As a self proclaimed Bird Nerd, I do love a barn swallow… their beautiful colors and forked tail, how fast they can fly, the fact alone that they eat mosquitoes makes them priceless but I draw the line at them making their mud nests on my porches!
They have tried to take over the front porch for years and we can pretty easily block them there but this year they decided the back porch curtain rod was a great place to land and start constructing a mud nest. They don’t care about the ceiling fan, they watch you open the back door like you’re going to deliver them a pizza on their perch. They do not care that they are in your space.
I had to stop them before they constructed a nest. This is the key. This simple spray makes them not like the spot and they will move on. It’s safe ingredients most of us have already (if you don’t have peppermint oil, I can give you about 97 reasons you should) and it’s as simple as spraying the area until they get the point.
Find the recipe below and an easier to print version here and you can safely encourage the barn swallows to find a new home
***I’m repeating this because it is important. I don’t want anyone to get into trouble. Barn swallows are federally protected. You cannot intentionally harm them or their nests or remove their nests. This is about stoping them from building their nests in unsafe and unsanitary areas before they start. If there is a baby or an egg in the nest, it’s too late.