Pigeons are usually seen in public places, window ledges, balconies, and on a porch. Without being aware of the potential danger they could cause, people usually treat them just like in a Saturday morning cartoon where an old lady feeds them with breadcrumbs while kids play in the park.
The reality is that they could pose a serious threat to public health. This has been scientifically proven and therefore the law forbids feeding these birds in parks, squares, and other public areas.
Like rats, pigeons are perfectly adapted to human environments. They are dependent on humans to provide them with food, roosting, and nesting sites. Our buildings and house structures suit them well as hangers to rest and sleep.
Pigeons are sometimes called “rats with wings”. The main reason for that is that they are carriers of a variety of harmful diseases.
These mainly include:
Cryptococcosis: It is a fungus that can be found in soil contaminated by pigeon droppings. Transmission occurs through inhalation of yeast-like fungi, although it may occasionally occur through ingestion and is usually a result of direct contact with the nests.
Pneumonitis: It is an allergic reaction or a hypersensitivity to feathers and fecal dust of pigeons and is caused by continuous exposure of an individual to these birds.
Bird mites: Mites most often feed on and live on the skin of a variety of birds such as pigeons. These are usually an annoyance but can cause an allergic reaction.
Psittacosis: The disease is usually transmitted by parrots, although pigeons can also get infected and become transmitters.
Salmonella: It’s a common disease affecting many bird species, including pigeons. Their droppings can be a route of infection for salmonella. The bacteria are transmitted by direct contact with infected birds, through contaminated food, and by inhalation.
Pigeons usually spread these diseases through their feces and therefore through their feet, their nests, and sleeping places.
Thus, pigeon droppings not only make our window ledges dirty but can create hazardous conditions. To help prevent the spread of disease and keep your window ledges and balcony free of droppings, be sure to clean them up as soon as possible.
You might often ask yourself these questions;
What can I do to prevent pigeons from sitting on my window ledge? How to stop them?
There are many bird exclusion methods and products available that can help you do this. Make use of all kinds of deterrents, movable bird decoys, reflective objects, or sound gadgets. If everything else fails, ask a professional pest bird control company for help.
Make it hard for pigeons to land, sit, and build a nest on your window ledge.
And you can protect yourself, your family, and your home through a variety of ways:
Use Old CDs
Don’t know what to do with all the records you have kept for years because they are no longer listened to? You can put together a repeller for pigeons.
It is just a matter of connecting several CDs with a rope and hanging them outside your window in a visible place. When the sun reflects on the surface of the CD, the birds will fly away since the brightness in their eyes bothers them.
Use Other Reflective Hanging Objects
If you don’t have any CDs at home, don’t worry, because you can use other objects that reflect light, such as kitchen utensils made of metal, or even silver balloons. You may also use:
Reflective Scare Rods
You might want to get reflective scare rods, which, besides serving as a decoration, are truly visual bird repellents. The rods produce visual stimulus with a bright light, which pigeons foresee as some kind of danger around there, which makes them fly away from it.
Bird Repellent Discs
Another reflective product to take advantage of, are bird repellent discs. It’s a string of discs with mirrored surfaces on both sides, which reflect the light off their surfaces. When exposed to the sun and wind, these shiny discs produce striking flash and also clashing sounds. The pigeons will consider it as a warning and will fly away.
Reflective Scare Tape
The reflective ribbon is yet another bird control product applying the refractive holographic technique on both sides. Scare tapes should be hung up where there is direct exposure to sun rays and wind so that they can create flashing light and flapping sounds.
Colorful Pinwheel
This beautiful spinning device is actually a kids toy that uses wind power. A small pinwheel made of plastic or metal, that has many reflective colors is another repellent to scare pigeons away. The reflective light and spinning sound distracts and confuses the birds.
The objective of all these products is that they produce a flash that doesn’t please the pigeons so they will surely not want to perch on your terrace, patio, balcony, or window ledge.
Treat Them with Spices
No bird likes spicy food, which is why a good technique to get rid of pigeons, is to prepare a repellent spray at home. It does not mean that you poison them with the spices. The mixture will cause them discomfort and, as a result, they will not come close when identifying that aroma.
How do you prepare it? In a jar, place some chili peppers, cayenne, or any other kind of hot spices. Add water, some vinegar, and mix well. Then, put the mixture in a bottle with spray. Finally, spray all the places where the pigeons are likely to roost.
Install Bird Slopes and Slides
One of the best ways to scare pigeons away… is to not allow them to perch nearby!
Bird slopes and bird slides are physical deterrents used to prevent birds of all species and sizes, from landing or nesting on open window ledges. Their unique inclined design makes it impossible for pigeons to land or nest in areas at an angle of 60° to 90° such as ledges, window sills, or eaves.
This is really effective protection against all birds as they simply can’t get a grip and slide right off the ledge.
The benefits of this solution include the lowest cost and easy installation. Bird slopes and slides are usually made of a UV protected outdoor grade PVC plastic that can be simply glued down to most surfaces.
An additional bonus of this technique is that the slope also works to protect your windows from sun and rain.
Mount Window Nets
Many buildings put up anti-bird nets so that no bird can perch on balconies, window ledges, or exterior window cornices. Perhaps they don’t look aesthetically pleasing, but the good thing is that they are quite effective against birds. The nets can also provide a security measure if you have small children.
Alternatively, you can cover air conditioner units, outdoor fireplaces, or small windows with stainless steel mesh screens to provide an additional barrier against the intruder birds.
Fool Them with Fake Owl Decoys
Did you know that pigeons fear owls? Decoys like plastic owl scarecrows, scare balloons, and even rubber snakes can be placed on the window ledge to keep birds away.
The decoys are usually light and flexible, which makes them move with the wind to discourage birds to sit on your window ledge. But keep in mind that this is not a long-term method because pigeons will soon catch on.
But instead of getting a fake decoy, the best thing you can do is to buy a kids toy, made mainly of plastic or metal. Some models even turn their heads in the wind, have eyes that reflect the light, or make real sounds.
It is advisable to change the location of the anti-pigeon decoys from time to time to increase their effectiveness…
Don’t forget that pigeons are very smart animals!
Deter with Ultrasonic Bird Repellers
They are a great bird control method. These devices use ultrasonic sound waves that are silent to most humans but high-pitched and irritating to pigeons. They can detect infrasounds but not high-pitched sounds. So you need to select the proper device emitting proper sound frequency to drive them away effectively.
The gadget’s sound can chase the unwanted pest birds away while being safe, humane, easy to operate, and generally harmless to children and pets. However, the sound from the bird scarer might be unsafe for newborns and babies.
This type of technology is used at airfields to prevent birds and reduce the risks of airplane accidents, although they also work well for domestic use as a means of deterring pigeons.
Install Stainless Steel Bird Spikes
The product consists of a base that is tightly assembled with long spikes in different directions. These spikes do not deter birds away but will physically prevent them from perching or nesting in any places where they are installed. You can directly apply these spikes in any area to stop the pigeons from sitting there.
And don’t be afraid that these spikes would harm or cut the birds’ feet. In fact, the spikes are not sharp and are totally humane.
Let Them Smell Your Perfume
What smells do pigeons hate the most? Like any other birds, they dislike the smell of perfume, after-shave, hairspray, as well as the scent of essential oils. Therefore, occasionally spraying some of these products on your window ledge can stop them from sitting on it for a long time.
Surprise Them with Chemical Repellents
They are particularly effective for surfaces like window ledges. A chemical bird repellent can be purchased as a gel-like or liquid substance.
This way, pigeons are not deterred from a distance but they get irritated when they find this sticky surprise as soon as they land their feet on it. It’s a really good way to prevent birds from roosting in the spots where the substance is directly applied.
The chemical is safe for humans, pets, and the environment.
Set a Trap for Them
Pigeon traps to catch live pigeons are a widely used strategy for pest control. Bait incorporation is the method of choice in most situations.
Attracted by the bait (wheat or broken corn), the birds will enter through a door to the trap. It is important to leave a couple of decoy pigeons inside as this will encourage these social birds to enter. The installation of any of these types of traps requires a certain skill, and the price must also be taken into account.
Use Professional Bird Exclusion Services
This is one of the most effective ways for pigeon control. It is based on the fact that if there is no place to land, there can be no pigeons. These days, most pest and wildlife companies are using humane methods to deal with the pest birds. And killing is not always necessary to exterminate them.
Precautions to Take
If you are cleaning up your window ledges from the pigeons’ poop, or you come into direct contact with their droppings, you definitely must take precautions.
Avoid putting your hands near your mouth and wash your hands and any exposed skin immediately afterward. Better yet, use disposable gloves for cleaning up any pigeon droppings.
Final Thoughts
Pigeons are very dirty feathered creatures because they don’t really clean themselves. They can also live almost anywhere and under almost any conditions, spreading various diseases and food poisoning.
Even though pigeons can be harmful and annoying, there is no need to use cruelty with these animals. Taking proper action against them, using one or more methods listed above, is more than enough for your protection.
