Pigeons are nesting (as opposed to just perching) under a niche in our roof. We can hear the fat fledglings clumping and stomping around up there in the middle of the night, and they’re keeping us awake.
The first pest control guy we called told us that wire netting is ineffective, as they will just push it out of the way. He’s trying to sell us on a pigeon repellant. Pigeons do not seem intelligent or strong enough to me to push wire netting out of the way. Is he trying to sell us a bill of goods? I want the little bastards out of there permanently!
Someone here on the boards, and I’m afraid I can’t remember his name, is a pest control person by profession. What’s the deal? Is wire netting or repellant the way to go?
I think the “uncooked rice” suggestion is a reference to the “don’t throw rice at weddings 'cause birds eat it and the rise expands in their tummies and they explode” rumor that was going around (and explained all of the dead birds that you’d see on Saturday evenings around churchs :rolleyes: )
Anyhow. Birds are VERY determined when it’s about their nests. We had some SMALL birds (like sparrows) nesting up under the roof - a board had come loose and they were nesting there. I waited until AFTER nesting season had ended and nailed that sucker back up. The following spring? We now have a nice pecked out hole in the front of the roof line so the birds could get back to their favored nest site.
Eliminate what they want (food and water) and eliminate access. If you see them foraging around your area, clean up what they’re eating. Prune bushes if necessary. If they are using a birdbath, drain it.
Watch to see how they enter the niche and do what is necessary to deny them access. Replace damaged boards or cover holes with new boards or hardclothe.
Birds can be very persistent (see wring’s story), but this means you just need to be more persistent. Board up that hole again.
If you are in the US or Canada, don’t use poisons. There is a possibility of killing different species and Fish and Wildlife Service (or Canadian Wildlife Service) will not be happy with violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Depending on whether you’re willing to kill them or not,
a not-so-nice method used occasionally by commercial property maintenance men is to place a small, shallow container of anti-freeze (the toxic stuff) in an area where the parents can take a drink. This will kill them in short order, however, this stuff is exceeding poisonous so keeping it away from other non-harmful animals (including small children) would be the main problem and the risk may not be worth it.
We have some pretty bad problems with pigeons roosting and pooping on people around the office complex where I work. The solution they use is a thick wire mesh around the obvious ventilation holes where they fly in and these prickly plastic needle things that I imagine are extremely uncomfortable for them to sit/ roost on. I got a great laugh one day watching one of these flying rats actually trying to wedge his fat ass in between the 1/2 inch space where the last spike set ended and the inner edge of the ledge. After about five minutes he finally gave up and flew away.
I’m not sure where these plastic spike sets are sold though they are clearly designed to get rid of unwanted birds and I’m sure they must be fairly inexpensive.
My dad had the pigeon infestation problem, and he tried all sorts of crazy stuff. He started with chicken wire, which the found ways around. He put a plastic owl up and they avoided it for about a week, then they were perching on it. He put rubber snakes on the roof, and they did nothing but crap on them. Finally he got an old induction coil (from the plastic flashing yellow light boxes mounted on the road- block saw-horse like barricade things), hooked it up to a 12 volt battery, hooked the battery up to a battery charger, and then hooked the coil up to some dangling bare wires. He left that on for about a week, and the pigeons haven’t come back. He has it on a weekly timer now, and it comes on for about 15 minutes a week. It didn’t kill any pigeons, either, but I heard they really left quick when the were shocked.
Pigeon Repellant??? Let me guess, was $19.95 and you get two bottles for the price of one. But wait, there’s more! I bet he would throw in a pocket size can of pigeon repellant for free if you order in the next five minutes! What a scammer!!
Cover the holes up. In case any find their way in, leave a treat for them. Get some peanut butter, birdseed and alkeseltzer. Mix them all together and put this Pigeon Poison Paste around where they like to hang out. YUM YUM!! This is assuming you cannot afford a REAL owl.
I second this one, and lend him to me when you’re done, I can feed him for a few lifetimes yet what with the overwhelming population of Pigeons in Queens.