How Heavy Rainfall Can Attract More Birds
It’s great to get all this rain here in the valley after months of intense drought. It can bring unwanted pests however.
When a good rainstorm happens and brings a lot of moisture it really stirs up the insect population quite significantly. It also brings out the toads who have been burrowed far underground for who knows how long.
Toads will come up to the surface knowing it’s safe to do so with the water they need to survive. They also instinctively know there will be lots more bugs for them to eat.
Rain stirs up ant populations and causes termites to swarm as well. Increased moisture also makes it easier for many insect species to breed in abundance, and they do it quickly. Mosquitoes only need a small puddle of standing for hundreds for larvae to grown and hatch into more mosquitoes.
Crickets do really well with rain as well. In fact, insects generally do very well in warm weather when heavy rainfall occurs as we have had lately.
Of course insects are one of the most available and abundant foods for birds. Pigeons are quite attracted to a boom in insects. You’re likely to see many birds and pigeons foraging in your back yard by pecking around at all the fresh bugs crawling around.
This may seem harmless as in it’s easy to think they will just fly away. Sometimes they do, quite often they do not. If you don’t have pigeons on your property but have no hardware on your home to prevent them, a fresh supply of bugs to these birds could change that quickly.
If a group of pigeons finds that you property is all of a sudden a new and good food source for them, there is an increase chance that you will get a pigeon infestation.
The best way to prevent this from happening is to install bird proofing hardware on your home like quality window and ledge spikes and netting on overhangs. A ridge cap wire works wonders to keep them off your roof ridge.
Something else to consider is utilizing an exterminator to keep a fresh bug barrier on your property to at least keep the bugs away from your residence. They should also be able to handle fresh insects that come from the rains. This will aid in getting birds to simply skip your property and find another food source.
Summary
After a heavy rain, you can may a population boom of bugs on your property. This can attract lots of birds and pigeons. To prevent an infestation of pigeons as a result, it’s a good idea to get pre-emptive treatment for pigeon control. You should also consider having regular insect treatment to ensure one less food source for birds on your property.