Bird Protection

Has anyone found a good way to cover the pinbox area in the spring to prevent birds from nesting in the open area? Last spring a bird built a nest before we could cover the open area and we heard a few peepers until they decided to spread thier wings. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

I have had the same problem on 3 different 5th wheels we have owned and never came up with a good solution. On one trip I duct taped a piece of thin plexiglass over the opening to keep the birds out but had to remove it for travel. Maybe someone will come up with a good fix. Jim

Maybe cut some hardware cloth to fit and secure with zip ties.
Home Depot, Lowes, most hardware stores carry it. Be sure to have some good dykes to cut it with. (Dykes = Diagonal Wire Cutters)

I used one of the kids cheap plastic bouncy balls to shove into mine. Fit nice and came out when hooking up. It's the ones you see in the huge bins at stores that kids are always racing to throw around in the isles......

Stanford wrote:I have had the same problem on 3 different 5th wheels we have owned and never came up with a good solution. On one trip I duct taped a piece of thin plexiglass over the opening to keep the birds out but had to remove it for travel. Maybe someone will come up with a good fix. Jim

Why did you have to remove the plexiglass I would have thought it would stay in place.
I only have a small opening on my pin box so I am going to use a piece of foamex screwed in place, I hate things that flap about (wings) but I love having birds in my garden.
Sean

Thanks for the comments so far. Several possibilities to investigate. Have a little time before the nesting season begins here in the Mid-Atlantic. Trying to come up with a plan to keep the birds out as we don't want to cause any momma birds distress.

Sean
Wasn't sure it would stay attached, didn't want something flying off the RV going down the road, also it was very attractive. Jim

BobnPi wrote: Be sure to have some good dykes to cut it with. (Dykes = Diagonal Wire Cutters)

Thanks for the definition

Merry Christmas!!!

We had a nest in our pin box last once last year when we went to our favorite local campground. It was after we got there that we heard the cheeping. There was nothing we could do, we couldn't reach inside. It tore me up. Well, apparently a parent was sitting on the nest when we left home - possibly because of all the activity from us getting the trailer ready. Or mom or dad had very tired wings when we got to the park - about 15 miles from home.

Later in the day, when I was inside the trailer doing some stuff with the computer, I saw and heard a little family of birds heading from the trailer to some trees and brush about 20 feet away. After that we didn't hear the cheeping anymore. Since we never smelled anything bad around the pin box, we are assuming they all got to safety.

After that, Scruffy used some fiberglass screen that we had left over from a building project and covered the opening in the pin box. No more problems, so far.

Tater

Earl
I will take the birds and their nest any day over Bees. Jim

I put paper in the pin box to keep the little birds out. I did end up with one last summer and will use screen wire next year.

Seems like the further north you go the less of a problem it becomes. We saw alot of this in the storage area at the KOA in NC. I was hooking up the CG pickup to a 5er on Friday AM to pull it on to a site and had the stuffing scared out of me when momma bird came squacking out of the nest in the pin-box.

I've has two 5ers with pinboxes here in NH and never had the problem when it was stored in the side yard for the fall, winter and spring.

Wonder if some moth balls would deter them?

I always put some moth balls in where the gas tanks are for the winter time to help keep out the mice.

I wondered that too.

I have had a birds nest in mine every year since we bought it. Last year we left for a week and took the babies with us. They did not survive and when we got home I forgot about them....until we left again in 4 weeks. Needless to say, the aroma was overwhelming.
Last season, the birds moved back in, but I removed the nest while it was still under construction.. I put a small bag of moth balls in the pinbox and they never returned. I don't know if they gave up, or the mothballs worked. I'll find out this spring I guess.

John

AVid wrote:I wondered that too.

I have had a birds nest in mine every year since we bought it. Last year we left for a week and took the babies with us. They did not survive and when we got home I forgot about them....until we left again in 4 weeks. Needless to say, the aroma was overwhelming.
Last season, the birds moved back in, but I removed the nest while it was still under construction.. I put a small bag of moth balls in the pinbox and they never returned. I don't know if they gave up, or the mothballs worked. I'll find out this spring I guess.

John

John,

I'd bet on the mothballs. Seems to me that once momma gets a start on a nesting location she won't give up no matter how many times you pull a nest apart.

Can I recommend a cat?? Actually, we did cancel a weekend trip a few years ago due to the babies not ready to fly just yet. And yes, we do travel with 2 cats who are in charge of such things. I have since discussed their lack of production with them and they have done a much better job of convincing the mamas not to nest there.

Oh come on, you know you all though the same thing!!

What another sea story.....

We have a couple cats in the neighborhood who are pretty good at keeping the mouse population down. Don't want them bothering our birds, though. We feed the birds.... just have to keep them out of the pinbox.

Tater

We stuck some bricks in there. A simple Portagie solution.

Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions. We will try the moth balls and blocking the area with inflatable balls.

Okay Plenty about protection what do you do when you discover on nest? Leave it or remove it? If they die I do not want the smell. Not sure at what stage all of this is happening. We are planning on leaving on a trip in two weeks.

So far this year the moth balls have worked. But, after last years aroma problem, I would remove the nest. I would do my best to put it where momma bird could still care for the little ones.

John

PapaJim wrote:Okay Plenty about protection what do you do when you discover on nest? Leave it or remove it? If they die I do not want the smell. Not sure at what stage all of this is happening. We are planning on leaving on a trip in two weeks.

If you have a humane society or something similar, you might give them a call. The one in our town is networked with wildlife rescue that come out and take anything from eggs to bunny babies, then they do what they can to raise them to the release stage. Chances are, once you've touched the nest, Mom will abandon them anyway.

TC

huntr70 wrote:

BobnPi wrote: Be sure to have some good dykes to cut it with. (Dykes = Diagonal Wire Cutters)

Thanks for the definition

Merry Christmas!!!

I watch for momma and papa hanging out in the opening. Has not happened for a couple of years now but if they do show up the bricks are ready. They do not like read bricks shoved in the opening.