Why Do Birds Fly Into My House? 6 Reasons for This Behavior

Last Updated on Mar 08 2024

Many people have experienced birds flying into their homes, so if this has happened to you, you’re probably wondering why. There are various reasons a bird can fly into your home, so we wanted to discuss them further.

Check out the six common reasons why birds fly into your home and what to do when it occurs.

So, why do birds fly into houses?

Birds are diverse creatures and the reason behind a bird entering your home can vary. The most common reasons for this behavior are:

The 6 Most Common Reasons Birds Fly Into Your House

1. Food

One of the typical reasons birds fly into your home is to find food. When there’s a lack of food outside, they will try to find food sources in your home.

If there are scraps around your home that are easily accessible, birds will likely help themselves with these treats lying around. It’s best not to allow this behavior, or the birds will get used to it and invade your home more than you want them to. Either close the windows or don’t leave food out to prevent them from coming inside.

2. Lights

During the migration season, birds travel long distances to reach their destination. If you leave the lights in your home on during the night, birds can become distracted by the lights. The biggest problem is that the birds will sometimes crash into your windows and therefore get injured or die.

Since migration occurs from spring to fall, we suggest keeping your lights off or covering your windows to prevent this from happening.

3. Warmth

Another common reason for birds flying in your home is to get warm, especially during rainy or cold winter days. Our homes are always warm when it’s cold outside, and since it’s difficult for birds to stay warm in the bad weather, they will likely fly into your home to get warmer.

This can save their lives since harsh winter conditions can be tough on birds. When this happens, if you are a bird lover, allow them to stay inside at least for a while to help them warm up.

4. Shelter

Birds are always out in nature, making it hard to find shelter during bad weather. If you live in an area that gets too hot or too cold, birds may fly into your home to seek shelter.

On sunny days, they might seek cover on your patio or porch, while on cold days they’ll try to go inside your home to be warm and safe from predators.

5. Nesting

Birds typically build their nests from April to June, and that way, they prepare for the nesting season and lay eggs. Many birds will fly into houses during this period, looking for a place to nest and raise their young ones.

They also like to build nests near chimneys or roof cracks to be safe, and they can try to enter your home from a chimney.

6. By mistake

Birds could simply make a mistake and access your home by accident. Some birds cannot recognize that houses could be a potential place where they could get injured, so they fly inside, thinking there’s a way to get out on the other side.

This behavior in birds could be deadly since they can crash into closed windows.

How to prevent birds from coming inside your home?

We have explained why birds access your home, so now it’s time to help you with preventing them from accessing it in the first place. Here are a couple of things you can do to prevent birds from accessing your house.

Install a window screen/film

If you want to prevent birds from entering your home, you could install a window screen/film to stop birds from accessing your home. Window screens and films will prevent birds from spotting food and lights in your home, so therefore they won’t have the urge to go inside.

Hang old CDs

There’s a simple solution to preventing birds from accessing your home. Take a couple of old CDs or something similar and hang them next to your windows or on the patio. Since they shimmer in the light, birds will be scared and won’t try to approach your home.

This trick might not work if the birds realize that the CDs won’t harm them, so it might not be a permanent solution.

Install a window mesh

Another thing you can do to stop birds from entering your house is to install a window mesh. Installing it would be a quick and permanent solution, although the mesh will likely change the aesthetics of your home.

If that’s not something you want to do, you could always choose window screen/film instead.

Block light during the night

Since birds are attracted to light during the night, all you need to do is block the light so that the birds won’t go inside your home. Invest in good roller shades or curtains that won’t allow the light to shine outside.

Install a chimney cap

Many birds enter chimneys to be warm and safe from predators, but they can cause a lot of damage to your fireplace.

If you’re dealing with birds that access your home through a chimney, installing a chimney cap will be a quick solution to prevent them from going inside the house.

Always clean up any food

Since birds are drawn to food, it’s best to clean up the food you have lying around so that it’s not tempting the birds. If you’d like to help birds and provide food and scraps, it’s best to create feeders outside than allow them to access your home.

Close all doors and windows

There will be no place where the birds can enter your home by closing all windows and doors. Also, be careful when opening them since birds are pretty quick, and they could sneak by you in no time.

Where do birds hide when they access a house?

Since birds primarily access your home to look for a safe, warm place where they can nest, they will access small cracks and cervices where they can easily fit. The most common hiding spots for birds inside of a home are:

How to get a bird out of your house?

If a bird has already accessed your home, you probably wonder how to get it out. You can take simple steps to get the bird safely back outside.

Enclose the area

The first thing you should do is enclose the area so that the bird cannot freely fly through your home. Close all the doors and windows, and ensure there’s no danger inside the home where the bird could get injured.

Choose the exit point where you’ll remove the bird from the house. It’s best to choose big exit options such as windows so that the bird will quickly get out without getting hurt or damaging something in your house.

Get the bird outside of the house

Once you’ve chosen the exit spot, open it, close all blinds and drapes, and turn off all lights. The light shining from the window should draw the bird towards it, although you will need to guide it if it’s still not following the light. The point is to make the bird feel like this is the only exit place where they can safely go back outside.

Use a bed sheet or any other cover you can find to make a flat surface where you can nestle the bird and guide it to exit the home. Once you safely get the bird out, close out the exit.

Conclusion 

As you can see, there are various reasons why birds fly in your home, but by following our simple prevention tips, you will be able to avoid this issue. Also, in case a bird still succeeds at sneaking inside of your home, you will be able to effortlessly get it out by following our simple tips.

• See also: Why Do Birds Fly In Front of Cars?

Featured Image Credit: Nora Vellinga, Pixabay