Swallows are dark, small, breeding birds with blue backs and long tails. They are very agile, mostly eat small invertebrates, and spend most of their time flying. That being said, are swallows good to have around?
Even though swallows signify positive meanings and bring about good tidings, they are a nuisance most times. They wreak havoc on properties, costing homeowners and business owners a lot. If you don’t want recurring damages on your hands, swallows aren’t good to have around.
Swallows can invade your property if they find it comfortable, but they aren’t irremovable. Below are how to identify swallows, their symbolism, the effects of their invasion, and how to remove them from your property.
How to Identify a Swallow
Swallows are some of the most elegant birds in the world. However, it might be challenging to identify them as they are always on the wing. To correctly identify a swallow, you need good birding binoculars or a good-quality camera to place them.
There are different swallows such as tree swallow, bank swallow, barn swallow, cliff swallow, cave swallow, etc. However, they have some features in common. The barn swallow is the most common swallow species in the world.
Mostly, swallows are cone-shaped when they perch on a tree. They have a long tail that extends beyond the tips of their wings. They also have long, outer feathers.
They have blue backs, pale underparts, and cinnamon-colored throats and foreheads. The white spots on their tails are easier to see when they are flying. However, the females are less colored than the males even though both are identical.
You often find them in open spaces such as fields, near coastal waters, parks, ponds, etc. Their nests are unique and often near areas where domestic animals like cattle, horses, etc., are bred. They use mud to build their nests but also adopt artificial ones that look like their mud nests.
They feed on insects too. They drink water while they are migrating, flying close to sip from the river.
What Do Swallows Symbolize?
Swallows aren’t mere birds. They are highly symbolic, and even agelong traditions acknowledge their symbolism. For instance, most traditions held that swallows represent the soul of a departed person and as such, killing them was unforgivable.
Swallows are often associated with good tidings too. In some areas, they are thought to be the channels between the dead and the living.
However, swallows symbolize different things in different cultures. For instance, in the ancient Roman tradition, a swallow symbolized a child who died at birth. In the ancient Greek tradition, it was thought to bring the tidings of love and was often associated with Aphrodite, the goddess of love.
Besides their unique symbolism in different cultures, swallows are popularly associated with peace, loyalty, new beginnings, joy, hope, etc. Many people also believe that having a swallow as your spirit animal means you are fortunate.
There are many ways to know your spirit animal. If you find that you have the traits of a particular animal, that animal could be your spirit animal. Also, if you find that a specific animal is always around you, that could be your spirit animal.
Studying your spirit animal will help you better understand your personality. If a swallow is your spirit animal, you are likely to be easy-going, hopeful, and cheerful. You are gregarious, just like a swallow.
Having a swallow as your spirit animal also means your movements are graceful, and you are happy most times. Swallows are agile in flight, and their movements are gracious. They also represent happiness and satisfaction.
If you dream of swallows often, it could mean a significant change is about to happen in your life. Swallows are highly migratory. Whether you want it or not, you can’t avoid the drastic change that will occur.
Are Swallows Good to Have Around?
Even though swallows have pleasant traits and symbolize positive meanings, they can be a nuisance most times. They like to nest near barns, sheds, homes, etc., but they wreak havoc on these structures.
For instance, their droppings make a mess of your property and result in you devoting many hours to clean up. It also contains different pathogens and destroys metal, paint, etc.
Their nests can create ventilation problems, cause a fire outbreak, or block ducts. They tend to return to comfortable places every year, so you are likely to have recurring damage to deal with if you don’t remove them from your property.
They also cause diseases. They are parasites with viral infections and often bring with them ticks, fleas, mites, etc. However, when these insects become too much, they abandon their nests and go elsewhere.
This means that having swallows around brings about illnesses. Also, their loud calls often cause a commotion. With this, they cause many homeowners sleepless nights.
Since swallows are habitual animals, you must destroy their nests if you don’t want them to return to your property. Clean up their droppings as well. This way, they are likely not to return.
You can also net the areas prone to their invasion or get a taste aversion repellent and spray on the insects they like to eat. Just like every other living thing, swallows don’t enjoy their foods tasting bad. They will quickly leave your property.
Either you are a homeowner or business owner, swallows aren’t birds you should welcome. If you aren’t careful, they can cause huge losses by infesting your foods, reducing the number of products you want to sell, etc.
However, they are also helpful. They eat up insects that hinder your activities and are admirable to watch. In the process of removing them from your property, ensure you encourage them to move to places they won’t be a nuisance.
When removing swallows from your properties, I would advise you to seek professional help. The federal law protects most birds, and hurting them is regarded as a huge offense. Professionals will help you remove the swallows from your properties without harming them.
Conclusion
Having the traits of a swallow is good for you as it sets you on the right path. However, despite the good qualities swallows have, they are unwelcome houseguests, except you want to rear them. The best way to avoid the havoc they wreak is to keep them off your property.
