We started hearing a distinct chirp outside our window about a month ago. We walked outside and looked up toward our roof and saw an unwelcome sight.
Anyway, the thought of having tons of nesting material and insects running rampant in our attic space was alarming.
Art had to crawl into that hot roof space to discover how bad it was. Fortunately, the Java Sparrows had only started to nest. The vent holes are covered with thin sheets of wire mesh, but this is Hawaii. It rusts and birds can peck through.
Art covered the holes with a great deal of difficulty contorting himself over those rafters.
That's our unused antennae, by the way. We used to get free TV.
I texted our painter, Rommel of Shacky's Painting who painted our house last year to ask if he knew anybody who could install bird guards for us.
Rommel said they could do it.
Yay!
His team got the bird guards, painted them to match our house and installed them.
It's done.
And while they were out here, I did ask him if he would secure a loose board up high and paint a teeny area that had chipped since they last came.
I'm so relieved it's done.
What else could go wrong?
That would be a terrible mess. I'm so glad you got it done,
ReplyDeleteSo good you heard the sparrows before they had really taken possession of the attic.
ReplyDeleteYou have solar panels? Have ever written a blog about those?
Yes, I did. Here is one of them. https://travelerswife.blogspot.com/2010/11/were-hooked-up-to-solar.html
DeleteYou saved yourself a ton of trouble by acting early.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for laughing, but that last picture of your poor neighbor's house and your "Uh oh" took me by surprise! It does seem like you guys have some unique problems at times, living in Hawaii (but I'm sure they're well worth the trouble). Art sure seems to save the day a good bit!
ReplyDeleteI never noticed Hawaiian building structures when it came to their eaves. Where I live, nearly everything recently remodeled is covered in heavy gauge perforated soffit material with a thick coating to prevent rusting. Prior to that it was just painted plywood with inset grills now and then for ventilation but as one might imagine, that doesn't hold up well to woodpeckers or humidity. I suppose it is prohibitively expensive to ship it over to Hawaii which is why they just drill holes. If we did that we would have colonies of bats, birds, wasps and a multitude of critters calling our attic home.
ReplyDeleteso nice to find good workers for repair jobs so your hubby doesn't need to do it all.
ReplyDeleteYikes, I have eves like that on my porch that the birds like to roost on at night. They can't get into the attic but leave a mess on my walls pooping. Wonder if I can find someone like you did to fix it for me. Thanks-- good idea.
ReplyDeleteI worry about that issue too! Hope my bird guards are intact. We get so much rain that they're probably rusty also. It feels good to get a problem resolved although it seems like there is always something waiting in the wings. Houses are wonderful, but also a pain.
ReplyDeleteInteresting "pretty" bird invasion history. From the bird's point of view: "oh, a nice hole all ready for us to enter and make a nest." Those holes under the eves remind me of the holes on the sides of Purple Martin houses. SO glad the painters could come and fix the problems. You want to keep Art doing the safer tasks. Hmmm, maybe the neighbors (or entire neighborhood?) could hire those guys too? Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you are glad to be rid of those pesky birds, but I don't think the neighbors are. You'll have share you fix it information.
ReplyDeleteOh oh for your neighbor. We had doves nest on the ledges above the bedroom windows. Doves tend to return again and again, and then their babies return. We had the painters put eye screws and taut fishing line to discourage them but they still came back. What worked were those spokey looking things at Daiso so they didn't have any place to land.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's such a bother. So glad you got the air holes covered. In the big house, we discovered that the insulation had become totally saturated. Our ceilings were covered in huge water spots. That's a wonderful solution for you.
ReplyDeleteProblem well solved! Will you warn your neighbours?
ReplyDeleteSometimes that's all we can do with pesky critters -- move them on to the next yard. If I heard the chirping I probably would have changed all the batteries in my smoke detectors!
ReplyDeleteArt is much to valuable and high ranking to go up that ladder. Let the enlisted experts do it. Thanks for the info on the job of finches I didn't realize they were that recent! You know in Asia they're used to tell fortunes. They hop about on the table and flip over a card from an array. Hang in there vaccines are coming!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your problem is fixed, but looking at your neighbors' visitors means that where there's a will, there's a way. :-)
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Well, racoons could show up!
ReplyDeleteWe have the same issues with critters. Mostly we've deer mice. The cats keep them out of the house, though. I'm so glad you solved the problem! I hear you about what can go wrong. I hope we are good for now. Knock wood!
ReplyDeleteLittle buggers. We once had to clear our attic of bats. We didn't dislike them, but their droppings were not good. We made them a separate bat house and in they moved.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think I’ve had them in my attic, I don’t want any critters in mine
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