Turkey vultures are large, unappealing scavenger birds that can become a nuisance if they start frequenting your property. With their bald red heads and tendency to feed on carrion, turkey vultures are not birds that most homeowners want hanging around their yards.
If your property has become a turkey vulture roosting spot or feeding ground, you’ll want to humanely encourage these birds to move on. Here are 14 of the most effective ways to get rid of turkey vultures and keep them away for good.
1. Remove Food Sources
The first step in turkey vulture control is to remove any possible food sources. This means cleaning up any dead animals like roadkill on or near your property immediately. Eliminate access to trash cans and enclose compost piles. Quickly disposing of animal carcasses and keeping garbage contained will remove incentives for turkey vultures to hang around.
2. Install Roosting Deterrents
Stop turkey vultures from roosting on your roof ledges or other structures by installing roosting deterrents. Options like Birdsphere Shock Tracks or roosting spikes create uncomfortable perching spots. Predator decoys placed on roofs or poles can also deter roosting.
3. Use Reflective Deterrents
Turkey vultures don’t like flashes of light. Hang mylar tape, aluminum pie plates or old CDs from branches and roof edges. The moving reflections will help convince turkey vultures to roost elsewhere.
4. Install Motion-Activated Sprinklers
Mount a motion-activated sprinkler on your roof or fence line. When turkey vultures land, they’ll be sprayed with water and scared off your property The randomness of the water bursts increases effectiveness. Just be sure sprinkler use doesn’t violate local water restrictions.
5. Play Distress Calls
Playing turkey vulture distress calls will signal danger, prompting turkey vultures to avoid the area of the distress calls. This works best when calls are played intermittently, not on a continuous loop.
6. Use Predator Decoys
Place decoys of turkey vulture predators like hawks, eagles and owls around your property. Lifelike predator decoys with flapping wings that rotate in the wind can help convince turkey vultures to stay away.
7. Install Bird Spikes
Cover ledges, roof edges, railings and anywhere else turkey vultures like to perch with porcupine wire spikes or Birdsphere Turkey Vulture Roosting Spikes. The spikes prevent turkey vultures from being able to land and roost comfortably.
8. Use Ultrasonic Repellers
Ultrasonic bird repelling devices emit high-frequency sounds that annoy turkey vultures and other birds, encouraging them to leave the area. For best results, use a targeted directional unit instead of an omnidirectional model.
9. Apply Gel Repellents
Non-toxic bird gel repellents applied to ledges and roosting spots make turkey vultures uncomfortable enough to avoid those areas. Reapply after rain. Check that gels won’t damage surfaces before applying.
10. Install Exclusion Netting
Cover patios, doorways and other areas turkey vultures frequent with exclusion netting. Nets should be installed taut and flush to surfaces so gaps can’t form. Make sure netting holes are smaller than turkey vultures’ bodies.
11. Use Predator Balloons
Myar predator balloons come in hawk, eagle and owl shapes. Positioned around your yard, these helium balloons are designed to look like menacing predators drifting in the wind. Their presence alone is often enough to scare off turkey vultures.
12. Employ Noisemakers
Make random loud noises by banging pots and pans to startle turkey vultures. Propane cannons that produce intermittent booming noises can also frighten turkey vultures from large areas. Just be mindful of noise ordinances.
13. Install Visual Repellents
Use predator eye diverters, holographic repellent ribbon and scare-eye balloons around your property. These visually intimidating devices will help convince turkey vultures to move on.
14. Apply Bird Repellent Foggers
Fogging devices can spray bird repellent up to 4000 square feet. The fog irritates birds’ mucous membranes, encouraging turkey vultures to avoid the area. Direct application onto unwanted birds is not recommended.
The key when implementing any turkey vulture deterrent is to use a multifaceted approach combining several different tactics. Consistency is also important. Turkey vultures can be persistent, so you’ll need diligence to successfully encourage them to find a new roosting and feeding spot away from your home.
How to Scare Vultures Away
All vultures are protected in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and may not be harmed by law. The vultures found in the U.S. look similar to vultures found in Europe, Asia, and Africa; however, they are of a different taxonomic family. While vultures in the U.S. cannot be harmed, humane control solutions are allowed for their removal from unwanted areas.
If you want to know how to keep buzzards away, there are a variety of effective, humane methods to do so. All vulture control products manufactured by Bird-X, Inc. are legal, humane, green, and effective.
Physical barriers are the most effective way to keep birds off. Wherever applied; physical barriers eliminate the ability to land and perch. Stainless Steel Spikes install easily with Special Spike Adhesive, nails, screws or ties.
Bird nets creates a physical barrier. It is an effective bird deterrent because it prevents pest birds from entering areas where they are uninvited and unwelcome.
Covers up to 6 acres
The BroadBand PRO’s 4-speaker system simultaneously emits sounds that are both audible and inaudible to humans that confuse, disorient, and intimidate pest birds, keeping them away.
How to Get Rid of Turkey Buzzards
FAQ
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