Well, I can tell you this...those plastic owls work extremely well, at least for me. We have a cedar gazebo in the court yard and have been plagued for months with birds that dug (pecked?) holes everywhere. There are some that just like to hang around the thing but the ones that do the damage are a small flock of 8-10 birds that are about the size of a dove. I caught them in the act many times. So, about four weeks ago, I bought one of those owls off Amazon for around twenty bucks. Made in China but the detail is pretty good and the eyes are excellent. Mine has a head the swivels, but that works only so-so and if the wind is strong enough.

I'm telling you, there has not been A SINGLE bird in that gazebo since the owl has been there. I check constantly throughout the day. Not one damn bird!!

Here he is a couple of quick shots:





Here is a shot of the damage they do. I put a screen mesh in there hoping to keep them out.

Serious answer to your question. I know these work. My brother has a deck above a walkout basement and he strategically placed these to deny access for perching by birds—they can’t land.
Amazon

quote:

Originally posted by ruger357:
Plastic snake helps. Also I remember my parents hung aluminum pie plates on a fig tree. The movement and light reflection kept them away as I recall.

Similar, I was going to say I've read that wind chimes will deter birds.

^^^^ Doesn't even have to be chimes. They don't like motion or reflections.

We had a boat with a canvas bimini cover. The local seagulls considered this to be the ideal location to dissect crabs and shit.

The owl worked for a week. It worked for another week when we moved it. Then it stopped working.

A string rigged between the radio antenna and a wood pole stuck in a fishing rod holder with dangling bits of canvas that blew in the wind worked great.

So, wind chimes or something that blows around in the wind will probably do the best for you.

I don't know how well the blowing bits thing would work with really small birds, as they aren't much concerned about the interference in their flight line like a big bird like a seagull is. That may have been a significant part of the deterrent effect.

If none of this works, leave a coke can sized container of Tannerite out there and smoke it from a window when the birds get feisty.

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:
Here is a shot of the damage they do.

I'd be seriously p155ed about that!

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
wind chimes

I'm not usually a fan of them, but I may make an exception soon.

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
^^^^ Doesn't even have to be chimes. They don't like motion or reflections.

[snip]

So, wind chimes or something that blows around in the wind will probably do the best for you.

I've thought about some hanging lights, but a length of fishing line with some random shiny metal bits hanging from it would be easy to rig up.

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
If none of this works, leave a coke can sized container of Tannerite out there and smoke it from a window when the birds get feisty.

Mighty tempting, sir. The neighbors would freak out, I'll bet, but it would be great fun for a short moment!

It might be time for the Andromeda option...

quote:

Originally posted by Paten:
Since the deck has a roof you could put a screen around it.

That was my thought as well, screen it in with a nice mesh, keeps bugs, birds, snakes n such off the deck...

I have tried the plastic snakes, plastic owls, plastic hawks and the pie tins. They all worked for a little bit

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
Serious answer to your question. I know these work. My brother has a deck above a walkout basement and he strategically placed these to deny access for perching by birds—they can’t land.
Amazon

Depends what the birds are. Some of the apartments we have at work have had annual barn swallow nesting for as long as I've worked here. They'd make nests on top of the exterior wall lighting and on the fire alarm equipment. Their answer was bird spike, despite my warning. All the swallows did was start making their mud/grass nests on the tops of the door frames. Now they poop on the residents instead of pooping on no one.

How about those bird scaring kites? I have no personal experience but I see them from time to time and the people say they do the job.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
Serious answer to your question. I know these work. My brother has a deck above a walkout basement and he strategically placed these to deny access for perching by birds—they can’t land.
Amazon

Depends what the birds are. Some of the apartments we have at work have had annual barn swallow nesting for as long as I've worked here. They'd make nests on top of the exterior wall lighting and on the fire alarm equipment. Their answer was bird spike, despite my warning. All the swallows did was start making their mud/grass nests on the tops of the door frames. Now they poop on the residents instead of pooping on no one.

Of course it does.

I solved this problem with a BB gun. Every 3 years or so I need to pick a few of them off and the rest get the point and my deck will stay largely poop free for a few years. It used to get so bad that there would be bird shit every couple feet all the way around

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
Serious answer to your question. I know these work. My brother has a deck above a walkout basement and he strategically placed these to deny access for perching by birds—they can’t land.
Amazon

I was going to post this as well.
We had a male Cardinal that saw itself in the reflection of our Mbdrm window and that little fucker would bang his beak against our window every morning about 5 and it was really pissing me off…

I ended up buying a slightly different version..
https://www.amazon.com/Squirre...TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&th=1

And secured them to the ledge and no more problem.

The spikes are tempting, too.
I don't know yet where they're landing, though... aside from right on the deck surface when dropping their poo, that is.

If the 'owl' has a head that rotates periodically, it might work.

Crows are too smart but it bay work with other birds.

quote:

Originally posted by ruger357:
Plastic snake helps.

My buddy had a pretty good sized rubber snake coiled on the swim platform of his 35' Searay. He never had an issue with ducks or geese on the boat or pier around it.

Hard to say……sorry. I had one hung under the canopy of my boat lift to keep barn swallows from building their nests in its corners. One year it didn’t work at all. The next year it worked great. Give it a shot is the best I can say.

We had a pigeon problem. A cheaper fix which proved effective is we had someone install spike strips on the horizontal ledges where they liked to hang out.

A more expensive but effective fix is installing a machine that intermittently broadcasts predatory bird sounds. I saw it online when I was researching my problem and I saw an actual implantation in a doctor's open air building. The sound wasn't too loud, i guess it's enough for birds in the area to hear it.

Shiny aluminum things dangling works. Visited my friend
in Wenatchee Washington. He took us on a tour. Appe orchards everywhere. Different varieties of apples had different color Shiny aluminum th8ngs in the trees. Different variety apples, differt species of birds, different colors.

I use Shiny garden tape in my pear, apple and persimmons.