How do I keep pigeons off my porch?

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indexer
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How do I keep pigeons off my porch?

Post by indexer »

I apologize for the OT post.
A couple of pigeons spend a lot of time on my porch. As a result, there is a lot of poop just below where they sit. I came across a bunch of things on the internet being used to deter pigeons...spike strips, plastic owl, ultrasonic deterrents etc..
Any suggestions on what has worked for you?
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Post by livesoft »

We had this problem. We asked a friend about it. He said, "Let me know when you are gone all day and I will take care of it." It worked.
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indexer
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Post by indexer »

I do not intend to shoot the pigeons...if that is what you are implying..
livesoft
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Post by livesoft »

You do not need to shoot the pigeons.

It is just a couple of pigeons now. There will be more soon enough. In the end you will have somebody kill the pigeons. The longer you wait, the more pigeons you will have killed.
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Post by gkaplan »

Guard dog?

Owl?
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mlebuf
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Post by mlebuf »

While I have never had a pigeon problem I did have a bird problem. Shortly after moving into the house where I live, I was awakened every morning by birds landing on the chimney of the master bedroom fireplace and screaming their lungs out. I called a local company called Arizona Wings n' Stings in Phoenix. They told me they could take care of the problem without harming the birds.

They came out and installed what looks like a small electric fence on top of the chimney powered by a solar battery. When the birds land on the fence it shocks them but does no harm, and they quickly get the message to stay away. Since the day they installed that little fence, I have never been disturbed by birds on the chimney. Problem solved.

Check your local yellow pages for bird/bee/pest control services. They may have a solution for repelling pigeons.
Last edited by mlebuf on Sun Jan 17, 2010 10:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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tetractys
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Post by tetractys »

Somebody on NPR the other day was asking the same question. The answer was to put a wire, that is too thin for the pigeons to roost on, above and following the edge of the roof. Since the wire is thin, it needs lots of vertical supports. The method has been used successfully by town governments. You'll have to experiment.

Or perhaps one or two cats with roof access would do the trick. I'd be afraid to do that though, because cats have their crazy moments, like jumping into space when its way too high.

Best regards, Tet
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retiredbuthappy
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terrier!

Post by retiredbuthappy »

How about a really nice terrier? A cairn terrier like Toto is the greatest friend you can imagine....and could even help with ridding your porch of pigeons.
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Post by White Coat Investor »

If you feel bad about the wanton destruction of shooting them you could always eat them. Unless you're vegetarian it isn't much different from stopping in at Arby's.

http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/onlin ... pigeon.php
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Post by joe8d »

In Buffalo,pigeon shooter is a civil service job.They go around all day shooting pigeons under overpasses etc.
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TxAg
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Post by TxAg »

joe8d wrote:In Buffalo,pigeon shooter is a civil service job.They go around all day shooting pigeons under overpasses etc.
Talk about enjoying your job....that'd be fun!
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corner559
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Post by corner559 »

The other thing I've heard works well is hanging shards of old CD's like you would windchimes. It may not look pretty, but the sunlight reflecting off the silver-like coating apparently scares the birds away.
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Post by northend »

The waterfront restaurants around here use the thin wire technique that tetractys described.

I've also seen the spike, needle technique used to too.
Last edited by northend on Mon Jan 18, 2010 9:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
bluemarlin08
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Post by bluemarlin08 »

Try an owl decoy and/or a rubber snake.
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Post by Harold »

I've seen the spike/needle technique used at a St. Francis of Assisi church -- I'm not sure whether they recognize the irony.
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Post by auntie »

Mousetraps have worked for me. Birds don't like it when things suddenly grab at them. I've never caught one, but they left and didn't come back.
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Post by SteveB3005 »

Funny how we all draw lines on what constitutes humane procedure or acceptable extermination. Anyone here shoo a fly around the house till he exits a door safely or live trap a mouse in the basement so you can release him into the wild once again?

The two words that come to mind in your situation are, Pellet Gun.
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Re: How do I keep pigeons off my porch?

Post by bstevlin »

indexer wrote:I apologize for the OT post.
A couple of pigeons spend a lot of time on my porch. As a result, there is a lot of poop just below where they sit. I came across a bunch of things on the internet being used to deter pigeons...spike strips, plastic owl, ultrasonic deterrents etc..
Any suggestions on what has worked for you?
I can offer a solution, but I would have PETA on my front porch.
birdbuster
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Keeping pigeon off of your home or business

Post by birdbuster »

I own Arizona Wings N Stings a bird control and bee removal company in Phoenix, Arizona and get this type of question all the time.
There are several methods that might work for you. The low voltage shock system is a good method of keeping pigeons away from an area. Then there is a post and wire system which creates an unstable surface that pigeons don't like. Bird spike works good on parapets and ledges but not where the pigeon can walk up to the spike and drop twiggs into. Owls don't work because they don't move and sonic devices well, the jury is still out. Exclusion is the best method of keeping pigeons out of an area check out more at www azwns com[/b]
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Post by likegarden »

Some greenhouses have spikes on their roof. I noticed since I put a single spike on my bird feeder, no crows or blackbirds are landing there any longer with the crows unhooking suet containers.
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Post by Quasimodo »

We had pigeons roosting on our roof and I was able to discourage them from staying by flapping a sheet out a nearby window for a few minutes at twilight. After a few days of this they didn't come back.

This was many years ago. There are probably better ways, but the flapping sheet was a pretty easy, inexpensive approach that didn't hurt the birds and got them to leave.

John
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Post by metabasalt »

Sharp-shinned and cooper's hawks keep our pigeons somewhat limited. That and the fact that our neighbors now put out more birdfood than we do so that now the pigeons are there problem. There too the hawks keep them down a bit.

Of course to get sharp-shinned or cooper's hawks around you need to feed other birds. The reason the hawks are around is that they eat birds. I think that they prefer smaller birds but the smaller birds seem to be quicker than pigeons in getting out of harm's way. Oddly enough we also have a fair number of mourning doves, which seem even slower than pigeons, at least on the ground. But I've never seen the hawks get a mourning dove.
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Post by goggles »

Pigeons are good eating. Just call them squab. It'll sound classy!
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Post by khh »

Call Quinn the Eskimo. When he gets there, the pigeons will run to him!
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Post by Ron »

goggles wrote:Pigeons are good eating. Just call them squab. It'll sound classy!
http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/misce ... on-breasts

Now, if you can get them to jump into the pan (per the recepie) you are set to have a delightful dinner.

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Post by Mitchell777 »

When I was a kid we shot pigeons that were around the barn and messing it up. We always ate them. I really found them tasty and we were not wasting them. I understand that solution does not work for everyone for various good reasons. A couple birds of prey in the area would take care of them quickly, but basically that's not much different than shooting them
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Post by MWCA »

Ive heard fake owls can scare off other birds. Dont know if it works with pigeons.

Squab is really good to eat.
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Post by Gary »

I don’t have a solution to this problem, but let me share a story with you.

During the summer of 1990, while visiting Washington D.C., we decided to do some sightseeing. Among the sights we visited was the Lincoln Memorial. Well, there is a small space between the back of the statue and the rear wall.

{Pause for dramatic effect}

You guessed it. Right behind Abe’s shoulder there were a pair of nesting pigeons – and it was a good sized nest too.

Anytime I see that statue, I think of those pigeons. I wonder what ever happened to them. I don’t know why.

--Gary
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Post by dratkinson »

Screened-in porch?
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Post by runner26 »

MWCA wrote:Ive heard fake owls can scare off other birds. Dont know if it works with pigeons.
The fake owls on a couple of my neighboors roofs seem to have been adopted as a buddy by the pigeons. They stand right next to them. So No, they don't work.

I have kept them off my roof by constantly harassing them. I have a 10-foot piece of PVC pipe with a rope tied to the end. When the pigeons land, I swing it in their direction so they fly off. I make sure they don't circle and return, and if they do, I swing again. Sometimes I just clap. I have found that they eventually decide that the neighbor’s roof with the owls is a nicer place, and they leave my house alone. A few months later when a newbie shows up, the process is repeated.
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Post by Harold »

Have you ever noticed how your neighbor gives directions to his house?

Can't miss it -- it's the house with a couple of fake owls on the roof, covered with a whole brood of pigeons, and a nut next door swinging a 10 foot pipe on a rope!
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Post by Alex Frakt »

A hit from a very low-powered bb gun, like the classic Daisy Red Ryder, won't kill them but will annoy them enough that they will leave for good.
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Post by DocHolliday »

I cannot believe that simply shooting them with a pellet gun is not the final answer. These are pigeons, not people.
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runner26
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Post by runner26 »

Harold wrote:Have you ever noticed how your neighbor gives directions to his house?

Can't miss it -- it's the house with a couple of fake owls on the roof, covered with a whole brood of pigeons, and a nut next door swinging a 10 foot pipe on a rope!
LOL, I hold onto the pipe and whip to rope. And it only takes a few days a couple of times a year.
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Post by livesoft »

DocHolliday wrote:I cannot believe that simply shooting them with a pellet gun is not the final answer. These are pigeons, not people.
And the OP thought of this answer all by themselves way back up at nearly the first post. :)
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Post by MWCA »

runner26 wrote:
MWCA wrote:Ive heard fake owls can scare off other birds. Dont know if it works with pigeons.
The fake owls on a couple of my neighboors roofs seem to have been adopted as a buddy by the pigeons. They stand right next to them. So No, they don't work.

I have kept them off my roof by constantly harassing them. I have a 10-foot piece of PVC pipe with a rope tied to the end. When the pigeons land, I swing it in their direction so they fly off. I make sure they don't circle and return, and if they do, I swing again. Sometimes I just clap. I have found that they eventually decide that the neighbor’s roof with the owls is a nicer place, and they leave my house alone. A few months later when a newbie shows up, the process is repeated.
Good to know if I have pigeon problems. Ill just shoot them. :)
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runner26
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Post by runner26 »

MWCA wrote:if I have pigeon problems. Ill just shoot them. :)
I hope you don't live in a residential area as many of us do. A missed shot where many of us live may put out the eye of a neighbors child, break a window, or may be illegal.

A few U.S. cities and states restrict or prohibit air gun sales, possession, or use in some manner. These include: Tucson,Arizona; New York, New York; Camden and Newark in New Jersey; Johnson City, Tennessee; Chicago and Morton Grove in Illinois, and the states of New Jersey, Illinois; San Francisco, California; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and State of Michigan.
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Post by livesoft »

I think in Texas if you don't shoot 'em, then your neighbors can sue you.
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Post by MWCA »

runner26 wrote:
MWCA wrote:if I have pigeon problems. Ill just shoot them. :)
I hope you don't live in a residential area as many of us do. A missed shot where many of us live may put out the eye of a neighbors child, break a window, or may be illegal.

A few U.S. cities and states restrict or prohibit air gun sales, possession, or use in some manner. These include: Tucson,Arizona; New York, New York; Camden and Newark in New Jersey; Johnson City, Tennessee; Chicago and Morton Grove in Illinois, and the states of New Jersey, Illinois; San Francisco, California; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and State of Michigan.
I live in California. Lets hope we are not neighbors ;) I have poor eyesight in my left eye or is it my right eye. Quote me a few more laws :D
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Post by likegarden »

Before shooting an air gun better check with your local town or police. Nowadays there are laws against many things, and discharging one in a neigborhood with kids outside or potentially outside might get you a misdemeanor or felony(?) and arrested.
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Post by Die Hard »

Get rid of the porch :roll:
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tetractys
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Post by tetractys »

northend wrote:I've also seen the spike, needle technique used to too.
I've seen the spike, needles around Seattle. But had wrongly associated those devices with a curious kind of electrical dissipation, rather than pigeon dissipation. Maybe never seeing any pigeons on or around them contributed to my error.

I wouldn't want to see them shot. People like to feed them, and they support other inner-city wildlife populations. -- Tet
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Post by livesoft »

Rats with wings.

Do you like to feed rats, too?
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tetractys
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Post by tetractys »

livesoft wrote:Rats with wings.

Do you like to feed rats, too?
Once before I heard a lady call them "rats with wings," but I think pigeons are perceived as a gentler creature. Feeding them bread crumbs in the parks and streets is a fond pastime for many. And even though pigeons poop openly on people, I've never heard of them eating people like a rat would. -- Tet
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