Starlings in Roof

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Dulouz

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#177512 5-Aug-2015 09:19

For the last couple of years we have had starlings come into our roof in spring and this year I'm committed to stopping them.

My property is two storeys and the pitch is quite steep so I don't have the nerve to get up their myself. I'm guessing the best person to call is a roofer to plug up the gap. Before I do that I wanted to see if there were any other possible solutions.

Amanon

andrew027

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#1359103 5-Aug-2015 09:24

It depends on where they're getting in. We had sparrows nesting in the roof in our last house for a while. They were getting in under the coloursteel from the guttering so I installed a "gutter guard" type barrier and that kept them out.

hsvhel

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#1359122 5-Aug-2015 10:13

air rifle

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Sideface

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#1359126 5-Aug-2015 10:24

The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and plate-glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Sparrows became a nuisance; shooting was obviously out of the question in a glass building.
Queen Victoria mentioned this problem to the Duke of Wellington, who offered the famous solution, "Sparrowhawks, Ma'am".

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frankv

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#1359283 5-Aug-2015 12:19

Starlings are *much* more determined than sparrows.

After several years of an ongoing war, last year I achieved victory by squirting polyurethane foam into the gaps where they were getting in.

mdooher

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#1359325 5-Aug-2015 13:00

I put some of that "gutter whiskers" in at an old church that was getting the same problem. It looks like a large bottle brush. It seems to work well, I suspect they don't pull it out because every time they try to grab a bit of it the other bits poke them in the face.

Matthew

pctek

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#1360734 7-Aug-2015 15:57

hsvhel: air rifle

Sadly yes.
Don't know about Starlings but we had a war with Mynahs.
They persisted for 2 years despite sealing gaps, blocking the gap under spouting etc.
And they were aggressive, coming into the house - in the lounge! Hassling one of the cats etc.

We tried a slingshot and cherry tomatoes - to be kind - it discouraged them for a short time, but then back again.
After the sir rifle none of the other relatives have moved in.

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Dulouz

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#1366160 14-Aug-2015 10:55

At first I thought an air rifle was a slight overkill but it seems easier than trying to plug the gaps against a highly motivated intruder. I just bit the bullet and purchased one from TM. Now for the great hunt

Amanon

ubergeeknz

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#1366162 14-Aug-2015 11:00

Could I suggest the more humane option of building a birdhouse for them to live in?

Fred99

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#1366230 14-Aug-2015 11:35

House next door to us had starlings nesting in the roof. The house was demoed early last year due to quake damage, now rebuilt to the same footprint and shape. The starlings came back when the roof was on, and spent days on the corner of the roof where their entrance used to be - looking for a way to get in, pecking at flashings, flying up under eaves to take a look, and eventually gave up. They failed to notice that when the house was rebuilt, the mono-pitch roof was done reversed - they used to get in under the roofing iron by the guttering on the low side, but that's now on the other side of the house.