Pigeons nesting, roosting, and walking about add life and amusement to neighborhoods and city parks. But when vast numbers of them hang out in a small area —usually due to deliberate feeding or infrequent cleanup of food spillage and garbage near eateries—it can become unpleasant. If you’re looking to get rid of pigeons, the approach you take to address the problem will make all the difference in whether or not you succeed. Read on for what works and what NOT to do.
Many people get great pleasure from feeding pigeons without realizing the problems that may result.
Get rid of the food – get rid of pigeons
It will be hard to convince pigeons from dispersing from an area if they have access to a free buffet of food. Many people feed pigeons because they enjoy seeing the birds, yet they don’t realize that feeding the animals causes them to congregate in areas and cause conflicts with people. Explain to pigeon-feeders how attracting pigeons in great numbers will likely have negative consequences for the birds. Encourage them to scale back feeding until many of the birds disperse. If food scraps and crumbs are the problem, focus on the need to keep the area aesthetically pleasant for customers or neighbors. If approached in a polite, friendly manner, most people will see the good sense in your request and attempt to make needed changes.
Modify places they might nest…
Another thing that attracts pigeons in great numbers is an abundance of flat places that mimic the rock ledges they would use for nesting in natural areas. Rooftops, window ledges, balconies, railings, gaps at the roofline, trim pieces, and other similar building elements provide perfect pigeon nest sites. Make these locations inaccessible or unworkable for nesting by attaching wood or metal sheathing at a 45-60-degree angle on the surface. If a large area is affected, use netting to keep them away from the flat surfaces they covet.
Balconies mimic the rocky ledges where pigeons would normally make their nests.
Another effective way of limiting flock size…
Once you’ve eliminated the food and nest sites that are attracting pigeons, if there are still too many, consider reducing the size of the remaining flock with pigeon birth control. OvoControl is a kibble-type food that, when regularly fed to pigeons, helps to control their population size by preventing their eggs from hatching. OvoControl is harmless to adult pigeons, but your building manager or grounds management will need a license to purchase and supply it to your local pigeon population. Over time, OvoControl reduces the size of pigeon populations and is a safe, cost-effective, and long-term solution.
What not to try…
Killing pigeons is a cruel and unnecessary approach that is destined to fail. To be effective you must address the causes of the problem (whatever is attracting the pigeons) or you will end up ceaselessly having to deal with the next flock that moves in. Moreover, registered poisons are not species-specific—other birds and animals that ingest them will suffer convulsions and spasms before finally dying a painful death, something most people would rather not inflict, witness, or chance having children see. Another wrongheaded approach is the use of sticky gel repellents. These seriously harm any bird or animal who may come in contact with them while failing to do anything towards solving the problem.