5 Home Remedies For Barn Swallow Control

Here, we’ll be looking at home remedies for barn swallow control. These are natural ways to arrest the problem without causing harm to the birds as well as to pets or humans.

Barn swallow problems are most common in spring. Unlike other bird species, these tiny birds build mud nests on properties, thus defacing them.

Apart from the menace caused by their nest-building activities, barn swallows are also known to litter their droppings around.

Cleaning up becomes a big challenge when dealing with an infestation. The health risks of such droppings are another factor to consider. Homeowners will need to get rid of mud nests in addition to carrying out repairs where necessary.

All of these point to the need for effective barn swallow control strategies.

Are Home Remedies Really Effective?

One likely question a lot of people might ask is whether home remedies are any effective. The answer is definitely a yes! However, the success of home remedy treatments lies in how well they’re performed.

If you’ve never been attracted to DIY techniques for bird control before, you might have difficulty following through with the adoption of solely home remedy provisions.

However, impossibility is only an excuse for persons not wishing to learn and try.

Natural Remedies For Barn Swallow Control

When it comes to home remedies that work, there are several to try out. These strategies have been proven and found to work in deterring these birds from becoming a problem.

They include the creation of suitable alternative habitats, removal of old nests, and the use of natural repellents.

Other effective home remedies include the use of deterrents or decoys and blocking off preferred nesting sites or areas.

What more? You may want to install spikes around areas you wish to exclude such birds from. This prevents them from perching which in turn makes your homeless uninviting.

Scare tactics are another way to ensure barn swallows avoid your home surroundings.

All these strategies and more will be discussed shortly. You only need to read along to discover how best to contain a barn swallow problem.

• Suitable Alternative Habitats

Barn swallows will always stick around human dwellings when there are no incentives to leave.

The creation of suitable alternative habitats for these birds is only one of several strategies. This alone won’t solve the problem caused by barn swallow presence.

A combination of all these methods is more likely to succeed in ridding your home of barn swallows.

In a lot of cases, you’ll need to find out what your local laws state or the provisions regulating the creation of alternative nesting areas or habitats.

Basically, suitable alternative habitats are intricately connected with ideal nesting conditions. Ideal nesting conditions require that alternative structures be sound. This means the ability to provide long-term habitats for these birds.

Such habitats must include sheltered overhangs with horizontal ledges or rough vertical surfaces. That’s not all. You should also ensure that there’s ample spacing provision between nests. Alternative habitat locations also count.

The location of alternative habitats should be in areas with less possibility of predation. The surface(s) provided should be suitable for nest attachments.

Also, consider the height of such nests to allow for minimal disturbance to these birds.

Free access must be taken seriously. Barn swallows need to be able to freely access and move out of such habitats.

Doing otherwise will defeat the relocation process.

Timing is of the essence when it comes to the construction of alternative habitats for barn swallows. Such structure should be finished or completed before the next barn swallow active season.

Barn swallow breeding seasons are variable. This could range from February to May.

• Removal of Old Nests

If you have a recurring barn swallow problem, chances are that you’re not taking the needed action. Barn swallows are known to use old nests. To discourage that from happening, old nests will have to give way.

Removing them is necessary and is best done during the inactive season.

While removing old nests, you should know that barn swallows are protected under federal law. This means that any eggs laid in nests cannot be removed until hatched. So, inspection is necessary to avoid infringements to existing laws.

These nests are likely to be found on your structure. Now, you’ll notice after the nest removal that a mess is left behind. The area needs to be cleared and painted over. This helps eliminate signs of prior barn swallow presence and activity.

Also, consider clearing or cleaning up the mess left behind such as scattered droppings and feathers. This should be done using a nose mask to prevent the inhalation of dust from their droppings.

Performing or taking all of these actions keeps you from health risks and the possibility of barn swallows making a comeback.

• Use of Nets to Create Barriers

Due to the nesting behavior of barn swallows, you may have to exclude them from access to their most favorite nesting spots. Nets are great tools to create barriers with.

Consider covering the eaves of structures among other frequented parts with such nets.

The aim is to make it more difficult for barn swallows to gain access to such areas. However, the downside is that such barriers could end up defacing your structure.

• Use of Natural Repellents

As their name suggests, repellents are meant to keep barn swallows at bay. These birds will keep their distance once they sense an unsuitable odor or taste around their habitat.

Since we’re looking at home remedies or natural solutions to the barn swallow presence, it’s necessary to stick to the plan.

One way to apply this measure involves the use of natural ingredients to create barn swallow repellents. A Concord grape derivative known as methyl anthranilate can be used for this purpose. This substance smells like grape juice and causes significant irritation to birds.

This won’t cause harm to other animals as it’s temporary. You can use this natural repellent directly for full strength or dilute it with water. A spray bottle comes in handy for the application of this mixture on barn swallow dwellings.

When sprayed around areas most frequented by barn swallows, they find it impossible to stick around. The constant irritating feeling results in relocation. However, it’s necessary to know when to apply.

Doing this regularly at the start of the active season makes your home surroundings unsuitable.

• Use of Deterrents

Deterrents are effective ways of keeping barn swallows off your property. These include sound-emitting or generating devices.

Others include visual deterrents such as the use of scare devices that look similar to predators and also the use of spikes.

All of these combine to make your home’s surroundings unsuitable. As stated earlier, the use of deterrents alone isn’t guaranteed to give you the results you seek. You’ll need to combine several other strategies as listed in this article.

• Removing Food Sources

Barn swallows are known to feed mainly on other insects. This they do when they fly around.

So, how is it possible to remove a food source because they consist of insects? It’s easy! You’ll need to carry out insect control.

When doing this, care must be taken not to use toxic substances as these may be ingested by birds which could lead to secondary poisoning.

• Consider the Use of Spikes

A spike is a great barn swallow deterrent to have in place. Before its use, you must seek out the most frequented areas visited by barn swallows. These spikes should be installed in such locations. It always serves its purpose without fail.

Swallows should find such areas unwelcoming. They will have to seek out alternatives. Just make sure it isn’t another part of your home.

Spike is one of the most effective home control options for barn swallows.

• Scare Tactics

Scare tactic is a great method to drive barn swallows away. All sorts of strategies can be applied to achieve the needed effect. You may want to include visual and audible sounds that birds fear the most. These mostly mimic predators.

However, using scare tactics for barn swallows may be effective for some time. However, this situation may change as birds become more curious when nothing seems to happen.

Conclusion

Wherever barn swallows nest, they create a nuisance that becomes unsightly. In other words, properties are defaced simply by the presence of barn swallows. This is largely due to their nesting behavior and the fact that such nests are made from mud.

Ordinarily, a lot of people (especially bird lovers) wouldn’t mind having birds nesting around their properties. However, problems arise when such birds become a menace. This is the situation with barn swallows.

No one wants to find mud nests being built at various points around their homes.

The home remedies provided above help with barn swallow control. We’ve considered a number of these methods and how to go about applying them.

Home remedies for barn swallows are varied. We’ve seen some of the strategies you can apply to take back control of your property.

If you feel none of these strategies best meets your needs, then help from an expert may be what you need.