Pigeon Prevention Tips: How to Keep Pigeons Away

Need bird removal in your hometown? We service over 500 USA locations! Click here to hire us in your town and check prices - updated for year 2020.

Despite that a lot of pigeons are domesticated and kept by people, and some people even keep them as sacred animals for religious reasons, they are still undesirable to a lot of people. If you have no use for them and therefore wish to keep them at bay, you are certainly not alone. You probably want to keep them away because of one of these reasons –

• Pigeons make this annoying cooing sound, and the ones at your place love to perch on your window or roof while cooing every time
• Their faecal droppings give your garden, balcony, patio, or roof a dirty look. The acidic nature of the droppings can also damage vehicles, lawns, buildings, and wooden structures.
• Pigeon droppings may carry bacteria or fungal infections such as psittacosis, histoplasmosis and cryptococcosis. These infections are characterized with fatigue, fever, headache etc.

Not to worry, there are various ways by which you can deter pigeons from your property, ranging from home repairs to fences and natural remedies.

Fencing
This economic do-it-yourself method is a proven, long lasting way of preventing pigeons from coming to roost at your place. Fences are made to block all points of entry into the areas where the pigeons usually perch. The fence should be made from rust-proof material like the galvanized chicken wire; this can be nailed to any wooden part of the building. You may need a cutter to cut the wire nicely before fixing them in.

If you are bothered about the extra structure that this wire fence can be, then consider electric fences, which are almost invisible to the naked eyes. Electric fences are durable, easily cleaned and harmless; they can be used almost everywhere, be it bridge, house, chimney or church. They are usually made of stainless steel or other special alloys that cannot rust easily. Some, like Bird Fence, are powered with solar energy, so recharging them is not a problem. Read the guides What Should You Do About Pigeons In Your Chimney? and What Should You Do If A Pigeon Gets Inside Your House?.

Home repairs
Can the part of the building on which the birds are roosting be altered a little bit without causing any noticeable change to the whole structure itself? If yes, then you may consider doing that. Let’s say part of the window sill extends outwards and has no effect on the functionality and beauty of the building, but it is the favourite perching site for these birds, you may just ask building experts to remove that outward extension. When deprived of their perching spot, pigeons will in most cases, leave your property graciously.

Likewise, you may install porcupine wires to the areas where the pigeons love to roost. These consist of a solid base with sharp metal prongs sticking out at all angles. With this in place, the birds are prevented from landing. Read the guide How to Remove Pigeons From the Wall.

Remove food and water sources
The main reason that pigeons are lurking around your property is because there is constant food supply there, so simply make sure their food is not available. While they feed on grains, fruits and seeds most of the time, they would also consume things like leftover pet food, garbage, and insects when available. Keep your garbage can covered and the surroundings clean to eradicate insects; and always clean up your pet’s leftovers. Pigeons also drink a lot of water, so mop up your deck, balcony, yard, farmyard, roof etc.

If the seed feeder on your farm or garden is the attraction, you may switch to a feed system that requires the livestock to trigger it before food is dispensed. When food is no more available thus, the pigeons will move away to find greener pastures.

Prevent breeding
No matter how this sounds to you, it is an effective step in deterring the uninvited housemates called pigeons. All you need do is find their nests and get rid of their eggs before they get hatched and become squabs. You may visit their nests every few weeks to perform this easy task. If you do this consistently for some time, pigeons are intelligent creatures and will be able to deduce that the site is not conducive for breeding, so they will move out. Problem solved.

Otherwise, get a professional involved as they are able to access special birth control products that hinder the eggs from hatching.

Destroy their nests
This is similar to destroying the eggs, simply locate their nests and destroy them. They may rebuild the nests a couple of times, but if you are consistent in the damaging task, they will soon get the message and will move away. Read about Pigeon Shock Track.

Read the guide Noises Pigeons Make When They Are Living In Your House or go back to the Bird Removal page.