Question:

How do I keep barn swallows from building their nests on my front porch?

Answer:

Barn Swallows are valuable neighbors that help control flying insects, including insect pests such as flies and aphids.  In many areas, their populations have declined by over 40% in recent decades (see for example this report from Canada ), so they could use our help.  Some folks worry that the birds will be messy, leaving droppings on their porch, but this usually only lasts for the last 6-10 days that the young birds are in the nest.  That’s when the birds start to defecate over the side of the nest.  Before that the parent birds will keep the area pretty clean.  So as long as the nest isn’t right over your door, consider letting these insect eating birds stay put, and just hose down the area after they leave.  If you really do need to keep them from nesting on your porch, you can check out some of my recommendations here to get rid of swallows.