Swallows in Shed

IsThisOneFree

Hi All

I know this isn't strictly a farming question, but I figure some people on here are bound to have had this problem. For a number of years now, a few swallows have been nesting in an old stone shed of ours. We use the shed for various things, including drying clothes in winter, turf storage etc etc. The swallows have never really been a problem until this year .... when we had a mass influx of them. They have taken over the place, building multiple nests in the various different sheds around the place, and even building one in a small gap in the house guttering.

Unfortunately we're at the stage now where we can't put up with this any longer ... if we hang washing in the shed, they might come back dirtier then they went out, and the turf is constantly getting doused in droppings. Which of course is causing me some concerns about hygiene, diseases etc. Besides that, the house walls (outside) and car are also frequently getting hit by droppings too.

I know that we can get some mesh to put on the roof of the shed so that there's nowhere for them to nest anymore, but I have two questions:

1. Is there any way that I can encourage the swallows to leave the shed before I put up the mesh ? I'm a little concerned that if I just put up the mesh now, any young in the nests will effectively be abandoned and die. Or is it a bit late in the year for young to be in the nests now anyway ? I know that they'll be migrating in a few months, but the situation is so bad now that I really can't wait that long

2. Any other measures I should be taking besides using the mesh ? Or anything else that anybody has had more success with ?

Kovu

More than likely they arrived to your shed this year because they were removed from sheds in another part of the country where they had nested previously. They nest in the same spot every year if they can.

Don't hunt them out straight away, let whatever young that are in the nests fledge, it will be at most a fortnight.

All birds, nests, eggs and nestlings are fully protected under law in Ireland Wildlife Act (1976) as amended 2000. Willful destruction of an active nest (from the building stage until the chicks have fledged) is an offence, unless the nest is located in a building occupied by people (in which case, the nest is only protected when there are eggs or chicks present)

Around here the swallows are already starting to line up, so they really will be gone soon.

There's a host of different ways to try and repel them next year, although I don't know how you're going to cover all the areas. Tinfoil on strings dangling in the wind, plastic bad secured in the eaves so that it flutters, the 'scare birds' that resemble hawks.

Zoo4m8

Don't do anything till October, they should all be gone by then. I've just been in a shed here with old machinery etc and I had to cover everything with plastic a while ago, the second hatching has just fledged and the mess is a lot worse than other years, so obviously lots of them in residence.
It sounds like an open sided shed you are drying clothes in so very hard to discourage them from nesting especially in a year when they are under pressure for space. I remember my father tying very large sheets of plastic from the rafters to protect his car and the odd occasion my mother would use the shed for hanging clothes and it worked perfectly , the plastic is still there over thirty five years later!

IsThisOneFree

Thanks for the replies and advice, didn't realise that the nests were protected. Actually it's not an open sided shed, it just has 2 doors (one back, one front), so when drying clothes we leave both doors open to allow the breeze through. I don't mind waiting until later in the year if necessary, but my biggest concerns is the bird droppings landing on clothes, or turf, which of course is then brought into the house. Am I being overly paranoid ? Or is there a risk of these carrying disease(s) ?

Don't suppose there's anything I can do to discourage them away from the house or car until such time as they do away ...........

Miname

A couple of CDs tied dangling from the rafters and a few strips of plastic bags. Had a bad case of them here a couple of years ago and that worked for us. Not near as many since

IsThisOneFree

Wicked, thanks very much for that. Forgot to mention that we had tried hanging plastic strips before, to no avail, but maybe we need something shiny instead.

CJhaughey

Swallows and house martins only eat insects unlike other birds and their dropping carry very little chance of disease.
I'd look at covering your washing line with a plastic tarp, they are only here for a few months and then they are gone again.

Capercaille

Put the clothes to dry in another shed. Sad to see people wanting to get rid of such a benign species. The droppings are harmless.

ihatewinter

Put the clothes out on a line. They will dry quicker than leaving them in the shed. Not hard to do.

IsThisOneFree

Thanks CJHaughey, that's a relief at least. The shed isn't very high (not much higher than the door), so if I were to cover the lines, I'd also be blocking access to the nests, so that's not an option unfortunately. We'll just have to tolerate them for this year and once they're gone, put up something to deter them for next year.

Capercaille wrote: »

Put the clothes to dry in another shed. Sad to see people wanting to get rid of such a benign species. The droppings are harmless.

ihatewinter wrote: »

Put the clothes out on a line. They will dry quicker than leaving them in the shed. Not hard to do.

Do either of you seriously think that I'd be looking to go to all this effort if the solution was as simple as using a different washing line ? As I already said, the birds have been there for a number of years now and we've let them be. The problem is that they've now become a pest due to the number of them around the place. And the droppings aren't limited to just within the shed, they're all over our [freshly painted] house and car too, and hanging the laundry outside still doesn't guarantee that they won't get hit ! I don't want to have to boot them out, but we really don't have any alternative. On the bright side, there are other disused sheds further away from the house that they can nest in next year if they want to

Capercaille

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

As I already said, the birds have been there for a number of years now and we've let them be. The problem is that they've now become a pest due to the number of them around the place. And the droppings aren't limited to just within the shed, they're all over our [freshly painted] house and car too, and hanging the laundry outside still doesn't guarantee that they won't get hit ! I don't want to have to boot them out, but we really don't have any alternative. On the bright side, there are other disused sheds further away from the house that they can nest in next year if they want to

You remind me of a farmer two miles from the farm. There was a corncrake calling from his meadows two years ago. He was asked to delay silage or at least cut-centre out to prevent the corncrake getting killed. He did neither, cut silage from outside-in and the corncrake was killed. He's excuse was there was other places nearby for them.

Username John

Capercaille wrote: »

You remind me of a farmer two miles from the farm. There was a corncrake calling from his meadows two years ago. He was asked to delay silage or at least cut-centre out to prevent the corncrake getting killed. He did neither, cut silage from outside-in and the corncrake was killed. He's excuse was there was other places nearby for them.

Is that not a bit harsh and unfair...

The OP said they were there for years, and they were not bothered. But now they have become a nuisance, so they will wait til they have gone for this year and then put up something to stop them goin into the shed next year.

That seems fair to me.

Capercaille

Username John wrote: »

Is that not a bit harsh and unfair...

The OP said they were there for years, and they were not bothered. But now they have become a nuisance, so they will wait til they have gone for this year and then put up something to stop them goin into the shed next year.

That seems fair to me.

You can understand somebody lamping foxes if they are killing lambs/fowl. Getting rid of rodents at grain. Getting a section 42 for deer overgrazing. But to intentionally prevent a harmless creature like swallows from nesting next year is pure meanness.

Username John

Capercaille wrote: »

You can understand somebody lamping foxes if they are killing lambs/fowl. Getting rid of rodents at grain. Getting a section 42 for deer overgrazing. But to intentionally prevent a harmless creature like swallows from nesting next year is pure meanness.

What?
I get that you like them - but they are a nuisance to the op, why shouldn't they try to get rid of them? I don't see why you say it is meanness?

I know you suggested use another shed for the clothes, but that may not be possible or practical.

We have them here, where they nest is fine. They nested on the house tho one year, I waited til the end of the year and then I knocked the nest. They do cause a mess, simple as that.

Capercaille

Username John wrote: »

What?
I get that you like them - but they are a nuisance to the op, why shouldn't they try to get rid of them? I don't see why you say it is meanness?

I know you suggested use another shed for the clothes, but that may not be possible or practical.

We have them here, where they nest is fine. They nested on the house tho one year, I waited til the end of the year and then I knocked the nest. They do cause a mess, simple as that.

Was the nest under the eaves of your house. If so they were not Swallows but House martins. A simple plank under the nest would collect all the dropping and you would have not needed to destroy the nest.

rushvalley

Capercaille wrote: »

Was the nest under the eaves of your house. If so they were not Swallows but House martins. A simple plank under the nest would collect all the dropping and you would have not needed to destroy the nest.

where did swallows and other birds nest before houses/sheds were common? surely they could nest in a tree or hedge or am I missing something

Brown Podzol

Capercaille wrote: »

Put the clothes to dry in another shed. Sad to see people wanting to get rid of such a benign species. The droppings are harmless.

I presume swallows we're coming to Ireland before Adam was a baby and there were no sheds. Where did they nest then?. Just a question as I'd say you have some expertise in this subject. Edit Posted this before seeing rushvalley post.

Username John

Capercaille wrote: »

Was the nest under the eaves of your house. If so they were not Swallows but House martins. A simple plank under the nest would collect all the dropping and you would have not needed to destroy the nest.

They were house martins, not swallows, you're right.
They nested under the eaves kinda above the door, so a plank wouldn't really have been practical.
I guess you'll tell me now, that building a small shelf user the nest and clearing monthly would also do the job - but I wasn't going to do that either

Capercaille

Brown Podzol wrote: »

I presume swallows we're coming to Ireland before Adam was a baby and there were no sheds. Where did they nest then?. Just a question as I'd say you have some expertise in this subject. Edit Posted this before seeing rushvalley post.

(Barn) Swallows initially nested in caves or cliffs but have now evolved to nest almost exclusively in man-made buildings (Sheds, Barns etc). They won't use trees.

Kovu

I'm all for preservation of nesting sites Capercaille but IMO the OP is being very accommodating by letting them stay until they are fledged.

I seen neighbours knock them down heartlessly before, even with the eggs laid.

If there are sheds in the area, they can move into those.
This year we had house martins nest on a house we rent out, we let them stay and loved watching them. But no way is that nest staying up over winter.
The slatted shed is 15m away.

Capercaille

.Kovu. wrote: »

I'm all for preservation of nesting sites Capercaille but IMO the OP is being very accommodating by letting them stay until they are fledged.

I seen neighbours knock them down heartlessly before, even with the eggs laid.

If there are sheds in the area, they can move into those.
This year we had house martins nest on a house we rent out, we let them stay and loved watching them. But no way is that nest staying up over winter.
The slatted shed is 15m away.

The "Not in my back yard" approach.

Username John

Capercaille wrote: »

The "Not in my back yard" approach.

You should think of it more like "the back yard is fine, but the front of the house is off limits"

Kovu

Not entirely. The ''it's safer in the cattle shed because the cats can access the eaves'' approach is also coming into play.

Base price

Interesting reading.
From my point of view it now appears that for some people, Swallows and House Martins are considered vermin.
I wonder how my Grandmother dealt with them ****ting on the clothes in the late 1800's and early 1900's. I must ask my 86 year old Mother this Saturday when I visit her.
I know what she will say - they are God's creatures just like us and the world would be a duller place without them.

Birdnuts

Base price wrote: »

Interesting reading.
From my point of view it now appears that for some people, Swallows and House Martins are considered vermin.
.

Rather silly allright given the amount of midges, bluebottles and other insect pests they dispatch every day in the thousands. They are very much the "Farmers Friend" in that regard

Birdnuts

Capercaille wrote: »

You can understand somebody lamping foxes if they are killing lambs/fowl. Getting rid of rodents at grain. Getting a section 42 for deer overgrazing. But to intentionally prevent a harmless creature like swallows from nesting next year is pure meanness.

In fairness he said he would wait till their finished nesting - which should only be a couple of weeks at the most now

Username John

Base price wrote: »

Interesting reading.
From my point of view it now appears that for some people, Swallows and House Martins are considered vermin.
I wonder how my Grandmother dealt with them ****ting on the clothes in the late 1800's and early 1900's. I must ask my 86 year old Mother this Saturday when I visit her.
I know what she will say - they are God's creatures just like us and the world would be a duller place without them.

Hi BasePrice,
Don't forget to ask your Ma what she thinks they would have done in the OP's situation - clothes hanging to dry in a barn, and the birds started nesting overhead, and ****ting on the clean clothes.
Keep us informed.

have2flushtwice

I had birds a while back perching in work and at home in the shed. From my observation their small feet cannot allow them to stand on flat iron, only the narrow edge. by this I mean in my shed the angle iron in the lean to is positioned so that the flat is parallel to the ground, and the narrow side is perpendicular to the ground on the upper beam, and the opposite on the lower beam - this meant that they only landed on the lower beam.

I ran some baler twine round and round the top to the bottom beam, and they stopped landing on the lower beam, and never landed on the upper beam.

I have the same problem I the main part of the shed, although I don't know how i'm going to create the same deterrent. maybe mesh wire and cable ties. there is a line of ****e across the shed and everything under it is covered in old sheets, which is now also covered in ****e as well.

also, if you run a string of fishing line above the ledge, they wont be able to land on it.

Birdnuts

If you place a plastic owl/falcon in the area you want the birds to keep clear of prior to them completing their nest and laying eggs, that should take care of the problem. These can be got from any garden centre/agri supplies these days.Even a card board cut out of a hawk would work. Tie it to the roof and it will blow about in any breeze making it even more convincing

Panch18

Myself and the auld fella were sat in the jeep the other day and were able to count 10 different species of small birds from where we were, and that's not including the pests like crows and greybacks.

Our yard has been absolutely teaming with birds this year - they are literally everywhere, hundreds of them. The place is way better than any aviary.

Nice to see

IsThisOneFree

Was away for a few days last week, so only just saw all the extra replies now :-)

I don't think I'm being mean, nor do I think I'm like the farmer who wasn't bothered about protecting the corncrake ... I'm not planning to kill or endanger the swallows or their young, I'm just saying that when they come back next year, there are other sheds further away that they can use where they won't mess up the house, car and the washing. Also, I believe the corncrake is endangered, while swallows are not. If I still remind you of the farmer, then there's not a lot I can do about that, you're entitled to your opinion too; but if we were having this conversation face to face, would you still compare me to that farmer ?

In fairness, I wouldn't consider them to be vermin .... just a nuisance. And the only reason they're a nuisance now is because of the sheer number ... if it were just a few (as it was for the previous years), then it'd all be good. And while it may surprise some of you to hear this, I do actually like having them around, even in big numbers .... I just wish they'd go have a crap in the fields instead of all around our house and washing !!!

Thanks again to everybody for all the replies.

Cattlepen

Well the swallows are welcome in my place anytime. I am always waiting to see the first ones back in April . It's the real sign of summer. Feel sad when they are gathering to leave cause it's signals the dark months.
Leave the poor little things alone!!

IrishHomer

swallows only poo around the outside edge of the nest. Stating they destroy the house, car etc is an exaggeration.

OP must be parking car inside shed below the nests.

If I removed swallows from my shed I'd be totally depressed and sad.

A lot of people who have the privilege of having wildlife such as birds or bats quickly get obsessed about a little bit of a mess o their property. Sad sad people.

IsThisOneFree

IrishHomer wrote: »

swallows only poo around the outside edge of the nest. Stating they destroy the house, car etc is an exaggeration

Actually that's completely incorrect, it is not an exaggeration at all .... they have messed all over the front of our house, and also on the car - part of the reason being that there are some overhead wires that they sit on which are near the house and car. And there have been (rare) occasions where they have messed on clothes hanging on the outside washing line too ... although granted that could happen to anybody I guess regardless of how close they live to the house.

whisky_galore

Panch18 wrote: »

Myself and the auld fella were sat in the jeep the other day and were able to count 10 different species of small birds from where we were, and that's not including the pests like crows and greybacks.

Our yard has been absolutely teaming with birds this year - they are literally everywhere, hundreds of them. The place is way better than any aviary.

Nice to see

Must have recovered from the DDT that people used use pretty much everywhere, nearly putting it in their sandwiches, before it was made illegal.

Base price

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

Was away for a few days last week, so only just saw all the extra replies now :-)

I don't think I'm being mean, nor do I think I'm like the farmer who wasn't bothered about protecting the corncrake ... I'm not planning to kill or endanger the swallows or their young, I'm just saying that when they come back next year, there are other sheds further away that they can use where they won't mess up the house, car and the washing. Also, I believe the corncrake is endangered, while swallows are not. If I still remind you of the farmer, then there's not a lot I can do about that, you're entitled to your opinion too; but if we were having this conversation face to face, would you still compare me to that farmer ?

In fairness, I wouldn't consider them to be vermin .... just a nuisance. And the only reason they're a nuisance now is because of the sheer number ... if it were just a few (as it was for the previous years), then it'd all be good. And while it may surprise some of you to hear this, I do actually like having them around, even in big numbers .... I just wish they'd go have a crap in the fields instead of all around our house and washing !!!

Thanks again to everybody for all the replies.

A possible cheapesh solution for next year. Buy cheap plastic vegetable netting and surrounded the shed with it. Make a access doorway in to hang up the clothes. Air is still able to circulate through the shed but the birds cannot get in. You would have to do it in early spring before the swallows annd housemartins arrive.