Birds are beautiful animals that fill our backyard life and sound however, birds can become a nuisance when they appear in places they aren’t supposed to. For many the first step to keep birds away starts with physical barriers such as spikes or netting, other people may use simple products like spray, bleach, pepper, or repellents to keep birds away. But does bleach keep birds away? Which one works the best? Here’s the answer.
The Short Answer…
Applied in the right way, bleach can help temporarily but not so effectively like bleach does to rats and raccoons. Due to birds mostly rely and prey with their eyesight and thus, bleach doesn’t affect them so much. However, there are better ways which could do the job done even with less effort. The most effective and non-toxic way to keep birds away is to remove water and food feeders, sprinkle baking soda or spicy pepper where birds spend time the most. Don’t worry, we will explain and teach how to apply it. Here we go.
Watching and feeding birds with their peaceful sound is pleasant but not appearing suddenly and eating your strawberries or nesting in your home. Not only strawberries, but birds eat most of the fruits and vegetables people grow in the garden even cranberries and rice. That’s not the only problem birds create. From physical damage to spreading disease, birds become a nuisance, and pests especially for food business and where they store food like warehouses, where they come for food, make nesting and feces and damage the property.
You might be wondering why not use bleach to keep birds away. Here’s why to use it and if it is effective to use.
What is Bleach?
Household bleach is a great sterilizer. It is made from caustic soda, water, and chlorine. When these ingredients are mixed together properly, they form a chemical solution that kills just about anything it touches. Not only does it get rid of germs and bacteria on your clothes, but it can also destroy mold and remove tough to clean stains on clothing. Bleach does a great job in keeping your home clean and germ-free.
That makes people think that it would be a great chemical to use on birds. But does it really work? Here’s the answer.
Why Bleach Do Not Keep Birds Away?
While bleach works well for rats but it doesn’t do that well for birds. Rats have a great sense of smell which they use to find food like cheese. On the other side, bleach has a strong, chlorine-like smell that makes up an unpleasant smell. That means if a pleasant smell can attract rats, an unpleasant smell will repel away rats. But why doesn’t it work for birds?
In contrary to rats, birds have a sharp sense of sight and find food with their eyesight, and do not use their sense of smell like rats. That’s why bleach does not bother birds much like rats do. However, birds are easy to scare away from an object or anything external that they can see because of their way of preying.
Do Birds Hate Bleach?
Of course, they do. Bleach has a bad odor that lingers for hours but not as much as rats and raccoons that would keep away birds. But that doesn’t mean birds do not bother by bleach. In fact, birds do not like bleach’s smell and that odor keeps them from returning to their favorite spots.
The odor might keep away the birds from the areas you sprayed but does not stop them from moving to another part of your home. That just relocates the problem and doesn’t solve it, especially if they have nested in your home. The downside to this method is that you may not spray the whole area of birds living and you will still have the same problem. It may take several spraying attempts to get them all.
You will see some results from your effort but that might not be enough to keep birds away for long. As a result, bleach may help but it may not be the best solution to this problem. Plus, it takes more effort and precaution. It may take a while before it works and you may have to move out of your home for a day or two depending on where you spray the bleach.
Does Bleach Kill Birds?
Absolutely. Like rats and other animals, bleach can kill birds very easily if they ingest. But unless you are able to get them to drink the bleach, it will not kill them. Bleach is a very strong chemical that can harm the skin and inhale problems if touched, and cause death if swallowed. However, bleach can even corrode the pipes. It will stain anything it is put on so it can cause severe issues for health.
What Are The Downsides of Using Bleach?
Bleach is convenient to use as it is probably already in your home, and not as expensive as birds repellents. The chemical is easy to use and do not need to mix anything else in it to make it work.
The chlorine bleach will kill mold, germs, bacteria at the same time you spray the bugs. This does not require you to take drastic measures to apply this chemical to the birds. Finally, bleach will keep the home and everywhere safe and healthy. If bleach is this useful, why not use bleach?
Like any product bleach has its upside and downsides however, the positivity might outway the negativity considering the fact that you’re killing bacteria and germs which is why they are allowed. But should be we aware of what are the negatives points of it.
- Bleach has a bad odor that lasts for hours.
- Contacted with skin, it may cause skin damage, respiratory system, and irritation of the eyes, noes, and some other part of the skin.
- When sprayed on rooftops or anywhere else, the chlorine with the bleach may destroy the color.
- If swallowed, bleach may be fatal for humans and animals.
- A big drawback to using bleach to keep away birds is that it will stain everything it lands on. Clothes, flooring, carpet, furniture, and more. You can add water but it would be weakening the bleach’s power.
Best ways to Keep Birds Away
If bird feces fall down on you when entering home or if you have a rest restaurant patio area where people eat outside, birds might suddenly appear either for food or bird’s feces falling down or around malls, where people enter the buildings and sometimes there’s signage above the entryways. Or birds have nested over the roof or somewhere, feces and their furs take all over the house.
If you have a very expensive piece of equipment underneath the awning and birds roosting and feces falling down on that equipment, bird feces is very caustic and calls metal to oxidize. There are many products that can be used for birds control but which one works? Will bleach keep birds away? Let’s find out.
Take Away Their Food Source
The easiest and most effective way to keep birds away is to remove their food source. As long as they have food, they will continue coming, just like giving a kid candy. You might be saying “But I don’t feed a single seed and they still happen to appear”. Well, that is because if you have a pet and feed it outdoor, chances are the pet will leave some or spread some scraps. That is a perfect food for birds.
Or if you or your family eat outside, the leftover and scraps are a great source of food for birds. Nonetheless, birds eat a variety of food such as cheese, popcorn, watermelon, cucumber, and even meat.
Not only food, but water feeder can also cause birds problem. That’s why if you remove their food source, they are likely to keep away from the place. If this seems too good to be true, it’s definitely worth a try. However, if you don’t feed and don’t have pet or eat outside much and birds still pop up, the next solution might work for you.
Visual Deterrent
While birds are more sensitive to visual things, you can scare off birds with different products. From CD to lights to scarecrow. Owls and snakes are natural predators of birds even hawks and birds are afraid of them. There are many good birds and human scarecrows out there that some of them even move. You can get a moving scarecrow and install a nice one out where birds often appear. Some scarecrows move their wings and some move their head and others become laser eyes. But even they move, you should move it every few days, or otherwise, birds will figure out it’s fake.
Odor and smell
Odor and smell can be equally effective bird deterrents and can be applied in some hard-to-reach places that other deterrence can’t reach. But the question is what smells repel birds? One of the best ways to keep birds at bay is to use essential oils in particular peppermint oil. For birds, peppermint oil is a strong and defensive odor however, birds have a weak respiratory system so do not use peppermint oil by itself.
Recommended: Use Baking Soda or Spicy Pepper
One of the best ways to keep birds with little to no risk is sprinkling baking soda where birds appear the most. The soda sticks to their toes which they don’t like.
Another similar way is mixing 20 or more chili pepper with half a gallon of water and a quarter cup of vinegar. You can now warm the mixture in a crockpot or outside in a closed container. Give it an hour. Once it’s finished, pour it into a spray bottle and start spraying areas where birds seem to be the most.
How to Keep Birds Away From Garden?
There are many ways and solution for this but usually doesn’t work like they are supposed to. Even if they might work for some time, birds will figure out after some time which will then fail. The best and ultimate way is netting as a bird deterrent works best for a garden.