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I've had an unusual issue a few years now, so I thought I would ask for any ideas. There is a pair of robins that seems to think that our van's tire makes a good place for a nest. They are persistent, and even if you remove the nest, they'll be at it again the next day.

I don't particularly want to squash them or their babies (if they ever manage to get that far!) when I drive out some day, but it's a nuisance to check the wheels every day before leaving and remove a bird's nest if required.

Any ideas on how to prevent them from nesting there?

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  • 1
    Lol, that's an interesting concept: I've never actually seen a dropped 15-passenger.
    – anonymous2
    Sep 20, 2016 at 13:10
  • 3
    Do me a favor and park your van next to my cars ;)... it'd proverbially kill two birds with one stone
    – Zaid
    Sep 20, 2016 at 13:37
  • 1
    That would fix my problem, but I doubt two birds would make your cats so fat they couldn't get on your hood anymore.
    – anonymous2
    Sep 20, 2016 at 13:38
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    Not sure why this hasn't been closed, it has nothing to do with automotive repair. It's about as on-topic as "How do I keep my kids quiet in the back-seat?"
    – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
    Sep 20, 2016 at 21:50
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    @BlueRaja-DannyPflughoeft, go ahead and close it if you like. But I do beg to differ. The kids in the back seat has nothing to do with the vehicle itself, while the birds on the tire involves how to maintain the vehicle to keep the birds out.
    – anonymous2
    Sep 21, 2016 at 10:59

5 Answers 5

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Would providing them with an alternative work? A bird-box in a suitable location that doesn't get disturbed every day...

Alternatively, get a cat ;)

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  • We actually do have bird boxes around... and they never get birds in them. And we do have a cat, but she's not the best hunter; maybe need a new one.
    – anonymous2
    Sep 20, 2016 at 13:56
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    @anonymous2 there are different bird boxes for different species and they have to be in the right locations to be attractive for them, seems like your boxes are not the right ones.
    – Arsenal
    Sep 20, 2016 at 16:24
  • Agreed - something to do with the size of the hole if I remember correctly?
    – Nick C ♦
    Sep 21, 2016 at 8:55
  • @anonymous2 Does your comment imply that this was not the correct answer?
    – Jason C
    Sep 26, 2016 at 13:08
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I don't have any specific way that I know works, but there are several different techniques you can try.

  1. Buy a cat

Cats are a natural predator to birds and should scare away most of them.

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  1. Peter Griffin them

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  2. Look at this website

See if they offer anything that you think would work for your situation. The products can be somewhat expensive, but if they work they might be worth it... who knows? https://www.birdbgone.com/

  1. Put a plastic predator in your wheel well

Shove some form of plastic predatory animal into the wheel well to scare away any birds that wish to nest there.

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Good luck with your problem!

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    We don't know what country the OP is in, but European robins are notoriously afraid of absolutely nothing. They would still build a nest in the wheel well even if you (or your cat) was standing 2 feet away from it! I once accidentally killed a robin in my garden by treading on it, while it was looking to see if I'd dug up any nice worms for it to eat. Another one used to regularly come into my kitchen through an open window, looking for food, while I was in the room.
    – alephzero
    Sep 20, 2016 at 22:22
  • @alephzero The asker's profile says Canada.
    – David Richerby
    Sep 21, 2016 at 12:33
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    I think it's funny that the solution to the problem (get a cat) is a much bigger burden than looking at one's wheel wells
    – Dean MacGregor
    Sep 21, 2016 at 13:45
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A bunch of housemartins nest in eaves in my village every year and they leave a hell of a mess - as they take off, they fly down everyone's driveways targeting cars, so for the two weeks when they begin choosing and building nest sites we have to continually persuade them not to choose our eaves.

  • Sticks
  • Flags
  • Water jets
  • CD's or tinfoil hung from a pole

Of those, it occurs to me that you could use small flags set in a weighted base so they flutter next to each wheel.

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7

Methyl anthranilate

Repels birds

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5

Cover the Wheels. Then they won't get in.

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  • 3
    Welcome to the site! Could you expand on your answer? What would OP use to cover the wheels? How would that prevent the birds from getting into the wheel well?
    – MooseLucifer
    Sep 20, 2016 at 17:40
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    Hmm, I could indeed cover the wheels, but it won't be a lot faster to uncover the wheels than to check for bird nests. Granted, they might start building elsewhere and forget about it...
    – anonymous2
    Sep 20, 2016 at 17:59
  • And they can still build behind the covers ...
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Sep 20, 2016 at 20:31

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