You may love having birds in your yard, and you might even leave out food to attract them. While birds are fun to watch, some birds can become pests and cause harm to your property. Birds can even cause damage to your roof. Here's how birds can hurt your roof and some roof repairs you might need to have done.

Bird Droppings Can Damage Asphalt Shingles

Bird droppings are acidic. The droppings can weaken asphalt shingles over time and increase the risk of a roof leak. Droppings can be a problem when groups of birds gather on your roof routinely. The droppings make your roof look ugly, but the worst part is the damage they do to asphalt shingles that shortens the lifespan of your roof.

If your roof is covered with bird droppings, have your roof cleaned to remove the acid from the shingles. You may want to add a bird deterrent to your roof so you don't have to clean your roof constantly.

Birds Can Clog The Gutters

If your gutters can't drain water away from your roof, the water can cause damage to the shingles and deck. Birds cause gutter clogs in a couple of ways. For one, a bird may build a nest in a gutter trough. The nest then acts as a dam that causes rain to back up against the roof. If this goes on long enough, the water could cause the deck to rot and cause a roof leak. Repairing this problem might require replacing shingles and the rotted part of the deck.

Another way birds can clog gutters is with seeds they leave behind in their droppings that roll off the roof. Birds eat seeds they find in nature and when they deposit them in your gutters, the seeds may start to grow. Plants and roots growing in your gutters cause a clog or they add too much weight and pull the gutter away from your roof.

Birds Can Peck Holes Or Lift Shingles

Different types of birds cause different types of roof damage. It's best to keep all birds off of your roof if you can. Large birds, such as vultures, can destroy your roof with their large talons. Vultures often gather in groups on roofs, and when they do, they can lift shingles or tear them off completely.

Other birds, such as woodpeckers, do more damage by pecking and drilling. The birds can drill holes in the wood portion of the roof when searching for bugs. Holes and missing shingles allow rain to leak through the roof, so you'll want to have roof repairs done promptly to repair the damage.