Nesting birds

How To Keep Birds From Nesting In Your Tile Roof

Birds are cute…until they make their home in your home’s roof. Birds sometimes build their nests under roofing tiles, which can dislodge the tiles and allows leaks to happen. Let’s not even get into how their droppings can ruin the look of your home. Yuck.

How To Stop Birds Nesting Under Roof Tiles

Here are a few ways you can keep pesky birds from nesting under your tile roof.

1. Install Tile Roof Eave Closures

Eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall. Small gaps exist underneath tile roof eaves that birds can nestle in. To keep out the birds, you need eave closures—or what we call “Bird Stop”.

  • Current roof code requires bird stop on new roofs and replacement roofs if you’re completely changing out the tile.
  • However, tile roof removal and replacement (R&R),, where we remove your tile, replace your underlayment and then replace your existing tile, is grandfathered from that requirement.

Why do you need “grandfathering” from such a useful feature you ask? Well, because the way the tile is installed on the roof to accommodate the bird stop requires a change to the eaves, and in the case of a stucco home, may require some stucco repairs. These are additional costs.

2. Use “Terror Eyes” To Scare Birds Away

Terror Eyes is a bright inflatable balloon that bounces from a spring and has holographic eyes that creates the illusion that the eyes are following birds. This movement—alongside its fierce features—scares birds off more effectively than a plastic owl.

While a plastic owl scares birds off for a while, the birds will eventually come back because they’ll notice the owl never moves and they get used to it being there, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

3. Use A Sound Deterrent

BirdXPeller PRO is a sonic bird deterrent that broadcasts a variety of naturally recorded bird distress calls and predator cries that confuse, frighten and disorient pest birds within the effective range.

4. Hang Reflective Tape From Nearby Trees

Hanging aluminum foil strips or reflective tape, like Irri-Tape, from trees near your roof will scare birds away in two ways:

  • As sunlight reflects off the tape or foil, it’ll disorient and irritate pest birds.
  • When the tape flaps in the wind, it’ll make a sharp, metallic clacking sound.

Make sure the strips are long enough to hang freely and blow in the breeze.

5. Replace Any Missing Tiles Promptly

Not only can missing tiles let birds easily nest in your roof, it allows the underlayment, the material that keeps out water, to quickly deteriorate.

6. Install Bird Spikes

While the name itself, “bird spikes”, may sound ominous, this method of deterring birds from your roof tiles is in fact humane and safe. These spikes don’t harm the birds, but instead make it challenging for them to land on your roof, which will prevent any nests from being built. There are a variety of spikes on the market to choose from, including plastic and steel. Commonly these slim spikes can be installed on the eaves or ledges of your roof.

To learn other methods of preventing birds from nesting under your roof tiles, contact the expert roofing team at Lyons Roofing.


If you see any missing tiles, get them replaced ASAP by a local Phoenix or Tucson roofing contractor. Our team of knowledgeable roofers at Lyons Roofing can provide the top-quality workmanship you need. Call (520) 447-2522 today or contact us online!


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