How To Get A Bird Out Of Your Garage

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We happen to live in an area with a ton of birds. We are out "in the country" with lots of open fields, and birds just come and go all day, every day. While we like seeing all the birds, we don't like when they occasionally find their way into our garage.

As I covered in a previous article, there are plenty of effective ways to prevent birds from entering your garage in the first place, but what do you do when it's too late?

In this article, I'm going to go over various methods to get birds out of your garage, without hurting the birds. But first, let's take a look at some of the reasons that they might find their way in there in the first place.

Why Do Birds Enter Your Garage?

While the methods in the next section focus on ways to get birds out of your garage, it's important to know why they went in there in the first place. That way, you can take steps to prevent it from happening in the future.

Often times, birds simply fly into your garage because they think they can pass right through. If you have windows or a door on the opposite side, to them, it might appear that there's an opening to fly through.

Another reason might be that they're looking for a safe place to nest. We've had this happen in the upper portion of our garage. It's definitely ideal to get the bird or birds out before it gets to this point.

Birds might also fly into your garage if they're looking for food. If you store bird food or any other food that might attract birds in your garage, it might be enough to get their attention.

How to Get a Bird Out of the Garage

Now that you know why birds occasionally find their way into your garage, let's look at some methods to get them out. Some of these methods are more aggressive than others, so choose the right option for your situation.

I also want to point out that a few of these methods also work as deterrents to prevent birds from getting into your garage in the first place, so once you get the bird or birds out, you might want to stick with some of these methods long term.

1 – Be Patient

The first thing to try when a bird finds its way into your garage is to open all of your windows and doors, then be patient. A calm bird is much more likely to find its way out than one that's stressed, so simply give it plenty of exits and get out of its way.

2 – Provide an Obvious Exit

When being patient isn't enough, give the bird an obvious exit. To do so, you'll want to cover any windows and turn off all of your lights. The only opening should be the large garage door itself.

The natural light source from the open garage will give the bird a clear exit to fly out of.

3 – Use a Rake

Another option is to use a rake, but not in the way you're probably thinking. Instead of swatting at the bird with the rake, hold it up in the air and slowly move it toward the bird. With a little luck, the bird will land on the rake.

Once you have the bird on the rake, slowly lower it and move it toward the opening to your garage. Once the bird sees natural light, it should fly away.

4 – Catch It with a Fishing Net

If you have a fishing net handy, you can try using it to catch the bird. To do so, you'll want to wait until it has landed somewhere that you can easily get to.

Catching a bird with a net can be difficult and is likely to cause the bird to panic. Only resort to this method if you're up for a challenge.

5 – Install an Owl Decoy

Birds tend to stay away from owl decoys, so this is an option to consider if the methods above have failed. Ideally, you'll want to use a decoy that emits a bird-deterring noise and also makes some movement. Birds tend to get used to stationary decoys, so they're not nearly as effective as ones with sound and movement.

Once the bird is out of your garage, you can leave the owl decoy in there to help deter more birds from coming in.

6 – Let Your Cat Help

Another way to get a bird out of your garage is to let your cat help. Cats like chasing birds and can easily get to hard-to-reach areas. Keep in mind that this will likely put some stress on the bird.

7 – Provide a Better Alternative

In combination with one or more of the methods above, put a water bowl and some bird food near the opening to your garage. This can help to lure the bird out. You might want to even create a trail of food from the middle of your garage to the opening to give the bird a clear path.

8 – Contact Animal Control

If all else fails, contact animal control to get the bird or birds out of your garage. They have a lot of experience in these situations and can get the bird out without harming it.

Never try to catch the bird yourself with your hands. If you get to that point of thinking, it's time to call a professional.

Final Thoughts

It's never an ideal situation when an animal finds its way into your garage, or any other area that they don't belong. Fortunately, with birds, there are some simple methods for getting them out.

Some of these methods are more aggressive than others, so start with the least intrusive options first, then work your way up from there. If all else fails, reach out to a professional, as they are accustomed to dealing with these situations on a regular basis and have tools to help with the job.

Of course, birds aren't the only animals that might find their way in. Each animal may come with its own removal methods. To keep reading, see: How to Get Rid of a Mouse Nest in Your Garage, How to Keep Cats out of Your Garage, How to Get Rid of Possums in the Garage, or How to Get Rid of Chipmunks in the Garage.