How to get rid of birds from your roof

Depending on where you live in the UK, your experience of living alongside our feathered friends can vary a lot. In some areas, the occasional rooftop visitor can be quite a pleasant sight, but in others, roofs can quickly become busy resting spots for all kinds of birds.

Unfortunately, birds aren’t always the welcome visitors they might seem. Their feet can leave scratches, their movement can disturb roofing materials, and their acidic droppings can cause long-term damage if left untreated. Over time, this can lead to premature roof deterioration and encourage the growth of moss and algae.

In this blog, we will talk about how to stop birds nesting on your roof, how to keep birds away from the roof, and the best type of bird deterrent to use. You can learn more about the damage that is caused by nesting birds here.

• Installing Deterrents
• Visual Deterrents
• Audio Deterrents
• Getting Rid of Their Perches
• Protect Your Flat Roof With Netting
• Removing Reasons for Nesting

Installing Deterrents

One way to help prevent birds from making your roof their home is by installing an effective deterrent. Over thousands of years, birds have evolved with an acute sense of danger, alerting them to when predators are close by. With an instinct to protect themselves from danger, a deterrent taps into those natural senses and can be an easy way of helping to keep birds away from your roof. By introducing something that resembles a predator to your roof, you can deter birds safely and humanely.

To ensure you have the right deterrent for your unwanted guests, be sure to identify what species of bird regularly visits your roof. A deterrent that may work for house martins, crows and starlings may not work for pigeons. So, let's take a look at some of the possible deterrents that may work for your property.

Visual Deterrents

A popular way to deter birds from nesting on your roof is to install visual deterrents. Designed to imitate birds of prey, like the owl pictured below, birds will sense potential danger and choose not to land nearby.

Before parting with your money, it's important to choose a visual bird deterrent that will provide your roof with the best possible protection. An owl, for example, will not be as effective for scaring away pigeons as a model of a falcon. Owls, though, are a great choice for scaring away crows, rooks, jackdaws and magpies. Hawk and falcon decoys, meanwhile, are well suited to deterring gulls, sparrows, pigeons, blackbirds and thrushes.

While visual bird deterrents may work for a while, bear in mind that birds will eventually learn that the decoy isn't real, especially if it remains in one place.

Purchasing a deterrent that has reflective eyes, moving wings, or a movable head can help make it appear more lifelike. While not the most practical of solutions, you can even resort to regularly moving the visual deterrent to different areas of your roof. This prevents the birds from getting used to the position of the fake predator.

A far more effective solution to convincing birds that your deterrent is a genuine threat is to install flying decoys. These not only resemble real birds of prey but are suspended from a wire, allowing them to move or ‘swoop’ in the wind, which is a motion birds instinctively recognise as dangerous.

If you require visual bird deterrents for wide open spaces, such as farms, commercial hubs or airports, there are more heavy-duty methods you can employ, such as high powered lasers. These, however, can be very dangerous to humans if they are not operated in a responsible way and should never be used in domestic or densely populated areas.

Audio Deterrents

As well as visual bird deterrents, you can also use audio as a means to ward off nuisance birds. Particularly popular in industrial and commercial areas, these devices use either ultrasonic technology or volume. Ultrasonic units emit a high-frequency noise that acts as an irritant, while loudspeaker systems play predator calls or distress signals, warning other birds to avoid the area.

Like visual decoys, audio deterrents can be highly effective at first, but birds may eventually become accustomed to the sounds, reducing their long-term impact. These devices are designed to target birds only and should not disturb domestic pets, such as dogs or cats.

Getting Rid of Their Perches

The key thing to remember is that, much like humans, birds will only sit somewhere that is comfortable. They will often land briefly to assess whether an area is suitable for nesting, and the last thing you want is for birds to get too comfortable and begin to nest in your eaves or roof.

So, by installing devices on your roof that make your roof less appealing, you can effectively discourage birds from outstaying their welcome. The solutions below are tried and tested methods that will help you to prevent birds from perching on your property.

Pigeon spikes, otherwise known as anti-roosting spikes, cover various architectural features, including window sills, guttering, and roof ridges. These are designed to turn potentially ideal nesting spaces into inhospitable ones, preventing birds from wanting to land on your property.

Bird spikes, available in various materials, such as plastic and stainless steel, tend to comprise a strip that can be installed on practically any surface. The strip features multiple small spikes protruding from it, making it impossible for birds to perch. It's important to stress that these bird spikes are not designed to harm or injure the birds in any way; they are purely there to make surfaces less accommodating, forcing them to look elsewhere for potential nesting areas.

Another benefit of installing pigeon spikes is not only their effectiveness in keeping birds away from your roof, but also their discreet appearance. Thanks to their slender design, they are generally barely visible from ground level, meaning the aesthetics of your roof are not negatively impacted.

Pigeon spikes are considered one of the most effective anti-roosting measures, as they can successfully prevent birds from perching and nesting on your roof when installed correctly. However, depending on the size of the surface you wish to cover, this option could be a pricey pest control solution.

Alternatives to bird spike strips include bird spiders, which are effective at keeping seagulls off a flat roof or potential perching spots. The spider consists of a series of long, bent wires that come out of one central spike secured to your roof. These spider wires bend and cover the perch like a fan, making it impossible for birds to land in the first place.

If bird spikes don't sound like the right solution for your roof, you may be interested in bird wire. Similar to bird spikes, in that they create obstacles that prevent birds from nesting on your roof, these are suitable for both flat and pitched roofs.

Also known as seagull wire or pigeon wire, this method of bird deterrent is an effective way for stopping larger birds from choosing your property for their new home. Bird wire is usually installed in rows of three, making it difficult for birds to land and move around your roof or building easily.

The post and wire system creates an almost invisible tension wire across ledges, ridges, or other narrow building features, making it an effective deterrent that also won't spoil your building's aesthetic.

The stretched wire prevents birds from using your ledge as access to prey or nests, as the wire does not give pigeons or other bird species the support they prefer when landing.

Whereas bird spikes tend to be used in specific areas prone to birds, bird wire is a great option if you need to protect a large roof space. Often supplied on spools with lengths of wire measuring 100m and above, they're a particularly popular method for commercial and industrial settings.

To install your bird wire, start by fixing a stable surface mount to your roof for each wire run. Attach a short length of wire from your anchor point to the top of your first post. If you are installing wire to deter seagulls, leave a 150mm gap between the edge of your roof and the first post. Install your next post 1.5m to 3m from the first, then continue placing posts along the length of the roof, keeping the spacing consistent. Measure and cut your wire slightly longer than the distance between each pair of posts so you have enough to tension and secure it properly. For more information on how to install your bird wire, you can take a look here.

Protect Your Flat Roof With Netting

If your property has a flat roof, wires, spikes, or predator-style deterrents may not be the most effective solution. In these cases, bird netting can be a far more practical option, especially when you need to deter an entire flock rather than just a few birds.

Bird netting is excellent for covering large areas and can be installed across the full span of a roof, creating a physical barrier that prevents birds from landing or roosting. Unlike visual or audio decoys, spikes, or wires, netting provides comprehensive coverage, making it highly effective against pigeons, swallows, seagulls, and other feathered pests.

As well as covering the roof, bird netting can be installed across chimneys and fitted around protruding edges or awkward shapes with ease. It works in a similar way to bird wire by creating an unstable surface, making the area feel insecure and unappealing for birds to land on.

While this is often a more affordable deterrent than spikes or wire, it’s worth noting that bird netting can be visible from the ground, which may affect the overall aesthetic of your property.

Removing Reasons for Nesting

If you don't want to resort to installing devices on your property, you can take a different approach. While not always practical, some homeowners look at the reasons why birds choose to nest on their roof and attempt to remove these. By making your roof a less hospitable space for birds, you may be able to deter them with minimal investment.

As we know, birds like to feel protected from predators, and will often favour small nooks in buildings to make their home. To help prevent this from occurring, inspect your roof for gaps or openings that could be repaired or covered. If you have a metal roof, you may find this blog useful, which explores ways to prevent birds from getting under your roof sheets.

Birds also like to choose nesting sites with nearby access to food, water, and an area that gives good visibility and protection from predators. Limiting food sources can be a solution. If you often put food out for birds, leave your bins open, or spill food in your garden, it can encourage them to stay.

In more persistent cases, you can also discourage birds by making nearby plants and berries taste and smell unpleasant to them. Spraying surrounding vegetation with an eco-friendly methyl anthranilate solution can encourage birds to seek food elsewhere. Always ensure you purchase an approved solution from a certified pest control shop or professional and follow the manufacturer's instructions. Spray a light coating over your plants, and this will remove an immediate source of food for the birds, but should not affect the food for human consumption.

All the methods we've looked at so far are great ways to stop birds nesting on your roof. But what if the nests have already been built?

There are several reasons why you may want to remove bird nests from your property. Birds often nest in gutters, on chimney tops, in roof alcoves, or beneath flashings. The materials they use, such as leaves, feathers, discarded mesh and debris, can clog up your gutters and drainage systems, causing water to back up and potentially damage your roof.

Before you go about removing a bird's nest from your roof, you must always ensure you are complying with UK law. As stated under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 (or the Wildlife and Natural Environment Act 2011 if you’re in Scotland), all wild bird nests are protected, and intentionally destroying or disturbing an active bird nest is a criminal offence. If you must remove a nest from your building, this must be carried out whilst the nest is not in use, and a temporary nesting site should be provided nearby during the process.

If you want to find out more about how to safely and legally remove bird nests from your property, you can find detailed guidance on the RSPB's website, here.

As with most things, stopping a problem before it starts is always the simplest approach, and birds are no exception. Putting the right deterrents in place early on, whether that’s spikes, netting, wire, audible and visual decoys, or simply removing the reasons birds are attracted to your roof, can save you a great deal of time, hassle and future repair costs.

Left unchecked, bird droppings, nesting materials and food debris can clog gutters, damage surfaces and encourage moss and algae to grow. A few preventative steps now can make a big difference to the long-term condition of your roof.

If you’re repairing or replacing your roofing, Cladco Profiles offers a wide range of durable, low-maintenance roofing sheets in four attractive profiles, with a choice of colours and coatings to suit any style of property.