Has anyone ever used golf balls to deter birds from building nests in hanging baskets?

I recently tried to discourage robins from building a nest on top of an exterior light fixture near my front door. I can’t blame them, really, it’s an ideal location: under the corner of a wide eave, and on top of a solid and stable light fixture.

What worked for me there was to place an inverted plastic soup container over the top of the fixture. Looks-wise, it doesn’t detract much, because the milky grayish texture of the container didn’t stand out from the siding color much, but it apparently made for an unstable and slippery place to establish a nest.

When I was a kid, it was so cool to find a bird’s nest! Now that I’m a homeowner, those bastards are everywhere! It’s still kinda cool, but c’mon, dudes, leave me some space here!

My blackbirds and finches are so invasive on my back patio, I had to use a tech solution. True story.
I googled the territorial song of the blackbird and put it on an audio loop. I use an outdoor bluetooth speaker to broadcast “no vacancy” during mating season.
No more nests in my awning.

Yeah, I don’t mind them near by. Tons of woods behind my house and large bushes even. Even a very nice trees all around my home. But they seem to like my hanging flower baskets. I had a gorgeous plant last year and it was doing ok, but then it caught some bug and I couldn’t spray insecticide while it was there and the eggs where there. I didn’t want to cause them any harm. So by the time they left, I couldn’t save it.
But I love having birds around my home. I love watching them and hearing them sing and they do pretty well at discouraging bees and wasps.

I think it’s cool to have birds nesting nearby, but their poop is a bother.