Birds Getting in the House
Twice now in the past few years my cats have caught birds, inside the house. I can’t figure out how they got inside. Yesterday’s unfortunate victim was a starling. There is evidence (bird poop) on the top floor near the skylight, and I can see a family of starlings hanging around the eaves of the…
Twice now in the past few years my cats have caught birds, inside the house. I can’t figure out how they got inside. Yesterday’s unfortunate victim was a starling. There is evidence (bird poop) on the top floor near the skylight, and I can see a family of starlings hanging around the eaves of the house. Needless to say the cats love it.
So how are they getting inside? The cockloft is sealed up as far as I can tell, the chimneys are inaccessible. Any ideas?
Posting under Rodents since it’s a similar type of thing.
Wow, no break from wildlife here in Brooklyn. I learned something here about bird mites. . I never heard of that as a problem. I have had experience with mice, waterbugs, roaches, moths, and squirrels. Never birds. Never bird mites. Jeez.
We had starlings nesting in our attic. We could hear them. We could also see them flying toward the house and hanging out on an electrical wire, but we didn’t know exactly where they were getting in. We called Ed at Empire Pest Control in Park Slope (recommended on this board). He came out and he could see from the ground where they were getting in based on nearly invisible discoloration caused by their bodies. We also asked him to spray for mites. They charged $80 or so.
Then we called a contractor who works with him, Shamine, at 347-219-7909, who for $600 came out and blocked two places near the cornice. We couldn’t reach the spots ourselves (we couldn’t even see them).
Coincidentally, they are both coming out Saturday afternoon to deal with a rat, so they’ll be in the neighborhood. Ed did say he is very busy Saturday though.
the birds are probably entering through the skylight. as mentioned above, on the standard old fashioned skylights you see all around brooklyn, there is often a small gap at the bottom edge of each of the metal pieces that connect the plates of glass. You really can’t see it unless you’re on the roof and looking at the exact area very closely. But it might be large enough for a bird to get through, assuming they can squeeze really small like mice can do. if at all possible, go up to the roof and check out the skylight (maybe there’s a nest up there or an opening larger than normal because of a broken piece). The gaps are for ventilation and usually don’t pose a problem except in hard rains with high winds when a little water might get in.
I agree – definitely take care to address your bird problems to avoid any issues with mites. I’ve been down that road before and it was not pleasant!
I second the warning about bird mites. If you find nests, don’t mess with them if you can help it—if you do have to remove them, use the same precautions you would dealing with bedbug-infested materials (lots of plastic, everything at arm’s length, etc).
I had pigeons nesting around my window a/c unit and had to treat the unit as though it was a biohazard when I removed it because the mites had gotten into the unit and were in the filter. Mites are very small but if they get on you or get tracked into your house, the infestation and eradication process is similar to bedbugs.
If there are nests, a warning to you to beware bird mite infestations. Friends removed a nest while replacing windows. The resulting mite infestation was similar to bedbugs, but even more calamitous.
oof I’ve gotta get a ladder to take a closer look at the skylight. The birds could certainly be getting in from the neighbor’s eaves, I’ve seen nests up there, and our homes were built at the same time, so there’s probably pass-throughs up there.
I found a pigeon in my kitchen (oddly, right next to a box of “Puffins” cereal). My guess is the chimney, though I don’t live on the top floor.
Hmmm..
My guess is a rotted section of cornice