If you’ve noticed vultures loitering around your property, their presence may seem unsettling. However, these scavenging birds may actually be providing an important ecological service.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: Vultures hang around houses when there is a ready food source like small dead animals or food waste nearby. They serve as nature’s clean-up crew.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore why vultures congregate around homes, what attracts them, and how to humanely discourage their presence.
What Attracts Vultures to Houses?
Vultures are often drawn to houses due to the availability of food sources and safe roosting areas that provide shelter. Here’s a more in-depth look at what attracts these large birds to residential areas:
Access to Food Sources
Vultures have an incredibly keen sense of smell, able to detect dead animals from miles away. If someone lives near woods or farmland, vultures can pick up on carcasses of wild animals or livestock. They may also be attracted to garbage cans and compost piles which can provide an easy meal.
Pet food left outside is another reliable food source for vultures. Kibble or leftover canned food can quickly draw in these opportunistic eaters. Vultures will also eat pet waste, so improper disposal of dog or cat feces can be a powerful lure.
Safe Roosting Areas
Tall trees, barns, and houses offer vultures a safe place to perch and rest. Mature trees provide an ideal roosting spot with plenty of cover from predators and foul weather. Barns and sheds also offer shelter on farms or rural properties.
Vultures tend to roost on houses when large branches or ledges are available, like those under rooflines, gutters, and chimneys. They prefer high vantage points with unobstructed views to spot food and threats. A residence with suitable roosts can become a regular overnight resting spot for vultures.
Sometimes a single vulture will discover a food source or roost at a home, then others will join it through social attraction. This group mentality leads to larger and larger numbers gathering in one location.
To discourage vultures from frequenting your home, eliminate food sources by securing trash and pet food. Trim overhanging tree branches to remove roosting spots. Reflective deterrents like old CDs hung near roosts can also help scare away these intelligent birds.
Benefits of Having Vultures Around
They Clean Up Carrion
Vultures provide the valuable ecological service of cleaning up carrion (the decaying flesh of dead animals). As scavengers, they flock to carcasses and quickly consume the rotting meat, preventing the spread of bacteria, viruses and foul odors.
Research shows that vultures can fully skeletonize a carcass in under 30 minutes, thanks to their strong stomach acids that kill dangerous pathogens like anthrax and botulism.
In fact, a study by Houston Museum of Natural Science found that vultures consume up to 70% of all small mammal carcasses in an ecosystem. By rapidly dispatching carrion, vultures also help control populations of other disease-carrying scavengers like rats, dogs and insects.
Their efficient disposal of animal remains makes vultures a highly valuable part of nature’s clean-up crew.
Reduce Spread of Disease
As mentioned, vultures limit contagions by quickly gulping down carcass flesh before microbes have a chance to multiply. But they also prevent illnesses through another little-known talent – urine sterilization.
A study by Wake Forest University revealed that vulture excrement contains high levels of uric acid from their urine. This natural acid kills nearly all microbial pathogens it comes in contact with, including cholera, E.coli and anthrax.
So while vulture droppings may seem unpleasant, they actively hinder the transmission cycle of deadly bacteria and viruses. Between their stomach acids and antibacterial uric acid, vultures are flying disease control machines.
In India, the decline of vultures has even been linked to an uptick in feral dog populations and the spread of rabies. With such proven disease-fighting abilities, vultures clearly provide vital sanitation services wherever they flock.
When Vultures Become a Nuisance
Droppings and Foul Odors
Vultures congregating on residential properties can become a real nuisance due to the mess and smell they leave behind. Their droppings are large, acidic, and contain uric acid which can kill plants and discolor surfaces.
According to pest control experts, just a few dozen vultures can produce over 50 pounds of droppings per day! This accumulation creates an extremely foul stench and health hazard.
To make matters worse, vultures like to roost on roofs, trees, and other high places near homes. This allows their waste to freely fall onto decks, patios, and playground equipment below. The splattering droppings can quickly render outdoor living spaces unusable.
No one wants to host a barbecue or let their kids play when surrounded by vulture feces.
Property Damage
In addition to the contamination and stench caused by droppings, large groups of vultures can also cause property damage. Their highly acidic waste can eat away at metal surfaces, ruining things like gutters, air conditioning units, and vehicles.
Vultures also have destructive tendencies and will tear apart roof shingles, window screens, and other building materials to access nesting spots.
According to the National Vulture Awareness Day Organization, over $300 million in property damage occurs annually across the United States as a result of vulture infestations. From decaying roofs to destroying insulation, vultures can rapidly compromise the integrity of homes and buildings when they take up residence.
Vultures are protected under the law, so property owners have few options when trying to remove them. Calling a professional wildlife control company is usually the best solution for dispersing vultures and mitigating the damage they cause.
But the droppings, stench, and destruction left in their wake can be quite costly and time-consuming to remediate.
Deterring Vultures Humanely
Remove Food Sources
The most effective and humane way to deter vultures from your property is to eliminate their food sources. This includes properly disposing of pet food, covering trash cans securely, and removing animal carcasses from the area.
Vultures have an extraordinary sense of smell and can detect food sources from miles away. By removing anything that may attract them, most vultures will eventually move on in search of easier meals.
Install Exclusion Devices
Physical barriers can also be used to keep vultures away without harming them. Common exclusion devices include netting, porcupine wire, and Bird-B-Gone bird spike strips. Properly installed netting over patios, windows, rooftops and other areas vultures frequent can prevent them from landing.
Stainless steel porcupine wire attached to ledges and fences deters perching while allowing airflow. Plastic or stainless steel spike strips placed on railings, signs, roof edges and other common roosts can also effectively repel vultures through passive means.
Use Repellents
There are various commercial vulture repellent products available based on smells, sounds or sensations that the birds dislike. These humane vulture deterrents, such as Bird-X bird repelling gel, automated alarms and ultrasonic devices can be strategically placed around the house to scare off vultures.
Most bird repellents are safe for pets and surrounding wildlife when used properly. However, vultures can become desensitized over time so rotating different types of repellents helps maintain effectiveness.
Scare Tactics
Implementing various scare tactics is another gentle way to convince unwelcome vultures to leave. Things like shouting, clapping hands aggressively, spraying them with water guns or Nerf guns, banging pots and pans together, or running at them waving arms can startle vultures enough to make them retreat.
Just be cautious not to get too close and risk potential injury. Maintaining these scare techniques consistently each time vultures return teaches them that your space is unpleasant to inhabit. Vultures are very intelligent so varying the types of tactics used is key to longer-term success.
By proactively removing food sources, installing physical barriers, using integrated repellents and scare tactics, vultures can successfully be discouraged without harming them. Visit sites like The Humane Society or National Audubon Society for more tips on safe, ethical vulture deterrent methods.
Implementing a customized, vigilant strategy can prevent undesirable vulture activities at your home in a gentle, animal-friendly way.
When to Call Wildlife Professionals
Large Flocks Loitering
If you notice a sizable flock of vultures, say over a dozen birds, loitering around your home or property for more than a day or two, it may be wise to contact a wildlife management professional. While small groups of vultures may stop to rest during migration, a large gathering could indicate the presence of something dead or dying that the birds are feeding on.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), vultures have an incredibly keen sense of smell and can detect carcass odors from up to a mile away. If they begin congregating above or around your land, chances are there is a food source attracting them.
This could be anything from a dead raccoon to a deer carcass. Whatever it is, you’ll want to find and remove it as soon as possible to encourage the vultures to move on.
Additionally, large flocks increase the risk of structural damage if the birds start nesting and roosting on buildings, as well as potential health concerns from droppings and bacteria. Consulting a wildlife management professional can help minimize these risks and safely disperse the flock.
Nesting on Your Property
Seeing a few vultures perched or soaring above your property is normal. But if you notice vultures building nests, laying eggs, or rearing young on your roof, barn, or other structures, it’s definitely time to take action.
According to the University of California’s Integrated Pest Management Program, vulture nests and roosts can become problematic for several reasons:
- Droppings and regurgitated food scraps damage structures and pose a contamination risk.
- Nests are large, can weigh over 100 pounds, and may cause structural damage.
- Vultures are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, so nests cannot be disturbed without permits.
Rather than attempting removal yourself, experts recommend working with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and hiring a certified falconer or other permitted wildlife specialist. They have the training, legal authorization, and techniques to safely and humanely convince vultures to abandon nests and relocate.
One study published in The Journal of Raptor Research found that falconry was highly effective for dispersing Black Vulture roosts, with success rates over 95% in some trials. The trained raptors chased away vultures through pursuit flights and occupied areas the vultures attempted to resettle in.
So if vultures start settling in on your home or yard, don’t delay in contacting wildlife professionals. They can assess the situation and implement customized hazing, exclusion, or relocation protocols to get the birds to move along without harming them.
Conclusion
While vultures roosting on your property can be disturbing, these scavengers provide important services in the ecosystem. With some simple humane actions like cleaning up food waste, you can deter vultures without harming them.
However, if large flocks persist, contacting wildlife professionals may be required. Understanding why vultures are attracted to your home is the first step in resolving the issue.
