianWeb visitors your own experiences, please e-mail the AvianWeb Webmaster.
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