When Birds Bring Mates (And Mites): 3 Health Reasons to Prevent Birds from Nesting Near Your Home

Every September, in Australia, when winter gives way for spring, birds begin to seek out nesting sites from which to rear their young. Although birds tend to favour trees and bushes, they may occasionally discover an ideal nesting spot in close proximity to your home. These spots are usually in siding, in attics or on or under air conditioner units.

While these nesting birds can provide a source of education and fascination to children, and even some pleasant early evening and morning bird song, they may also affect your health.

Birds Bring More than Just Loud Noise

Aside from the annoying 5am wake-up call you may be subjected to each and every morning, you will also be forced to contend with the mess they leave behind. Not only is this mess unsightly, but it is also both dangerous and costly to clean.

Either you risk your neck to clean up the bird droppings that have built up under your window or you pay someone else to do it. But these are the obvious risks. Nesting birds may bring harmful travel companions to your home.

Birds Bring Mites

In hotter regions of the world, such as Australia, bird mites can be found nesting alongside baby chicks in spring and early summer. These mites are less than 1mm long with 8 legs and feed on the blood of their hosts during nesting season.

However, once the chicks have grown, the adults and their babies will leave the nest. This is when these semi-transparent pests invade homes in search of a blood meal to replace that which was lost.

If birds nest in or on your house, you can expect a visit from these little blood suckers in late summer. Like bedbugs they infest the areas in close proximity to their food source—humans.

Bird Droppings Carry Diseases

Should you allow bird droppings and other bird-created debris, such as feathers, to build up near a window or opening to your house, you may be exposed to several deadly diseases.

Diseases such as salmonellosis and e.coli infection, both of which are serious threats to human life, can be found in bird droppings. If these droppings find their way into your home, through your air conditioner, for example, your health will be at risk without you even knowing it.

Bird Carcasses Attract Flies

If one or more of the birds nesting in the vicinity of your home dies in its nest, you may find your house filled with the annoying sound of blowflies within a week or two, once the maggots in the carcass have pupated and become flies. Any nests on or under air conditioner units and in close proximity to windows will give young flies access to your home.

Birds Come Back Each Year

Many species of birds tend to return to old nesting sites. This means that each year, unless you do something to ward them off, you will be faced with the health hazards mentioned above.

If you have children, think about the dangers that nesting birds pose to their health. While birds in trees and bushes near your home are of no concern, birds nesting in close proximity to your home come with risks that you won't notice until the damage has been done. If you are having a problem with birds nesting in or on your home, call a bird control service near you. Not only will they clear out any birds around your home, using safe measures, but they will also teach you how to avoid similar situations in future.