Went into our garden at the weekend to play with the girls and the entire garden (it isn’t very big) was covered in revolting sloppy pigeon shit. On looking, we seem to have several of them roosting in the tree than canopies the whole garden so (without wanting to cut the tree down as it provides shade) is there anything I can do to minimize the amount of pigeons we get? Or am I about to find out that they will be as big an annoyance as the neighbours’ cats?

Get some cats of your own…

you could try one of those things that broadcast distress/raptor noises in the tree?

lots of cd’s hung from the branches?

err – why can’t you kill them? They’re classed as vermin….

Rachel

Get a Black back gull. 🙂

Wood pidgeon is dead tasty. Been used in cuisine since before Roman times.

err – why can’t you kill them? They’re classed as vermin….

Rachel
Because the last time I posted on here I got a flaming… 😉

Get ’em eaten.

Breasts pan-fried until slightly pink in the middle. Use the rest of the carcass for a stock. Sorted.

Seriously, get an airgun and kill them.

Just be careful who else you accidentally shoot

I’d shoot ’em too

But failing that, get up the tree and hang some old CDs and DVD up in it, Wood Pigeons are quite nervous and won’t go anywhere near it

if they’re wood pigeon shoot them and then eat them.

Get a decent gun, then kill them if you don’t want them around. Something like this would fit the bill…

Pigeon Flambé?

Ta da!!!

Shoot them but don’t tell the haters.

Yeah…. Thanks McHamish for your helpful response – using Google really hadn’t occurred to me.

But after having similar problems with cats (had to lift the pebbled yard and put down decking to stop that one after sprays, gels, powders, pepper, chili and acoustic deterrents didn’t work) and rats (had to pay someone to lay poison after a similar acoustic deterrent and mouse/rat traps (humane and proper squishem types didn’t work on that thing either) I thought I would ask for some peer-based helpful advice rather than rely on Google and the potential for spending money on useless solutions.

No – really thank you, it was REALLY helpful.

😉

The CD idea is a good one – free and your daughters might like the tree decoration.

Failing that a few plastic birds of prey should help: http://www.pigeoncontrolresourcecentre.org/html/reviews/anti-perching-plastic-owls.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/wood_pigeon

actually I need to catch some pigeons for training the dog.

If you clasp them in your hands with their head tucked under their wing and then gently rock them you make them dizzy and they will then sit on the grass for a few minutes giving you time to get the dog out and work it through the grass towards it. Obviously you don’t want the dog to catch the bird sitting or it’s defeats the object of training to flush.

you need a gun, a air gun will do

Yeah…. Thanks McHamish for your helpful response – using Google really hadn’t occurred to me.

You. Are. Welcome.

I didn’t want my contribution to pale into insignificance under the shadow of other comments in this thread, so I thought I’d really push the boat out on this one.

Don’t people nuke things from orbit any more? I miss how we did things in the good old days, that was the only way to be sure…

Well I was goiong to suggest napalm but the images on Google images put me off…although it would certainly teach those pesky pigeons a thing or two.

Just kill ’em. Cos, you know, it could be a childs face next.

🙂

I agree shoot them! You probably wont need to shoot them all, you will find that after a few shots they will get wise and clear off. If you lived close to me I would come round and shoot them for you.

I have no problem with you shooting them, in act if local I’d do it for you with a clear consciences.

Couple of points to take into consideration though.

Depending on the size your garden, if you’re using an air riffle don’t let any pellets stray across your boundary, classed as armed trespass or something daft!

With a legal limit air rifle you’ll pretty much have to shoot them in the head as unless you’re very close you wont get through the breast feathers with a chest shot.

Easier to bait them down and shoot them on the ground. If shooting up at them into a tree you have to aim lower than you think to compensate the elevated trajectory. Not as easy as it sounds when you trying to hit something the size of a pigeons bonce.

If you can easiest way to blast the blighters is with a shot gun but they tend to upset the neighbours.

Finally make sure you can tell your woodies from your ferals.

As mentioned woodies are a tasty bonus or why not try your hand at taxidermy (?) but treat ferals as you would rats, they can carry just as many nasty’s so pick up with gloves and burry them or burn them.

Shoot them.

I know everyone else seems to be saying the same but I just wanted to say it too.

Don’t understand why anyone would flame you previously (and I can’t be arsed reading it).

I’ve had the filthy feckers in my garden for over a year now. I’ve chopped some trees down which has helped, I’ve removed an old aerial which also helped.

And I’ve shot plenty.

They are vermin. I’ve taken plenty of non lethal actions. They still poo on my patio.

So it’s fair game.

And just for extra impact.

SHOOT THEM!

Get a trap. Then use a pigeon dispstcher to kill them. Eat them.

surely a chance for fantastic creativity and impracticality

– grain soaked in booze, get them pissed and **** them before they can take off

– grain, laid on top of large net, 4 corners tied to large weight at top of tree, explosive charge would help deployment speed

– play the long game, look old, wear purple, hand feed them for 3 months, till they’re confident with you then **** them when they come up to you

http://www.pestcontrol-uk.org/uk/england

http://www.falconry-uk.org/pestcontrol/pestcontrol.htm

Shoot them.
They’re probably not woodies, they’re okay.
You need to be a good shot, capable of hitting a 1p coin at the distance required every time.
Don’t try shooting through branches. ideally a telegraph wire or other perch that gives you a good shot up through the chest.
Don’t use a rubbish air weapon

Don’t start me on seaguls, they have diplomatic immunity.

Take up falconry, a hobby for you an dthe kids and a pigeon deterrent! 😉

just ask them to clear off, if that fails shoot them.

please can i drive the bus..

I’ll lend you my old Airsporter. On 2nd thoughts, after having wood pigeon breast at the Crown in Roecliffe a couple of weeks ago, I think I’ll be using it myself!

I too got a flaming for suggesting the pigeons were being inconsiderate because they were shitting on my new decking! I’ve since had a stone throwing incident at one of the offenders which resulted in me smashing the window of my shed! ****!! 🙄