Pigeons may be harmless, but that doesn’t mean you want them loitering in your garden all day and night. Pigeons often get a bad rap. Their cooing can become incredibly loud, and they’re notorious for wreaking havoc in gardens with their droppings and feathers.
Their faeces are highly acidic, which can stain surfaces and accelerate their deterioration. Moreover, they’re known to ravage crops, flowers, and vegetables in your garden, as well as frightening away friendly wildlife – making them less than ideal garden guests. However, it’s important to remember that under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, it’s illegal in the UK to harm wild birds, their occupied nests or their eggs, but that doesn’t mean you can’t discourage them from your home.
So, how can you rid your home of pigeons? Fantastic Pest Control has offered four quick and humane methods to deter these birds from your home, ensuring they “won’t bother nesting” and “wont come back”.
Firstly, experts suggest trying a traditional solution, which involves hanging unwanted old CDs or other shiny objects around the garden, like tin foil. These reflective surfaces create a prism effect, which can temporarily impair the birds’ vision.
There are numerous items in your garden that could attract a pigeon, but it’s best to avoid increasing this attraction by leaving food out for them. If pigeons are fed, they will return.
However, bear in mind, if you don’t leave bird feed out, it won’t just be pigeons that go hungry. The most crucial time to feed birds is during spring and early summer when food supplies are scarce.
Another method of deterring them is to scatter strong spices that pigeons reportedly dislike – such as cinnamon, black pepper or chilli spice.
You can, for instance, hang fabric bags filled with these spices around your garden, or simply sprinkle them in the soil or grass.
Remember, this is only a temporary solution, and you’ll need to keep replenishing these – particularly after it rains. Foxes and cats are also said to ‘hate’ these potent smells, so they should also be deterred from your garden.
Finally, experts suggest you could try spraying them with a hose, but this will only be effective if you catch them before they start building nests.
You can use your garden hose for this, or purchase an automatic water jet to protect certain areas of your garden.
Once they’ve established nests, your impromptu spraying won’t prevent them from returning home.
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