Swallow Nests

Cliff Swallow – Contributed photo

Its summer! Swallows are swooping around catching insects and making their nests in your barn, under the eaves of your house or on the light fixture above your back door.

Swallows eat huge numbers of flying insects, including mosquitoes and other biting insects and some that are garden pests, so we all benefit from having them around. But lots of insects being fed to swallow nestlings means lots of bird poop being produced. White splotches appear on the patio furniture or deck.

Unfortunately, some people then resort to knocking down nests, killing many baby swallows. This is very sad, and unnecessary because there are some easy ways to reduce the bird poop problem without damaging the nests or birds. Moving the grill or chairs over a couple of feet and placing a piece of cardboard from an old box on the deck beneath the nest can catch a lot of the droppings, and the cardboard can be replaced every week or so. You can also attach a small board (~ 2 feet long by 6″ wide) to the wall a couple of feet below the nest to catch the droppings. It’s important not to put the board too close beneath the nest because the parents need room to swoop up to feed their youngsters. The board can then be removed at the end of the season.

With just a little thought and ingenuity we can minimize the bird poop issue, enjoy our decks, and the swallows can spend the summer raising their kids and eating those pesky insects.

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