We moved into our current house about four years ago. Before then, I didn’t even know that having birds fly into your garage was a thing. Well, after dealing with it first hand for the last several summers, I can assure you that it definitely is.
We live out in a very open area where the houses are only on one side of the street on two-acre lots, with a large corn/bean field across from us. With all this open area and lots of trees and plant life, we just seem to have an abundance of birds around our home.
While all the bird poop isn’t exactly enjoyable, the real problem is when a bird gets stuck in the garage or starts building a nest. Although we enjoy having the birds around, having them in the garage doesn’t benefit us or the birds.
In this article, I’m going to go over various ways to keep birds from getting into your garage. I’ve tried most of these methods first hand, so I can give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.
Let’s begin.
How to Keep Birds Out of Your Garage
While most of us like having some wildlife around to remind us that there’s more to life than our phones and TVs, it’s never a good thing when that wildlife finds its way into our homes.
Let’s take a look a some ideas for keeping birds out of your garage, without hurting them.
1 – Keep the Door Shut
This one is pretty obvious, but the most effective way to keep birds from making a home in your garage is to keep the garage door closed. This is the main method that we’ve used since we realized we had a problem.
However, we prefer to leave our door open when we’re home, so we use the other methods below as well.
2 – Reflect Light
One trick that has worked well on our swing set to keep the birds away, and should work just as well in your garage, is to use reflective tape. Before we started using it, I had to clean up bird poop every time our kids wanted to play.
To be effective, the tape needs to dangle and move around in the wind (rather than being fixed to a surface). An easy alternative that is known to be equally effective is to hang CDs on a piece of string.
3 – Use an Owl or Hawk Decoy
This one is hit or miss, but one idea to try is to put an owl or hawk decoy in your garage. The trick here is to find one that moves or emits a sound.
The stationary decoys don’t typically work too well, although they might be worth a shot, especially if combined with one of the other methods.
4 – Repel Them with Sound
As I just mentioned above, it can make sense to use sound to repel birds as well. In fact, you can purchase sound machines specifically made to keep birds away. These sound machines typically emit tones at a frequency that only animals can hear.
5 – Don’t Store Food or Nesting Materials
While a bird might randomly find its way into your garage on occasion, it’s more likely that it went in there for a reason. That’s why it’s important to keep things like food, or items that a bird might find useful for nesting, out of your garage.
6 – Cover Your Windows
One reason that a bird might find its way into your garage is that it sees light coming out of the other side through a window or door with a window. The bird falsely assumes it can fly right through.
To cut down on this potential bird attractant, simply cover your windows with something to block out the light. Blocking out the windows in your garage is also good for keeping potential thieves from peeking in, so it’s not a bad idea in general.
7 – Put Up Balloons
Another way to deter birds from entering your garage is to use balloons. Not just any balloons though. These balloons are brightly colored and have large eyes on them to give the impression of a predator.
I’ve never tried these personally, but it’s at least another option to consider.
8 – Let Your Cat Help
If you have a cat or cats, you might already have a solution to your bird problem. Cats are typically good at chasing off birds, so if you have one or two that can freely access the garage, let them have some fun.
9 – Give Them Food and Shelter
As I mentioned earlier, birds usually find their way into your garage when looking for something. A great way to keep them out of your garage is to give them a better alternative.
In this case, a better alternative can be a simple birdhouse or two, as well as a bird feeder. By providing them with food and shelter, they are less likely to go looking for them in your garage.
10 – Install a Screen
While most people think of screen doors as only being for entry doors, you can actually purchase screens that cover the entire opening to your garage door as well.
A screen door for your garage can be really nice to have if you like spending time in your garage and want to keep the bugs out, and it can work well for birds as well.
Final Thoughts
For the most part, we really like having birds around our home (except for the two that always dive bomb me when I’m mowing). However, the last thing we want is for them to make a home in our garage.
Fortunately, there are some simple things you can do to make your garage less appealing to birds. If you’re in an area with a lot of them like we are, give the methods above a shot.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems and over 10 years of experience working in IT. As a homeowner, I love working on projects around the house, and as a father, I love investigating various ways to keep my family safe (whether or not this involves tech). I’ve also played guitar for almost 20 years and love writing music, although it’s hard to find the time these days.