How do I restore timber damaged by bird droppings?

[jaykayem]

A family of sparrows has just left the nest which they had made in a gap between the top of an external timber beam and the brickwork.

They are not very considerate squatters, however, and their droppings have rotted the wood a little. Is there a treatment I can apply to the timber to: a) neutralize the corrosive effects of the muck and b) clean it off?

Once it's clean and dry I will stick some clear weatherproof varnish on it. Is standard wood filler ok to plug the nest opening? (I will put up a box elsewhere so they can nest agin next year.)

Thanks for any help.

 

[Lime]

A family of sparrows has just left the nest which they had made in a gap between the top of an external timber beam and the brickwork.

They are not very considerate squatters, however, and their droppings have rotted the wood a little. Is there a treatment I can apply to the timber to: a) neutralize the corrosive effects of the muck and b) clean it off?

Once it's clean and dry I will stick some clear weatherproof varnish on it. Is standard wood filler ok to plug the nest opening? (I will put up a box elsewhere so they can nest agin next year.)

Thanks for any help.

Of course plugging holes in roofs has created a crash in the house sparrow population.
A friend visiting my house the other day was tranfixed when he saw sparrows in the garden saying "I've never seen so many house sparrows, not for a long time anyway".
(Most of the birds he was looking at were hedge sparrows and the others were dunnocks.)
Seeing a house sparrow in my garden is a very rare experience in an area that once could muster 100s.
Wrens are a far more common sight than house sparrows now.

Anyhow, if you don't want sparrows in your loft, plug the hole first, then let it dry out, then vacuum the mess out.
No more need be done as long as the wood is dry and ventilated.

 

[biffvernon]

We have three house sparrow nests and a starling's in our attic this year. The Starlings are seriously messy but they are all welcome.

 

[Penners]

Are you sure that the sparrows' squitter has rotted the timber? I've never heard of this (although I'm no particular expert in birdsh*t).

Is it possible that the sparrows just happened to nest where the timber was already a bit rotten, and are now having to bear the responsibility for the circumstantial evidence?

To clean the beam, I'd try just a decent scrubbing brusah, plus soapy water. However (and I'm being uncharacteristically serious here), do take hygiene precautions against the poo. Bird droppings can be responsible for salmonella, campylobacter, etc.

 

[JoceAndChris]

I can't have all this bad mouthing of bird poo Penners. The little darlings give it to us so we can put it in a bag, rot it well down, and shove it on the roses.

I've just ordered a giant sack of something called Stalosan though, which is meant to cut down on disease in the hen flock. I'll be interested to see how the antique timbers respond to scrubbing with it.

As chickens have lived in my shed for many decades before I came along, and as these old timbers are all sound and good (oak, elm, ash, and other woods I can't recognise- I do recognise the Georgian oak guttering though) I'm also a bit sceptical as to whether bird poo causes wood rot. :?

 

[Flyfisher]

I would tend to agree with Penners' post about bird poo not damaging wood. My reasoning is that our house has supported many nesting swifts each year (well into double figures) over many decades and although I found many instances of water-damaged timbers when fixing the roof, I don't recall specific damage around the old nest areas. Of course, swift poo might be particularly benign and sparrow poo might be highly corrosive, but I doubt it. More likely, I would guess, that something else caused the wood to rot and the Sparrows were simply being opportunistic with the resulting hole.

Sadly, we don't seem to have any sparrows in our vicinity. As Lime rightly says, their numbers have plummeted in recent years. I also agree about the apparent increase in wrens; I seem to notice them much more these days and they are such bonny little things.

 

[MdB]

I also agree about the apparent increase in wrens; I seem to notice them much more these days and they are such bonny little things.

Last winter in our garage.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Adorable! Did you feed them? Lucky you!

"He who shall hurt the little wren
Shall never be beloved by men" (Blake)

Did I dream that we have to report sparrow sightings these days? I don't think it was house sparrows though.

 

[biffvernon]

Oh well if this thread is to be hijacked by the cute baby birdies brigade here's my contribution, the view from my workbench last month:

 

[17c_lancs]

There are approximately 30 House Sparrows roosting in the climbing hydrangea by my office window as I write.

We've had at least 2 nests with 2 broods this year under the eaves.

They share this environment with starlings, a grey squirrel, a colony of pipistrelle bats, the occasional predatory rat after an egg (or chick) for its breakfast, and mice in wintertime.

All most welcome, no tragic electrical fires from wires consumed, no bad smells or rotting wood.

Just nature at its best in an old house.

Please do not 'plug the nest opening'.

Please.

 

[JoceAndChris]

I agree, though there is a cut off point, I think, when you start to feel a bit unwelcome in your own home.

Biff, I love your little chicks. Here's my Bathsheba, just 6 weeks old, to add to the melange.

 

[MdB]

Just had to post this as I found this girl on the inside of the window sill of the room I was working on this evening. It is not often you have the longest UK dragonfly on the end of your finger.

(Cordulegaster boltonii - Golden-ringed Dragonfly)

 

[JoceAndChris]

What a beauty. They're always a magical sight.

He would swot the dragonfly
Ought to be chopped up for a pie.

Jaykayem - don't let our naturalistic ramblings put you off asking more questions - we're always interested in your house journey though can't resist nattering and drifting - good luck with your cleaning job.

 

[philpjuk100]

Biker chicks!

 

[MdB]

What a beauty. They're always a magical sight.

He would swot the dragonfly
Ought to be chopped up for a pie.

I didn't realise that dragonflies ate wasps until a did a search to find which species it was a found this on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/longshaw/3684812407/
I like dragonflies....

 

[jaykayem]

Any winged visitors are welcome to make their home with us - as well as the sparrows, we have wagtails and swallows. Their muck is fine, I can clean it no problem, but the sparrows muck really seems to be destroying an important timber, which if I do nothing, will become quite problematic! I might try cleaning the aperture, and weatherproofing it to stop the muck's moisture and any corrosive elements being sucked up. I am loath to remove their home, but if I have to do so, I will replace it with a box. As I say, I can live with the muck, just not in that fragile timber.
Having wild lodgers is to me one of the best things about having an older property, but there has to be a balance between the interests of the creature and those of the building.

 

[philpjuk100]

Having two cats small birds give our garden a miss but bigger ones seem safe,fred the frescent will eat corn from your hand and we had a visit from three geese who were not the least scared and ran at you head down demanding corn loudly,they stayed for three weeks and the moggys only seemed happy looking at them through the window(revenge of the birds!)They do propper bird poo,you can trip over it!

 

[JoceAndChris]

I'm very jealous of the geese, you have water nearby don't you?

Having wild lodgers is to me one of the best things about having an older property

Where's my invite then? :wink:

You have to do what you think is best for the property; even if not everyone agrees - after all, we aren't there to see are we? I hope the timber can be saved.

 

[Penners]

I might try cleaning the aperture, and weatherproofing it

I'm still sceptical about the poo alone being the cause of the rot.

Here's a thought. If the birds can get in, could water be doing the same thing? If so, then it's perhaps the damp that's causing the rot. And if damp has got into the timber, a generous coating of sparrow-squitter could be stopping it from drying out - hence exacerbating the rot.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

I seem to remember from school biology that birds do not produce urine (the volume of water required being too great a flight weight) - their urea is excreted through their droppings as uric acid. I would imagine that significant enough quantities (especially if not dry) could have some effect on timber? After all it can degrade porous stone, can't it?

I'm just waiting for Penners' pic of some birds... a nice pair of a well known variety?

Edit: have just googled the subject. Eugghh. Apparently as well as uric acid, there are acid-secreting fungi that grow in brid droppings too. You learn something everyday.

Edit 2: Should "googled" be capitalised, or is it now as ubiquitous as the hoover?