Looking for how to get rid of wild turkeys in your garden? Here are several control options you should consider.

Wild turkeys have become a source of concern for homeowners. These birds move about in herds and can be a nuisance while searching for food.

It’s because of this situation that we have written on how to get rid of turkeys. While certain steps may prove effective, others won’t. However, we are more concerned about those pest bird control methods that work.

How To Deter Turkeys From Properties

As you read on, you’d find effective strategies that have been tested and proven. These include humane ways as well as other approaches wild turkeys can be stopped from coming around your home.

Are Wild Turkeys Dangerous?

Feral turkeys can present health risks through their activities. Their droppings can ramp up the likelihood of having airborne disease-causing bacteria. Plus, these wild turkeys have moved beyond their natural habitats and invaded human dwellings.

Whenever you see a rising number of these wild birds, know that there are conditions they find favorable. Hence the need to remove or alter such conditions.

Turkeys can also get emboldened when they sense fear. They are social birds with a well-structured ranking order. The biggest birds may challenge perceived threats.

Nevertheless, you need not worry as there are ways to handle such problems without much danger or difficulty.

Turkey Roosting Habits

The roosting habits of wild turkeys make homeowners uncomfortable. First off, these feral birds may become more visible with growing urbanization. In other words, as cities expand outwards, the natural habitats of turkeys shrink.

This means such birds will have to adapt to urban neighborhoods.

However, while adjusting to new environments, turkeys may roost in unwanted spaces. Such spaces may include car roofs, decks, and your house roofs.

You also have to contend with wild turkey droppings. These droppings can create a mess around your surroundings in addition to the health risks presented.

So how do you keep turkeys out of your yard?

How to Get Rid of Turkeys And Keep Them Away

The processes of ridding these birds from your home surroundings are varied as you’d soon find out.

Whichever strategy you choose, one thing is constant, and that is consistency until the problem is overcome. Consistency has to do with going all out in fighting turkey problems without a break until the birds are gone.

The following are proven ways to keep turkeys away.

  • Stop Feeding Wild Turkeys Completely

Wild turkeys will always gravitate towards favorable conditions. Food is a sustaining factor they can’t do without. Some homeowners make the mistake of feeding these birds while complaining of infestation.

If you do feed turkeys, you’re only compounding the problem. It will be best to assess your activities as it pertains to wild turkey presence.

On the other hand, you may not be actively engaged in feeding feral turkeys. This may be done indirectly. Are you surprised by this? You shouldn’t be. Food scraps and leftovers easily attract turkeys. You may not be actively feeding food scraps and leftovers to these birds, however, how food waste is disposed of will matter a lot.

Bird feeders may need to be taken down too. However, if doing so will be difficult, you can rake or clear spilled bird food underneath such feeders. Ripe seeds from trees are also eaten by turkeys.

Clean your surroundings daily to prevent these (ripe seeds) from attracting birds.

  • Cooperation Matters

It isn’t enough to tackle feral turkeys alone. You’ll need the help of neighbors to succeed, most especially in matters of feeding.

You can easily cut off all food supplies to these birds, but what about your neighbors? As long as a few neighbors continually feed turkeys, all your efforts at getting rid of these birds will amount to nothing.

It requires broad-based action that everyone must be involved in. Get friendly with neighbors and let them know the implication of their actions (feeding turkeys).

Once everyone is involved, better results should be expected. Your neighborhood should witness a drop in the turkey population when everyone sticks to the plan.

  • Install Motion-Activated Sprinklers

Motion-activated sprinklers are deployed in various scenarios against a wide range of pests. Wild turkeys fall under such categories of pests. The reach should cover as much space around your surroundings to scare and keep these birds away.

You will have to determine how many motion-activated water sprinklers you’d need. The size of your property will determine that.

These sprinklers get triggered when turkeys (and other birds too) get within a restricted range. This results in sudden bursts of water which can go as far as 30 feet. These products come in multiple brands.

As such, you’d need to find out what customers think of certain brands through their reviews.

  • Use Hardware Clothing to Protect Plants

Looking for how to keep turkeys out of flower beds?

Plants and vegetables are likely to get damaged by turkeys and other animal pests when exposed. Hence the need to provide a covering.

We recommend the use of hardware clothing to fend off turkeys. This is because while preventing these birds, a hardware material won’t trap or entangle them.

  • Polypropylene Bird Nets

Polypropylene bird netting is used in a variety of situations against a variety of birds (wild turkeys included). You want to block certain parts of your home to turkey presence. Such roosting sites are sealed off by installing these nets.

Polypropylene nets are tough and will withstand encroachment attempts by birds.

Polyethylene bird net is another variant of nets you can use. These types of netting come in different brands. The type you choose should depend on the available information (customer reviews). Bird net products are easy to install.

These come with ample information on how to use them. You may also want to find out what fits your situation. The size of the area you need to exclude turkeys from also matters.

  • Visual Scare Devices

Visual scare devices are the rage in pest control. Feral turkeys and other pesky bird types are frightened whenever they come across scare devices.

Some of these devices are made in the form of predator decoys, while others create an illusion of an unsafe environment.

This is a very effective way to get rid of turkeys without killing them. Let’s mention a few scare devices for the avoidance of doubt.

i. Scare Eye Balloon

Scare balloons come with holographic eyes that seem to follow the movement of turkeys.

This makes them think they are being watched. Movements made when blown by the wind will make it even more menacing to these birds.

Find roosting spots most used by turkeys and hang these scare eye balloons. You should see a marked drop in turkeys hanging around such spots.

ii. Reflective Bird-Scare Tapes

As the name reflects, bird-scare tapes are designed to frighten turkeys (as well as other unwanted birds). These tapes are both reflective and easily blown by the wind.

The reflections given off are visually frightening to turkeys and will make your surroundings unwelcoming.

This inexpensive scare device can be tied to tree branches, stakes, and railings, etc.

iii. Bird-Scare Electronic Devices

Bird-scare electronic devices can be deployed in the fight against wild turkeys. So how does this device work?

Easy! It comes preloaded with distress sounds from birds. These come in programmable and non-programmable variants. It is battery-powered and plays such sounds all day.

This is the last thing turkeys would want to experience. Birds will keep their distance and associate your home surroundings with anything but favorable.

iv. Propane Cannon

Propane cannons are scare devices that have proven to be quite effective on pest birds. This can also be used in turkey control. It works by giving off a single pressure-regulated sonic blast.

This will scare birds away and comes programmable. It is also powered by propane, which means it doesn’t need batteries to function.

v. Prowler Owl

Prowler Owl is a life-sized replica of the actual predator.

It looks like the real deal and can be installed wherever you find feral turkeys becoming a nuisance. The presence of this perceived threat makes turkeys keep their distance.

Some of these replica predators may have moving parts. We recommend purchasing such for the best results.

vi. Coyote Decoy

Coyotes are known predators which turkeys will rather stay away from.

However, we aren’t speaking of an actual coyote, but a life-sized 3D model of it. The similarity here is striking and will be mistaken for an actual coyote. Get these decoys and station them at various points around your home.

These decoys come with all the instructions you need to fix. Wild turkeys immediately sense your home as a danger zone which is the impression you’d want to create.

  • Spikes

Spikes are a helpful tool anyone can use to get rid of turkeys.

These can be installed on a wide range of surfaces. Spikes look menacing and threatening and no bird will want to land or approach surfaces bearing them.

There are 2 main types of spikes; steel and plastic spikes. All achieve the same purpose. However, plastic spikes won’t last as long as steel, and as expected, these cost less to buy than steel spikes.

  • Call a Wildlife Removal Service

This is for persons who would rather have a competent and experienced hand get things done.

That’s exactly what wildlife removal services represent. They are competent professionals with experience in handling a wide range of pest animals, including feral turkeys.

You only need to be able to foot incurred expenses. That’s about all you need to do apart from pointing at the problem and backing off. You may be advised to change certain habits like feeding these birds or how you dispose of garbage.

Remember your garbage may likely contain food scraps that may be tempting to birds.

There you have it! Getting rid of turkeys is something you can do once you have the understanding. We have discussed and given several helpful tips you can include in your arsenal.

These turkey removal methods and strategies are bound to give you the solutions you seek.

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