Birds can be good, especially when they’re humming serenading sounds that make you feel relaxed and at peace with nature. Sometimes, you just can’t get enough of watching them as they perch and take off in your yard. But however much you might like them, they tend to get on your nerves, especially when they mess up your mailbox. If only they could perch somewhere else but there.
Well, what if there was a way to stop them from leaving those nasty deposits that nearly always ruin your mood whenever you’re collecting your mails. In fact, in this post, I’ll show you not one, not two, but 11 unique and easy-to-implement ways to keep birds off your mailbox.
Let’s get right into it.
11 Amazing Ways to Keep Birds Off Your Mailbox
1. Use Laser Lights
Birds can’t stand anything that moves unnaturally and weirdly. Anything that they can’t make head or tail of is sure a winner sends them scampering for their safety.
That’s where bird deterrent lasers come in to do the magic for you. The lasers will rebel against the birds by using pinpoints of light that move unpredictably and in a manner that the birds will never see coming.
These lasers are excellent during the night when other methods like decoy owls can’t work. The best part is that you don’t need to go the extra mile before installing and starting to use them. You simply plug them into a power source, point them in the direction of the mailbox and you’ll be good to go.
How far can laser beams travel? If your mailbox is within an area of 12 square feet, you’re covered.
One tip to always remember is that the lights work best when positioned in an area with complete darkness. It’s thus a good idea that you avoid putting them in an area that’s already glowing with light.
The lights also come with customizable settings that enable you to determine how long the lights last. That means that you’ll be able to determine how much of your electricity the lights will use, although they’re not heavy consumers of power.
2. Keep Them Away With the Holographic Tape
The tape is also known as the scare tape, and that’s because it does an excellent job at ensuring birds come nowhere near your mailbox. It has a straightforward working mechanism; as the birds approach the area and are about to perch, they see flashes of light, making them back off immediately.
Besides the holographic tape, you can also use old CDs, small mirrors or strips of foils placed in convenient locations to scare off the birds. For instance, you can hang the old CDs strung together in an area near the mailbox.
They should be loose enough so that they can sway around in response to the wind. As they do that, they’ll produce random and scary reflections that no bird will want to wait and confirm that it is.
The good thing about this option is that it gives you plenty of room for creativity. You can induce in it as many DIY ideas as you can think of so long as the items can twirl around and reflect flashes of light at the end of the day.
3. Get a Cat
Birds don’t like cats for one reason; they see them as food. While you might not fancy the idea of your feline friend bringing home its dinner bird, just having the cat around might work well in keeping the birds at bay.
If you intend to get a cat for this purpose, it needs to be one with a hyperactive personality. You don’t want a cat that will spend the entire day curled up on the couch while the birds are having a field day out there messing up your mailbox.
The best cat for this job is the one that likes outdoors so that no bird will summon the courage to perch anywhere near its vicinity.
4. Use an Owl Decoy
Birds don’t like scarecrows because they’ll scare them off. But when that scarecrow is an owl, you can be confident that no bird will want to perch anywhere near that area for the love of their own precious lives.
There are two ways you could position the decoy. The first one is to put it directly on top of your mailbox. The second option is to find a convenient and conspicuous location that’s near the box.
Many of these decoys are created to make sudden erratic movements that will scare off the birds. Before buying, you should first determine the type of power source they use so that you see if it’s convenient for you.
Many of these use solar power, battery or wind. Regardless of the type of power source, a good decoy is the one with the ability to produce unpredictable movements that will scare away birds.
But what if the birds start to realize that the owl is not a real one?
The truth is, if the decoy just remains in the same position, the birds will inevitably come to know that you’re pulling a trick on them. But it’s easy to deal with this shortcoming. Every couple of days, move the decoy around so that it’s not just sitting in one place.
5. Distract Them Using Bird Feeders
Sometimes, all you need to keep your mailbox clean and free of birds is a minor distraction. One good distraction is setting up bird feeders away from the area where the box is located.
That way, you get to kill two birds (not literally) with one stone. How? The birds will still frequent your home, only that they’ll be perching somewhere else and not your mailbox.
6. Apply Non-Toxic Liquid Bird Repellent
The liquid repellent contains methyl anthranilate, a pungent and bitter substance that’s derived from Concord grapes.
The substance almost smells like grape juice, but to birds, that’s a smell they would rather not have anything to do with. To keep the birds away, spray the repellent in the neighboring trees, natural surfaces or even on the surface of the mailbox.
The liquid isn’t poisonous both to birds and humans alike. The fact that it’s made from a naturally extracted substance is sufficient proof of its safety. The only and perhaps the most important component that works in this method is the pungent smell that birds can’t withstand.
Before applying the liquid, read the label’s instructions to determine whether you’re required to mix it with water or it’s used as it is. You should apply the repellent using a spray bottle so that you minimize wastage.
The spray could also be helpful if you want birds to keep off your eaves, ledges and windows. The moment the birds smell the liquid, they’ll fly off immediately, leaving your mailbox clean.
7. Use a Flag
Using a flag is a simple hack that can prove to be effective. It works by tapping into unsuspecting birds’ minds as they can’t distinguish whether or not the fact is harmless.
As the window blows, the flag’s movement causes the birds to take off, as staying behind could mean the bird is falling prey to the “predator” on the loose.
Generally, birds are skittish and no matter how hard they try, they can’t just overcome the fear of the slightest hint of motion around them. As far as they’re concerned, any movement they can’t pinpoint the source is a threat to them. Consequently, as soon as they catch wind of any, they’ll flap away and go perch somewhere else. That’s the chance that you’ll be leveraging to keep the birds away from the mailbox.
If you’re not comfortable with the flag’s idea, you could also consider using pinwheels or other items that produce rapid movement near the mailbox.
8. Use of Cooking Spray
You’re already familiar with the idea of using sprays that produce an odor that birds can’t stand to scare them off.
Whereas cooking sprays may not produce odors that will send the birds flapping away, it has an advantage that the other sprays don’t. It makes the surface slick, making it difficult for birds to maintain their balance when they try to perch on it.
9. Don’t Allow the Birds to Nest Around the Area With the Mailbox
This method aims at drastically reducing the frequency with which the birds fly around the mailbox. If they’re many nests, it means that the birds will be around the area more often, which means more trouble for your precious mailbox.
However, if the existing nests have eggs or young birds in them, you shouldn’t remove them just yet. Wait for the eggs to hatch or the chicks to mature before you can remove the birds.
With this option, you also need to trade carefully. The law protects certain migratory birds and so if you’re caught removing their nests, you might get yourself into trouble, especially if there are birds or eggs inside.
10. Install Shock Tapes on Roosting Areas
Bird shock tape is another seamless method you could use to ensure that birds don’t perch on the mailbox’s surface. For this to work, you’ll need bird shock tape as well as its charger. Install the tape the same way would as double-sided office tape.
First, you’ll need to unroll the tape, peel it off the paper before smoothing it to the surface. The difference between the bird tape and the conventional office tape is that the one for birds has metal leads that enable it to conduct electricity generated by the charger.
And don’t worry because you won’t be killing poor birds with electric shocks. The tape releases a mild shock that’s just enough to send the birds flying away when they land on the surface of the box.
Besides working well for the mailing box, you can also use the bird shock tape on other smooth surfaces such as roof shingles, tops of walls, and pipes.
Before using this method, you should first ensure that your state law allows using such methods to not run any risks of attracting the hand of the law. Of course, the method rarely results in fatalities, but it’s always good to be cautious.
Additionally, the method might not work very well if your mailbox is located in an area with high traffic. Ideally, it should be in an area that’s not within reach of children and free from much human foot traffic.
11. Call in a Professional
It’s the most accessible and most recommended alternative to getting birds off your mailbox and yard in general. Of course, it will punch a few holes in your pocket, but you’ll be sure what the professional will recommend or implement.
The professional wildlife control experts will do that you might not be able to. For instance, they’ll find out the exact type of birds that are giving you sleepless nights, their feeding habits, nesting tendencies and their general behavior. It’s only after they have established those facts that they’ll give a customized solution that won’t disappoint you.
Those are the 11 unique ways you could implement today to keep birds off your mailbox. Remember, not all of them could turn out to be effective. The key is to pick those that are easy to apply depending on your specific factors and go ahead and implement them.