Stop Birds From Flying Into Your Windows With A Quick And Clever Pen Hack

Having a bird fly full force and smash into your window is an alarming experience for you, but it's detrimental, and often fatal, to the small animal. Unfortunately, window collisions are an extremely common problem for our feathered friends and are a large contributor to bird deaths each year. The clean, clear glass in windows can reflect the sky and trees around your home, appearing to birds like a safe area to fly through. If you want to help protect the birds around your yard and garden, there's an easy way to stop birds from flying into your windows. A white paint pen made for glass, like the Auto Drive automotive window marker, is all you need to help birds distinguish the window pane from the sky. By drawing lines on the window with a white paint pen, you can make it easier for the birds to see that something is amiss and avoid hitting the glass.

Not only is this a simple solution to help birds avoid hitting windows, but it's also rather inexpensive. Depending on the brand, a single white paint pen is around $3 to $6. Choose a pen that makes clear, wide lines without the paint running. When drawing on the window, the pattern you choose is significant. Vertical lines, spaced appropriately, are the best option for alerting birds to the glass while still allowing you to easily look outside. Diagonal and horizontal lines also work. Besides preventing birds from inadvertently hitting windows, this simple paint pen trick can also stop birds from attacking windows and fighting their reflection.

In order for the paint to look as visible as possible to the birds, use your pen on the exterior of your home rather than drawing on the window from inside the house. While you may be tempted to use other colors, white ensures that the lines don't blend in with the reflection of the background. Drawing vertical lines is often recommended to be effective, as it will either stop the reflection or resemble small gaps that birds won't want to fly into. Otherwise, opt for dots or a grid over the glass. Even creating a fun design will work, as long as you cover the entire window. Don't have a paint pen? A bar of soap also works, but it offers less control and may need to be refreshed more often as it flakes or washes off easily.

When drawing your lines, make sure they are ⅛ to ¼ inch thick or thicker. If they're too thin, the birds could still have trouble seeing your window. Evenly space vertical lines so they are 2 to 4 inches apart. When you step back from the window, check that you can see the paint from several feet away. If you're having trouble with smaller birds (like hummingbirds) hitting the glass, draw the lines closer together or paint a tight grid. The paint should be easy to remove if you want to redo the design or get rid of the pattern altogether. Besides adding white lines to the glass, consider where to place your birdbath and feeders. These features should be within 3 feet of windows (so they're not flying fast if they collide) or more than 30 feet away to help keep birds safe.