How To Keep Birds Away
From Your Car

Is Your Car Really Popular With Birds?

By Richard Worden

Birds are beautiful creatures that fill the skies with beauty and our hearts with wonder unless, of course, these fantastic animals decide that your car is a wonderful place to poop. If you're like most drivers, you wonder how to keep birds away from your car. Is there a simple way to keep birds away from your vehicle?

You can keep birds away from your car by tricking their senses with reflective surfaces and odors they dislike. You can use simple remedies to trick them into thinking they see, smell, or hear danger. Such methods can keep the birds away but will not harm them in any way.

The tell-tale white marks of bird poop on a vehicle are unsightly, and cleaning it up can be a struggle. So to help fellow car owners, continue reading this quick guide and put this frustration to rest. Read on!

Why Do Birds Poop on Cars?

Before we go into detail about some tips to keep birds away from your car, let’s quickly go through why they tend to leave their unpleasant droppings on your vehicle.

It's not just unfortunate happenstance that you return to your car and find birds have laid (literal) waste on it. While sometimes it is just a matter of being in the wrong place when a bird has to go, there are a few reasons why birds do this:

• They're afraid. Like many small animals, birds will evacuate their bowels when startled. It's thought that seeing their own reflection will cause this, and with cars having many reflective surfaces, it makes sense that poop would seem to gather there. 

• Some birds poop to mark their territory. This is a real possibility if birds have a nest nearby. Also, cars parked in one place for long hours are more likely to be marked this way.
• Your car is parked close to their nest. If you park under power lines or branches, you increase the chances of your vehicle becoming a target of an intentional or accidental bird poop disaster.

There’s also a study that claims birds are highly likely to drop their waste on red cars. However, although it’s true that birds can recognize colors, there’s not enough evidence to support it, as it can be merely being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

5 Tips to Keep Birds Away From Your Car

Knowing these bird behaviors is all well and good, but making changes to avoid them might seem challenging, as there may be instances where you don't have much choice in parking spots. Moreover, bird poop can damage your car paint, resulting in a costly repair.

Luckily, there are several methods that are much more convenient and pretty effective in keeping your car safe from birds.

#1 Set Up Predator Decoys

Birds have a bevy of predators to contend with and aren't going to risk their lives to ruin your Porche if they sense danger nearby. As small prey, they know better than to try to punch above their weight class. Instead, when they spot a predator, they'll keep moving to try and avoid getting its attention as best they can.

Of course, getting your hands on an owl and training it to guard your Prius is a tall order. Thankfully, some companies manufacture clever decoys designed to keep our feathered friends and fiends away. They're simple objects that come in various designs, with some utilizing lights and sound.

One such company is Bird Blinder, which sells Fake Horned Owl decoys on Amazon.com. Naturally, birds will recognize the shape, colors, and markings and think they're predators. So letting these decoys stand guard is an inexpensive way to defend your car.

You can place the decoy anywhere within proximity of your car. Alternatively, you can leave it on your vehicle when not in use to make it more prominent. In either case, you should occasionally move the decoy to give the impression that it's alive. how to keep birds away from your car

#2 Repel Birds With Reflective Surfaces

For all their grace and poise, birds are easily startled. Seeing their reflection can cause sudden panic, especially in an otherwise secure area. An unexpected flash of light is often a deterrent to sending birds packing. 

A standard method of doing this is hanging CDs near your parking area or nearby trees and bushes. CDs are especially effective because they're light enough that they'll twist in the wind, making them more visible. And honestly, who doesn't have loads of old CDs lying around the house?

Please note that you don't want to place a reflective surface on the car itself. Besides already being reflective, such a location would mean that it's likely not to be seen until a bird is already above it. Surrounding areas will give them a better shot of working as intended.

#3 Make Use of Peppermint Oil

Did you know that birds have a strong sense of smell? Some are even stronger than our own. And just like us, there are some scents that birds find repulsive and will avoid at all costs. 

Peppermint oil is one such odor. Though birds find the smell unpleasant, smelling it won't cause them any physical harm. And if you find the scent of peppermint relaxing, that's just a bonus!

There are a few ways to use peppermint to keep birds away from your car. You can apply it directly to the vehicle or on nearby plants with a spray bottle. You can also soak a piece of fabric with peppermint oil and hang it near your car if you'd prefer. 

If you aren't keen on the idea of peppermint, there's a slew of other scents to turn birds away. Garlic, lemon, and vinegar are all viable choices and readily available. But, of course, you'll be smelling the repellent, too, so keep that in mind if you choose this route.

#4 Use a Special Sound Emitter

Sound emitters are small devices that resemble speakers and produce sounds or tones repeatedly when turned on. They've been used for indoor and outdoor pest control for many years, with devices marketed towards rats, insects, and, yes, even birds. 

While they may produce a mechanical noise while operating (depending on the model), the sound they emit is a high enough frequency that humans cannot hear. how to keep birds away from your car
Birds find the sounds emitted annoying and go to great lengths to avoid them. However, it's important to note that the noises don't physically harm them. On the contrary, sound emitters are one of the most humane forms of pest control.

For a better picture of how they work, check out the Bird-X Balcony Gard Ultrasonic Bird Repeller on Amazon.com. It's a discrete box you can install on any structure outside your home, and you can set it to continuous or motion-detected activation. Installing one of these on your property will go a long way toward reclaiming your car from birds

#5 Watch Were You Park Your Car

If it seems like your car is a bird poop magnet it should come as no surprise that we would offer this friendly reminder. Anytime you park under trees or see a large amount of droppings on the ground where you plan on parking or even in a parking structure where there’s droppings on the ground or walls, this should tell you that it’s a popular place for birds to roost above.

When I go to park under tree cover I’ll see if there’s a parking space that has less tree cover meaning there’s less chance of birds above my newly washed and waxed car. :-)

Frequently Asked Questions...

Can You Keep Feeding Birds While Using Any of These Methods?

You certainly can, but you may need to rethink how you do it. Birds that find a recurring food source are more likely to consider the area part of their territory. Rather than throwing out handfuls of seed, you'll have more success repelling them if you set up a feeder somewhere away from your car. 

Remember, though, that feeding any wild animal is an invitation sooner or later. If you're worried enough about them harming any part of your property, the best thing you can do is stop feeding them food. Eventually, they'll move on to greener pastures and leave your place behind.

Why Do Birds Scratch at My Side Mirrors?

It's the reflection! While they often fly off when confronted with this mysterious other bird, it's not uncommon for them to get a few shots first. You can purchase protective covers for your mirrors to prevent this from happening, and it may be fruitful to use them while trying any of the methods mentioned above.

Will Outdoor Pets Keep Birds Away From My Car?

Having a furry friend work double duty to keep birds at bay is a sound piece of advice. However, its effectiveness is more or less a gamble. Anyone with a cat can tell you that they'll climb fences, trees, and even walls to reach their prey, but while they may score kills from time to time, that won't keep other birds from coming in after the fact.

The other methods mentioned above are more humane and effective:

• The decoys can be left outside at all times – near your car but in different positions. 
• You can activate the sound emitter whenever you want.
• You can spray peppermint scent as an alternative to the other methods.

Unless your cat is exclusively kept outdoors, it won't be a constant presence in the same way. Even if it is, keeping them in one area would be difficult.

How To Keep Birds Away From Your Car...
Conclusion

To discover how to keep birds away from your car, you need to know a little about bird behavior. Understanding what attracts them to your vehicle in the first place, in addition to things they don't like, should be all you need to mount a solid defense. 

But don't forget that it takes effort, too. You'll only see results if you put in the effort and try different things when one approach fails.

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Hi! I'm Richard Worden, the author and founder of We Know Birds.

Over 20 years ago I developed a keen interest in birds and birdwatching, and it has been my passion ever since. I am committed to spreading useful knowledge about birds to others so we might all enjoy them to the fullest.

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