How to Get Rid of Hawks | Top 10 Humane Ways

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Hawks are majestic to look at, but they are equally terrifying. Although you might be fascinated staring at them when they invade your property, you need to realize that they can do a lot worse than you anticipate. Especially for farms, having a constant hawk invasion means bad news for the smaller poultry or birds that you have lingering around on your farm. 

However, the process to get rid of hawks isn’t as complicated as you think. In fact, with the right measures, you can keep them off your property for good.

Also read: How to Get Rid of Pigeons?

List of Ways to Get Rid of Hawks

It doesn’t matter if you have poultry stationed in your backyard; the constant flapping of the hawks will also end up damaging your lawn even before you can prevent things from getting worse. 

1. Install a Predator Decoy for the Hawk

Hawks are hands down one of the biggest predatory birds you will come across on this planet. Just their appearance is enough to drive out a lot of the small birds, terrified for their life. However, this is where you need to step up your game.

Just because hawks are predators doesn’t mean they aren’t terrified of things. Larger birds like owls and eagles can be a good way to keep hawks out of hours. So, install an owl decoy, so the hawks are terrified enough not to infiltrate your home. 

2. Get Rid of Bird Feeders

Especially during the harsh summers and winters, installing bird feeders is humane so that the small birds have something to feed on when everything is hard around. However, if you find that the hawks are frequenting your home, the chances are that the same is because of the infinite bird feeders hanging in your backyard.

Hawks are very vigilant predators. They scope the area they charge into. So, if you find them charging around your backyard, then chances are that the same is because the smaller birds are frequenting your backyard. This is where you need to step up your game. Hawks will try to frequent the spots where the local birds are feeding off of. So, remove any semblance of home you are setting up for these small birds if you don’t want them to die a sad death.

3. Install Deterrents

Yes, your neighbors are going to complain if you indulge in this. However, you need to realize that this works for the long run and keeps the hawks from festering your home without any next worry. The hawks don’t like certain frequencies of noise lingering in their vicinity. So, if you install such noise deterrents, the same will effectively drive out these hawks from your home and the surrounding areas with ease.

If you don’t want to put off your neighbors, you can install the ultrasonic bird repeller. They are easily accessible in the market and show pretty promising results in keeping these predatory birds out of reach.

4. Make the Place Inhabitable

Since hawks are very big birds, you will often find them looking for resting spots, standing or resting perched on top of certain areas in the backyard. While it is difficult to guess which spots they will sit down on, you need to look out the next time they visit. Once you have scoped out their most common perching spots, install rugged spikes on all of those spots.

This can include fences, the area around the gardens, etc. The roosting spikes are hands down the best way to prevent the hawks from precariously damaging all the areas around your outdoor space. The ledge areas in the garden are also somewhere that you should consider installing these spikes on.

5. Protect Your Livestock

Again, if you stay on a farm, the chances are that the hawks will come around to hunt down your livestock because those are the easiest to prey on. Ideally, we’d recommend that you shield and protect your livestock without any complaints. Since predator birds are a very common phenomenon with livestock, we’d recommend that you indulge in protecting the livestock with the different netting systems available in the market.

If you are wondering how to get rid of hawks, this is hands down one of the best ways to get around with the same. If required, you can keep a close eye and close out any openings in the livestock pen to protect your chicken and other small birds.

6. Eliminate All Food Sources

The biggest reason any predator visits is because they know they won’t be empty stomach anymore. This is the weak point you have to take the maximum advantage of. Ideally, this is why you need to focus on getting rid of any and every kind of food source that you can think of. 

And, no, we aren’t talking about a piece of biscuit or an opened bag of crisps. Hawks are predators, so they are constantly looking for smaller prey like birds, rodents, moles, rabbits, snakes around your home. So, if you have any of those around your home, you need to get rid of the same immediately to prevent the hawks from making your backyard a meeting point. The infestation can often get out of hand very quickly.

7. Get Hold of a Rooster

Okay, this might seem very counterproductive because you’d think that the hawk will hunt down the rooster too. However, that isn’t the case. Hawks are easily terrified of larger birds, so they prey on smaller birds like livestock and poultry. Roosters, on the other hand, are quite large.

Compared to the smaller chickens, roosters have a very stout build and are quite aggressive. So, they can easily take down the hawks if they want to. Also, they have a very sharp beak and a very rough attitude that will easily scare away the hawks that try to come around and infiltrate your farm.

8. Get a Cattle Dog

Since hawks mostly infiltrate the farms and the livestock areas, another constructive and effective way you can keep the hawks out of the farms is by getting a cattle dog or a guard dog. Choosing the right breed of dog is important in this case. The last thing you want is to get a smaller dog that won’t do any good to patrol and protect the vicinity of your farm.

Also, when you are getting a dog, keep in mind that taking care of the dog is your responsibility. So, if you can’t take care of them, don’t even bother investing your time in getting a dog for your home. They need optimal care, too, something you can’t miss out on. 

9. Scarecrows Work Too

If you aren’t ready to commit to a dog or even a rooster, for that matter, another constructive and effective alternative is to install a scarecrow. Just ensure that they are gigantic enough to keep the hawks out of the way and even from a longer sight. Since scarecrows mimic the appearance of a human, the hawks like to keep out of such spots since they are quite afraid of being in close vicinity of humans.

Also, making a scarecrow isn’t rocket science. So, make sure you use stable and strong items and elements to make the scarecrow, so it doesn’t topple over with the blow of the wind.

10. Get Professional Help

If nothing works out for you, your last resort is to get professional help. This works out in the long run, and they will install ideal preventive measures that will prevent the hawks from ever returning.

So, if you are looking for a long-term resolution, you have to contact and step ahead with the work. You should run a thorough inquiry before hiring a professional exterminator since they don’t charge fewer amounts. You want your money to provide value.

If you are looking for how to get rid of hawks, we hope this article answers all your queries. Make sure that you don’t take the situation for granted and instead focus on finding tangible methods to get rid of the hawks permanently and drive them out of your home.

Also read: How To Get Rid of Bats?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What Are Hawks Afraid Of?

Hawks are afraid of similar and bigger predator birds like owls and eagles. They are also afraid of larger animals like dogs, cattle, etc.

Why Do I Have Hawks in My Backyard?

The biggest reason hawks are infiltrating your backyard is that they find potent food sources in the backyard. It can include different kinds of birds or other smaller prey animals too.

Do Wind Chimes Keep Hawks Away?

The sound of the wind chimes isn’t very potent enough to drive the hawks out of your backyard. You’d need something stronger than that.

By James Edwards

James Edwards is a writer & editor with almost 15 years of experience from Murphys, California. He earned his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University.

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