Bird Haters Unite (1 Viewer)

Dick7Access

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No, I don’t really hate birds, but I have a problem that maybe somebody out there has a solution that worked for them.
There are these tiny birds in my area (Ocala Florida) that land on the handrail of my porch and poop. Anybody know a way to stop them from landing, or from staying after they land.
 

Gasman

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isladogs

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Or try feeding the birds in a different place in your garden well away from your handrail.
You'll get a larger number of birds of different kinds which you can enjoy watching.
They'll still poop but probably mostly do so elsewhere.

I have house martens nesting in our roof eaves and crapping on our window cills below.
Whilst I have to clean the cills every so often, I'm happy to watch the martens' aerobatics.
 

Micron

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Plastic owl or snake? This is a hand rail so you can't make it uncomfortable for them to land there because you need to use the rail for hand support, or is it just the top of a railing that's there to prevent falling off? If yeah, then I guess 110 volts or barbed wire isn't the answer!
 

Dick7Access

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Plastic owl or snake? This is a hand rail so you can't make it uncomfortable for them to land there because you need to use the rail for hand support, or is it just the top of a railing that's there to prevent falling off? If yeah, then I guess 110 volts or barbed wire isn't the answer!

Thanks,
I did try 220 volts but I was losing too many house cleaners, and UPS drivers. :D
However I bought a plastic snake a while back to put in my work shop, to have fun when I send a friend in for a tool. It works good on me, as even tho, I know it's not real I jump back a little when I see it. I am hoping the birds are not smarter than be. I will keep you all posted!
 

Uncle Gizmo

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I guess 110 volts or barbed wire isn't the answer!

Although a very satisfying idea, I don't think wiring up the handrail to the mains will actually affect the birds because there has to be a circuit. As you probably know birds on a wire do not get electrocuted!

Talking about "Birds on a Wire" reminded me of this excellent Pixar video See on YouTube "Birds on a Wire"



https://youtu.be/WLdfpBNjdDc
 

The_Doc_Man

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This happened so many years ago that any statue of limitations has expired, and anyway I only know the general area where it occurred. My dad was a "route man" for National Distillers, which in practical terms meant he put up advertising displays for their brands. But the folks on his route knew he was familiar with electronics a little because he had also done some radio repair.

One of the bars in the uptown area of New Orleans was having a problem with a dog that always came to their bar to pee on their downspout. The dog was smelling up the place and throwing things at it didn't discourage it from coming back. So they asked my dad what to do. He offered to fix it for them.

He ran an electrical cord to the downspout and put a piece of corrugated metal under it. We are talking a gap of a foot or more, so no arcing. He told the bar owner to unplug the cord during rain, but to watch for the dog. On a clear day, along came the dog. The owner plugged in the cord and watched.

The moment the dog hiked its leg and emitted a stream, or so the bar owner reported, the dog jumped three feet in the air, yelped an ear-splitting yelp, and ran down the alley like the devil himself was behind him. But he never came to that bar again. According to my dad, that's a true story from 1930s New Orleans.

Not a story about birds, but it IS a story about repelling unwanted animals and their... secretions.
 

moke123

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This happened so many years ago that any statue of limitations has expired, and anyway I only know the general area where it occurred. My dad was a "route man" for National Distillers, which in practical terms meant he put up advertising displays for their brands. But the folks on his route knew he was familiar with electronics a little because he had also done some radio repair.

One of the bars in the uptown area of New Orleans was having a problem with a dog that always came to their bar to pee on their downspout. The dog was smelling up the place and throwing things at it didn't discourage it from coming back. So they asked my dad what to do. He offered to fix it for them.

He ran an electrical cord to the downspout and put a piece of corrugated metal under it. We are talking a gap of a foot or more, so no arcing. He told the bar owner to unplug the cord during rain, but to watch for the dog. On a clear day, along came the dog. The owner plugged in the cord and watched.

The moment the dog hiked its leg and emitted a stream, or so the bar owner reported, the dog jumped three feet in the air, yelped an ear-splitting yelp, and ran down the alley like the devil himself was behind him. But he never came to that bar again. According to my dad, that's a true story from 1930s New Orleans.

Not a story about birds, but it IS a story about repelling unwanted animals and their... secretions.

Reminds me of the story years ago when late one night a guy had to relieve himself while standing on the platform at my train station. If memory serves me he didn't survive.
 

Micron

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As you probably know birds on a wire do not get electrocuted!
Those wires are insulated. How many do you see sitting on the wires of the transmission towers? Those are not!
 

The_Doc_Man

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I remember one day when we were in Ft. Worth right after Hurricane Katrina had forced us to relocate temporarily. We were in our office area and heard this "boom" sound - but it wasn't like a sonic boom. In a few minutes, one of our admins came in and called us out to see what had made that noise. A squirrel had tried to walk across two poles of a transformer. While he was on the wire or on the single pole, there was no circuit. But when he reached over to touch the other pole, "BOOM" and he fell down. It hit him so hard that rigor mortis had already set in by the time he hit the ground. Stiff as a board!
 

moke123

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It hit him so hard that rigor mortis had already set in by the time he hit the ground
Are you sure he wasn't just overcooked?
 

The_Doc_Man

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Past a certain point, I'm not sure there is a difference. Besides, there is always the chance that I might have slightly exaggerated things, since I didn't see him until a few minutes after the "BOOM" event.
 

Dick7Access

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I remember one day when we were in Ft. Worth right after Hurricane Katrina had forced us to relocate temporarily. We were in our office area and heard this "boom" sound - but it wasn't like a sonic boom. In a few minutes, one of our admins came in and called us out to see what had made that noise. A squirrel had tried to walk across two poles of a transformer. While he was on the wire or on the single pole, there was no circuit. But when he reached over to touch the other pole, "BOOM" and he fell down. It hit him so hard that rigor mortis had already set in by the time he hit the ground. Stiff as a board!

did he taste different than one you shot?
 

The_Doc_Man

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Sorry, not a squirrel eater. According to the folks on Swamp People, though, they can be stewed down decently.
 

Micron

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Reminds me of a former brother in law whom I saw skinning a squirrel that he had bagged one day. I said to him "You know what happens to people who eat squirrels don't you? They start forgetting where they put stuff." Went right over his head.
 

kevlray

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Those wires are insulated. How many do you see sitting on the wires of the transmission towers? Those are not!


The wires on a transmission tower are just one part of a two or three phase system. If a bird were to contact two wires at the same time they would be fried. I have heard of birds with large wingspans that sometimes do get electrocuted this way (California Condor).
 

Dick7Access

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snake working, 5 days no birds, also no house cleaner, mail men, or ups driver.:D
 

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