Every spring the swallows arrive in North America, whether they are welcomed or not. This means mud nests on your home and garage and more swallows being born to return next year. Swallows are known to return to the same locations year after year. This happens only if there are no bird deterrents in place. What also happens is if the swallows have nested on your property, but they have left, another pest bird will often squat in the ready-made nests. A very popular area where swallows like to build their mud nests is under the eaves of the home. This area provides protection to the swallow from their predators and offers them a nice hidden area to hunker down. This is true for other pest birds as well and why nests need to be removed.
One of the most effective ways of deterring swallows is by total exclusion, blocking an area so that they cannot even land to attempt to start collecting their nesting materials. There is a lot of money and time spent cleaning up after the swallows every year. Swallows will find a surface where their mud nests will stick to. Surfaces include masonry, wood, stucco and concrete. They often nest in large colonies. This creates a huge, unsightly and hazardous mess. The mud nests not only stain the walls and such, but the accumulated droppings harbor diseases that are harmful and can be transmitted to humans. The nests are also a breeding ground for fleas, mites, ticks and bed bugs.
Habitat modification is a must to get rid of the swallows returning every year to your property. It takes more than just cleaning away the nests. When you do clean the area, however, make sure to both clean and disinfect. It does make it a little hard for them to find their area again. But by disinfecting you are ensuring the diseases and bugs will not be lingering around.
Installing a physical barrier is one of the best ways to keep birds away. An ideal bird deterrent that will keep swallows away is bird netting. It will stop the swallows in their tracks. You can use garden bird netting and hang it from the eaves of the home down the side of the wall creating a 45-degree angle. This stops them from getting into their favorite spot and will cause them to fly elsewhere. The bird netting should be installed before the swallows arrive and it can be easily taken down when they leave, and then reapplied again the next season.
Another net-like deterrent is called No Nasty Nest Swallow and Bat Deterrent. It too is placed under the eaves on the side of the home or building. There are clear mono-filament lines that hang from clear plastic plates that are easily attached under the eave area. The swallows will not want to attempt to wade through the lines that are hanging there. The No Nast Nest kid contains two sections that are 3” wide by 11” long. The strips have an adhesive backing for quick and easy attachment. It is a very low profile way to deter the swallow. It is virtually invisible from the ground.
There are other visual deterrents that can be added to the area such as flash tape, reflective scare eye diverters and solar sonic diverters. I would not hurt to have visual deterrents as a first line of defense around the property. This will help keep other pest birds away from your property. Other pest birds can ruin your gardens and make a mess in your backyard.