Birds nesting in house wall ... HELP!

We have an uncovered vent at the back of our house - and now a family of blackbirds have moved in. They are making an awful mess and racket ... how can we remove them ... Looking from the outside one can't see the nest ... it is obviously a fair bit inside the wall (the nest is between the ground floor ceiling and the first floor floor) ... any suggestions welcome.

Forget it for this year. just leave them rear their brood. Blackbirds nest early and so may have time to rear a second brood of chicks in one season. At the end of the summer when you are sure they are gone you can block up the vent. I'm sure you wouldn't want to block up the vent now and listen to any trapped bird !!!

Had a similar problem with swallows returning every year to nest in the covered garage (i.e. no walls). Didn't mind the birds themselves but the mess they left on the ground, the car and clothes on the line was awful.
We would never disturb a nest in use but this year have thought ahead and blocked the access to prevent the birds setting up home while not preventing our own regular daily use of the space.
In the early days, the swallows would come and check it out. Generally they can access the smallest space and they fly so fast. Some got through but left again quickly. We guess the parents figured the new access would be tricky fifty times a day and thought that it might prove difficult when the fledglings begin to move.
So far, so good.

Ash said:

Had a similar problem with swallows returning every year to nest in the covered garage

Click to expand...

I'm having this problem too. The swallows have just begun building a nest on a piece of equipment that I have hanging from the garage ceiling. I will have to use this equipment fairly soon (and fairly often over the next few months). Therefore I am going to have to disturb them...

The same swallows come every year but usually nest in a place higher up in the ceiling. If I disturb them now, how likely are they to change their nest to the 'original' position higher up ?

I wouldn't like to see them gone for good but I really have no choice about whether to disturb them or not...

Could you borrow a similar piece of equipment for the moment to avoid disturbing them?

Unfortunately not... it's a very specific piece and quite expensive.


I have a memory in my mind of my dad knocking a swallows nest off the gable of our house years ago and the same birds (presumably!) rebuilding the nest. If this is the case I'd have no qualms about removing the current nest.

However my memory could be a bit tainted and the birds didn't actually return until the following season...