When we moved back to the Midwest and bought our current home a few years ago, we discovered a problem with the local birds. This is a newer neighborhood and there are not many larger trees. There isn’t many places the smaller birds can roost and build their nests.

We had to remove three small nests that the birds had built in the light/fan on our deck. As soon as the nests were removed, the birds started to rebuild again, so we had to construct a cover over the light fixture to keep them out. Once that location was cutoff to the birds, they moved to the front of the house and started hanging out on the front porch and eaves, covering the porch and railings with bird droppings. So attractive.

A co-worker told me that they had the same problem with their RV that they stored between trips. They bought a couple of large owl statues and placed them on top of the RV to scare off the birds. She told me that the owls worked exceptionally well, no more birds or bird poop. We decided to try that and bought two life size owl statues for the porch.

Mitch added a small platform above the front door and placed one of the owls there. We set the second owl on the porch railing below and to the right of the first owl. I cleaned off the porch and railing so we could see if they would deter the birds. It worked, no more bird poop. We were amazed that it worked out so well.

It continued to work for about three years, but the birds are starting to wise up and realize that the owls are not the big bad “wolf” anymore. We have started to notice bird dropping on the porch again and the birds are flying in a couple of large bushes in front of the house and hanging out. Yesterday I got a notification on my phone from the doorbell camera that there was a person on the porch. I could not believe what I saw when I answered my phone. A Sparrow flew to and landed on the owl’s head. It only flew off when the owl’s head turned around. What a slap in the face! I laughed so hard, the dog was startled.

I wonder if a giant boa constrictor would work.