If your curbside or rural mailbox has become a favorite perch, nesting site, or roost for birds, it can quickly become an aggravating nuisance. Not only do birds lounging on your mailbox leave unsightly droppings on it and the ground below, but they can also potentially damage mail items by pecking or nesting debris. Taking proactive steps to make your mailbox less hospitable to feathered pests can restore it to being solely for mail use. With creative solutions like barriers, deterrents, habitat modifications, and mailbox design changes, you can humanely prevent birds from clinging to your box.
Identify the Culprit Species
Solving a bird problem first requires identifying exactly which avian species you need to evict from your mailbox. Different birds have unique behavioral tendencies that call for tailored deterrent responses.
Common mailbox-loitering birds include:
Starlings
Compact and iridescent black, starlings often gather in large, noisy flocks. They are cavity nesters who may try to enter mailboxes or mounts. Using nets or enclosed mailbox designs can thwart them. Being highly social, starlings quickly pick up on distress calls of repelled flock mates.
Sparrows
Plump little house and tree sparrows enjoy perching on mailbox ledges and pecking at reflective numbers or flags. Flap deterrents or porous covers can make mounting uncomfortable. Sparrows are persistent nesters who readily rebuild, so monitoring is key.
Pigeons
Larger with gray and white plumage, pigeons tend to roost in groups on flat, stable surfaces. Installing tilted mailbox tops or flexible, unstable perches deters them. Pigeons reuse rickety platform nests, so dismantling frequently helps.
European Starlings
Glossy and aggressive natives of Europe, starlings often displace native cavity nesters. Block potential home entry points and chase starlings away swiftly to protect swallows or bluebirds competing for nesting sites.
Grackles
Crow-like grackles gather in large, noisy groups. Use auditory repellants tuned to their calls to deter them from swarming mailboxes and surrounds. Grackles will quickly coat areas with droppings.
Crows
Highly intelligent and wary, crows can damage mailboxes with their strong beaks while scavenging for food. Make sure strong impermeable mailbox materials withstand probing, and use crows’ learning abilities against them by frequently altering deterrents.
Blackbirds
Red-winged blackbirds and others often seek the high perches mailboxes offer for territorial singing or insect hunting. Make boxes unstable with loose or spring-mounted tops to prevent lingering. Nesting deterrents also discourage them.
Swallows
Though lovely in flight, swallow mud nests become messy eyesores when affixed to mailboxes. Knock down nests as they form, or place netting barriers to prevent rebuilding. Closing interior mailbox access also helps.
Correctly identifying culprit species allows you to select tailored solutions that capitalize on each bird’s vulnerabilities and deter them in the most effective, lasting ways. Consult bird field guides or use an app like Merlin Bird ID to decipher the mailbox bandit species based on your location and visual descriptions. If you are still uncertain of identification, capturing photos or videos and sharing them with wildlife experts can get you answers.
Understand the Appeal of Mailboxes
To really deter birds, it helps to understand exactly what physical and behavioral tendencies draw them to perch, nest, or roost on mailboxes in the first place. Their motivation gives clues for how to foil them.
High Perches
Birds favor mailboxes because they offer an ideal elevated perch for scanning the surroundings for potential food sources or keeping vigilance against aerial predators. The height gives them a panoramic view while keeping them safely off the ground, away from cats and other threats. Take away the vantage point by making boxes unstable, blocking access to the top, or physically preventing grasping and footholds.
Nesting Cavities
The enclosed interiors of mailboxes or openings within decorative mounts can resemble cozy, protected cavities, perfect for nest building for some opportunistic birds. Starlings, sparrows, swallows, or wrens may all attempt to enter and build nests inside boxes. Fix this by sealing or covering all openings so they cannot physically access the interior spaces or bring in nesting materials.
Sunny Warm Metal
Metal mailboxes attract some birds seeking warmth from the radiated heat they absorb on sunny days, especially during cooler months. Adjust mailbox placements to be shaded from the afternoon sun or explore different material options like plastic or wood boxes that remain cooler. Insulated mailboxes may also help.
Satisfying a bird’s nesting requirements, safety needs, and thermal comfort is what brings them to mailboxes repeatedly. Take away the appeal through barriers, repellants, and habitat manipulation, and they will seek better sites.
Remove Nesting Opportunities
If birds have already begun actively nesting inside your mailbox, take steps to promptly evict them and deter rebuilding.
Block Access
Seal or cover any openings into mailbox cavities using materials like hardware cloth mesh, weather-resistant sealants, or solid metal plates securely attached over holes. Remove any exterior nest materials already present.
Clear Out Nests
Use a long, hooked instrument like a lint roller, tape-wrapped pole, or drywall spatula to gently extract any existing nests and debris already built inside your mailbox. Wear thick gloves to avoid potential pecks.
Deter Rebuilding
Install spikes, netting, or sticky gels around the mailbox openings once the nests have been emptied. Try a combination of physical barriers and scent/taste repellents for maximum effectiveness at preventing immediate nest rebuilding. Monitor weekly.
With all interior access denied and deterrents in place, birds should abandon nesting efforts and not return. Avoid sealing active nests inside or separating parents from unfledged young.
Use Physical Barriers
Installing physical impediments can make it uncomfortable or impossible for birds to land, roost, or climb on your mailbox.
Slope or Angle Box
Tilting mailboxes forward or sideways from vertical at a 45-60 degree angle removes stable flat perching space on top and makes balancing precarious. Birds prefer to avoid the strain of crooked footing.
Install Bird Spikes
Strip deterrents like Nixalite or Cat Claws can be affixed along the roof ridgeline of mailboxes using the provided adhesive strips or small screws, depending on the material. The spikes prevent foot gripping and make landing painful.
Use Porous Covers
Plastic canvas mesh or vinyl-coated wire grids draped over the tops and sides of mailboxes allow airflow but deny solid perching for lighter birds. The flexible grids obstruct footing while permitting mail access through the openings.
Getting creative with physical impediments can make lingering in the box uncomfortable without impeding legitimate access. Just be sure all solutions still allow unobstructed mail delivery per postal regulations.
Employ Deterrents
A variety of bird repellent products can make attempting to land or perch on mailboxes very unpleasant experiences:
Squirt bottles or sprayers
A simple manual spray bottle filled with water can be used to squirt undesirable birds that land on or near your mailbox. Startle them with a brisk spritz; they will associate the mailbox with the unpleasant surprise.
Scent or taste repellants
Substances with offensive odors or flavors can be used to coat boxes and repel birds on contact. Safe options include mint, garlic, and menthol. Reapply after rain.
Reflective deterrents
Tin foil strips, holographic ribbons, or mirror fragments used to decorate mailboxes create flashing effects and optical illusions that scare birds. The reflective glint mimics the menacing eyes of birds.
Ultrasonic devices
Battery-powered ultrasonic units emit piercing, high-frequency sounds only birds can hear. The annoying noise encourages people to avoid the mailbox vicinity. Their effectiveness is increased by frequently repositioning the units.
Testing out an assortment of affordable deterrents to identify what your culprit birds find most bothersome can yield success. Just be sure to frequently alter placements and introduce new types to prevent habituation.
Discourage Roosting
Modifying the space and surroundings near your home’s mailbox can make the location far less appealing for birds seeking places to gather, rest, or sleep.
Reduce roosting trees/shrubs
Prune back any mature trees or dense bushes near the mailbox that provide cover very low to the ground and convenient first staging perches. Open up sight lines.
Remove ledges
Birds like flat, stable surfaces to land on initially before approaching the mailbox itself. Eliminate any railings, wires, fence tops, or other horizontal surfaces protruding into the space around the box. Ledge removal forces them to land directly on repellent devices.
Install deterrents
Use standalone deterrents like water sprayers, predator decoys, or noisemakers in the area surrounding the mailbox to create an unpleasant zone birds avoid lingering in.
Environments that offer protective cover and safe interim landing spots enable birds to stage and gather courage before approaching mailboxes. Take away these advantageous roosting features through careful landscape pruning and access point removal.
Try Alternate Mailbox Designs
If your existing mailbox style and placement enable bird issues, exploring alternate mailbox types with protective qualities can help.
Enclosed/sealed designs
Mailboxes with solid sides, enclosed interiors, locked rear access doors, and sealed bottoms prevent entry and nest access while protecting mail from weather.
Slanted lid boxes
Angled lids sloped away from the front opening enable mail insertion but deter birds roosting on top. The slick slope causes them to slide off.
Horizontal design
Horizontal mail slots aligned at adult waist height are hard for birds to access. They can easily retrieve mail but not enter the locked box itself.
Porch boxes
Enclosed, locked mailboxes mounted near your front door keep delivered mail protected until you retrieve it. Avoid tempting porch nest sites.
With so many mailbox styles and protective accessories available, finding an ideal box that functionally stores mail without accommodating birds is possible. Seek durable, rust-proof designs that will withstand your local weather.
Protect Mail from Damage
When birds continue lingering around a mailbox despite deterrents, take measures to protect your mail items from becoming collateral damage.
Clean trays
Frequently emptying interior mailbox debris reduces lingering odors that can attract curious beaks. Clean trays also prevent important mail items from becoming buried.
Use gels/pastes
Applying non-toxic bitter gels or spicy pastes around mailbox openings and the mail slot can deter nibbling beaks. Reapply monthly.
Use covered porch boxes
For houses with covered porches, installing secure, locked mailboxes near the door keeps delivered mail protected until it is retrieved by the owners. Avoid exposing deliveries.
While working on long-term solutions, take these short term steps to prevent important letters, bills, or packages from becoming compromised by tenacious birds in the meantime.
When to Call for Professional Help
In certain difficult cases of major bird infestations, significant mailbox damage, or health hazards from droppings, professional bird deterrence services may become advisable.
Major infestations
Large flocks lingering daily will require more extensive habitat modification, population dispersal, nest removals, and deterrent installations than a homeowner can tackle alone. Professionals have additional strategies and legal access to abatement chemicals.
Structural damage
Metal mailboxes with extensive corrosion damage, holes, or nest cavities deep inside walls need repair by a contractor beyond superficial DIY approaches. Severely damaged boxes may need replacement.
Health hazards
An accumulation of bird droppings on mailboxes creates a risk for histoplasmosis and fungal spore inhalation. Professionals can remove droppings and disinfect boxes using proper protective gear and methods.
Don’t prolong severe bird issues beyond your DIY capabilities. Licensed services with proper training, equipment, and legal permits provide solutions for extreme scenarios.
Importance of Humane Solutions
When seeking ways to rid your mailbox of nuisance birds, it is vital to use only ethical, non-lethal solutions that will not harm the birds.
Avoid poisons
Chemical poisons that kill birds should never be used. Aside from being inhumane, many poisons are illegal and dangerous. Focus only on passive deterrents.
Minimize removal
Avoid trapping and relocating nesting birds when young may be present. Prioritize passive deterrents over disruptive removal whenever possible.
Use exclusions
Sealing cavities and barriers focuses on making the site itself undesirable, passively motivating birds to willingly leave and seek better options elsewhere.
With creative thinking and patience, even serious bird infestations on mailboxes can be corrected humanely through gradually implemented deterrents and habitat modifications. Avoid harmful shortcuts. Inconveniences like droppings and damages can be fixed, but harm done to living birds cannot. Follow the principles of integrated pest management for lasting success without collateral damage.
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Conclusion
Taking back ownership of your mailbox from pest birds is very achievable without harming the birds. Identify exactly which species of culprits need deterring based on your location and their appearance, sounds, and behaviors. Remove immediate nests humanely and focus on permanent solutions. Take away a mailbox’s appeal by denying access to cavities, limiting flat perching space, employing numerous repellants to create an unpleasant zone, and modifying the surrounding habitat’s attractiveness. Explore more secure mailbox designs optimized to prevent bird entry while still easily receiving delivery. With an integrated multipronged approach of barriers, deterrents, and modifications, you can humanely reclaim your mailbox from nuisance birds.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are humane ways to remove a bird nest from inside my mailbox?
Wait until the young have fledged and left the nest, if possible, then use a hooked tool to gently extract nest materials from outside mailbox openings. Avoid harming eggs or trapping parents inside.
How do I stop birds pecking at my mailbox numbers and flag?
Use taste or scent deterrents on the reflective surfaces. Place porous covers over the number plaques. Install larger, less chewable vinyl numbers.
Should I coat my mailbox in cooking oil to deter birds?
No, cooking oil is not recommended. It can damage mail items and metal boxes. Focus instead on anti-perch spikes, unstable landing spots, and removing roosting sites.
What if moving my mailbox deters delivery?
Consult with your postal office first about any mailbox location changes. Opt for alterations like angled perch covers that don’t impede the carrier’s approach.
Will habitat modifications alone solve a bird problem?
Rarely. While reducing food sources and roosting spots helps, additional physical barriers, alternate boxes, and repellents are needed to really motivate birds to abandon a favorite site.