If you’re wondering how to prevent birds from nesting in your gutters, then you’ve come to the right place.
Birds nesting in your gutters can lead to all sorts of problems down the line. And once they’ve settled, it’s illegal to disturb or remove the nesting so the best course of action is prevention.
Birds in the UK, with the exception of pigeons, won’t be nesting in the winter months so that’s your window to do any preventative work.
What damage can birds do to your gutters?
If a bird unfortunately decides to build its nest in the comfort of your gutters (and they commonly do), there’s a chance that you may encounter some drainage issues. Birds typically use materials such as twigs, leaves, moss and wool to build their nests and this build up of material will cause a stop block.
Water overflow
The most obvious issue will be the overflowing of rainwater due to the fact that the birds nest blocks the passage to your down pipes. If too much water is allowed to build up, it could very well start seeping into your roof, causing water damage as well as damp.
Structural guttering problems
Despite what you may think, rain water is heavy and gutters aren’t designed to be holding excess weight. Flooded gutters can cause gutters to displace due to this excess weight and you could also have issues with the clips that hold the gutters in place.
Fascia Rotting
Clogged gutters increase the risk of your fascia boards rotting. Without this added protection, rainwater and moisture will find it easier to enter your home which can lead to issues with damp, mould and damage to your walls, ceilings and insulation.
How to prevent birds from nesting in your gutters
Fortunately, there are a few preventative measures you can take before this even becomes a problem.
Install gutter guards
Gutter guards can be a relatively cheap and efficient solution to preventing birds from nesting in your gutters. Commonly available gutter guards such as the hedgehog brush or aluminium covering will work wonders in dissuading birds from making your gutters their new home.
Aluminium covering sits right on top of your existing gutters and thus totally eliminates the possibility of birds nesting whereas the hedgehog brush fills most of the available space in your gutters – not ideal for nesting!
Defender bird spikes
Defender bird spikes are another good solution which stop birds entirely from landing on your gutters as shown below:
By clipping them onto the outside of your gutters, you’ve got yourself some medieval-type defence (albeit defence that’s made of plastic and the spikes are only around 15cm but you get the point). We’re big fans of this method due to the simplicity of installation.
Can you get rid of an existing birds nest in your gutter?
If you’ve stumbled upon a birds nest that’s already in your gutter, it’s very important that you don’t touch it. In the UK, birds are protected by law so destroying or moving the nest could land you in hot water.
Your best bet is to wait until the winter months. Birds don’t typically nest in the winter so make sure you give your gutters a thorough clean and then follow the methods above for prevention.