How to Stop Birds From Nesting on Car Mirrors and Tires | 4 Easy methods You Can Use Today
Birds nesting on your car mirrors and tires is not only annoying but potentially destructive. After all, bird fecal matter has strong enough pH levels to seriously damage your paint. Is there anything that you can do to keep them off your car? Yes! In this in-depth guide, we’ll teach you how to stop birds from nesting on car mirrors and tires and include a bonus section with even more tips from our experts.
Cover the Mirrors
Why are birds attracted to your mirrors and your tires? Well, they love your mirrors because they see a reflection of themselves in the surface and become territorial. Nesting on your mirror or on your tire is a way for them to stake out a claim on that area and compete with another bird.
That situation is frustrating but can be avoided if you cover up your mirrors when you’re parked outside. Some suggest spraying the mirror with a soapy mix to make the reflection impossible to see. However, simply putting socks, old golf club covers or other items over the mirror may help.
But what if the birds keep nesting up under your tires or on top of them even after you cover the mirror? The next step is to add a slick, soapy surface to the tire top that detracts birds from nesting. Even an annoying herb, like pepper, sprinkled on top once a day might help here.
Apart from nesting on them, certain birds also has the tendency to injure themselves attacking their own reflections. We have posted some can do’s to stop a bluebird from attacking windows.
Install Decoys
Bird decoys are a useful tool used by hunters either to attract or repel birds from specific areas. For example, you may install decoys of dangerous predators birds in your area, such as hawks or eagles, in and around your car and home to keep birds away from it.
It is best to position these decoys in such a way that birds won’t get used to them. For example, you may buy multiple hawk models in different poses and changes their positions throughout the week. Doing so makes them seem unpredictable and could cause birds to flee your area.
Hang Up Shiny Objects
Birds don’t like shiny or flashing lights and will flee from them if they spot any. Thankfully, you can keep birds out of your yard and away from your car by taking advantage of this fact. The quickest and easiest way to do this is to hang up old CDs from trees to let them reflect light.
You can either use CDs you don’t enjoy anymore or buy blank CDs cheaply and use them this way. Stores often sell large volumes of blank CDs for discount prices, making this a very affordable choice. Hang CDs near your car from trees to ensure that they catch the light and annoy birds away.
You may also add various water sources throughout your yard, such as moving waterfalls and small ponds, that may reflect light and annoy birds. Make sure that you don’t make these areas comfortable for birds. Adding decoys around the watery areas should help do the trick.
Use Sonic Deterrents
Ultrasonic bird deterrents are interesting because they typically cannot be heard by people (the frequency is too high) but will keep birds away from your area. You can install these items in or near your car to pester birds and keep them from nesting in your car or in your yard.
Bonus Tip: Keeping Birds From Nesting Under Your Hood
While you’re trying to keep birds away from your mirror and tires, why not take the extra step of keeping them from getting under your hood? We recently wrote about this topic and offered many great tips that could help you avoid this problem. Just a few of the steps we suggested included:
- Making sure that you check under your car regularly to spot birds’ nests
- Removing any bird nests that might be getting built underneath your hood
- Spreading bird-repellent sprays around the area to keep them from your car
- Keeping nesting materials away from your car, such as twigs and branches
- Parking your car indoors or putting up a cover that keeps birds out
Following these simple tips can help you keep your car from annoying bird-related damage. What is cool about these steps is that you may redirect these creatures back towards your favorite bird-watching areas, letting you enjoy them without worrying about their frustrating nesting habits. You can even install bird houses near these areas to ensure they stay there and not around your car.
Tired of bird poops on your car? Here are methods on how to clean bird poop off!
