How to get rid of pigeons? - Thanos Home (2023)

Pigeons have adapted so well to city life that we’ve become used to seeing them everywhere. What happens, though, when these birds decide to make your property their new home?

Besides, pigeons can be among the most annoying pests with their constant cooing on the roof, the poop they leave everywhere, and how messy they make your home look.

Not to worry, If you have a pigeon problem in your home, you’ve come to the right place.

This article will tell you all you need to know about pigeons, how to get rid of pigeons, and the best way to make sure your house remains pigeon-free.

Let’s Dig in!

What are pigeons?

Pigeon refers to any one of nearly 300 species of birds that make up the family Columbidae. This family includes doves, which are the smaller forms. You can find these birds anywhere in the world except in cold regions.

The birds are derisively known as flying rats because of the mess they cause, but they are intelligent creatures.

Some of them have been known to memorize the 26 letters of the alphabet! In fact, a particular species of pigeons known as homing pigeons have been trained to return to their training ground by flying a distance of nearly 2000 miles!

The most invasive species are known as feral pigeons, or city pigeons, or street pigeons. They are descended from the domestic pigeon. They invade homes, cities, and places of work. They also carry disease, damage property, and generally make life unbearable for homeowners.

Pigeon colors vary greatly from white to red to blue-gray. They are monogamous animals, mating one partner for life, and they also nest year around on your roof, balcony, and any area of the house they can roost in. These birds are strong fliers, and they may live for up to 35 years.

Pigeons feed on grains, seeds, fruits, but they will also eat any food they can find around the house. These birds have lived almost side by side with humans for thousands of years. They have adapted so well because we have always provided these birds with food either knowingly by feeding them or unknowingly with the food we leave lying around in places like the trash.

Pigeons are drawn to environments with an abundance of food, water, and suitable nesting places. This is why there are so many of them thriving in the cities. They are also very comfortable around humans.

While most people think pigeons are just annoying with their cooing and other noises they like to make, the presence of these birds can present a challenge to your health and safety.

Why should you get rid of pigeons?

Beyond just the nuisance these birds constitute, pigeons represent a real threat to you and your home. Before reading up on how to get rid of pigeons, you need to understand why you need to remove these pests from your house.

• Pigeon poop or Pigeon guano contains high uric acid amounts, making it extremely corrosive, and it damages the surface of parts of the house.
• Pigeon nests usually built during the dry season can clog up gutters and drainage systems when they are washed away by the rain.
• Pigeon droppings on your roof or balcony will leave permanent stains on the surface and make your house look very messy and unsanitary.
• The nests of these birds also block ventilation systems in houses, which is dangerous.
• The twigs, straw, grass, and other materials used to make up their nests are flammable, representing a serious fire hazard.
• When these birds poop in their nest, it binds the straw together into a very durable material and encourages more birds to live there.
• Pigeon droppings make humans prone to many diseases such as Newcastle disease, coccidioidomycosis (which causes meningitis), orthosis, salmonella, and histoplasmosis.
• These birds also act as hosts for other pests such as fleas and lice that can spread when they get into your house.

Now that you understand the why, let us now take a look at how to get rid of pigeons from your house.

What do pigeons hate?

There are more than a few things pigeons hate. They include spicy or strong smells, loud noises, shiny objects, and predators.

Pay attention because knowing these things can provide clues on how to get rid of pigeons from your home.

1 Strong Smell

These birds hate the smell of essential oils like cinnamon, peppermint oil, lemon oil. Mix any of these oils with vinegar and water in a jar. After mixing with either vinegar or water, pour into a spray bottle to apply over the affected areas.

You may also choose to soak the mix of these oils with cotton balls and place them where pigeons are nesting. The smell is an irritant to these birds and will keep pigeons from coming back to these areas of the house.

Pigeons hate spicy scents too. Some of them are Garlic, Onion, Cayenne Pepper, Ghost pepper. The birds hate these smells. You can purchase a bottle of them and sprinkle the contents on your balcony, window sills, and any area the birds nest in.

2 Loud Sounds

They also hate loud sounds. Installing wind chimes or ultrasound pigeon repellent in your balcony, garden, or any other infested area is one of the best methods of removing this pesky bird from your house.

3 Bright Lights

Bright lights disorient them also. Installing Aluminum foil, reflective CDs, and other reflective surfaces will help scare pigeons away from your house.

4 Natural Predators

Pigeons, like most bird species out there, have more than their share of natural predators. Some homeowners have used peregrine falcons, hawks, and even cats to deter pigeons from their homes.

What home remedy gets rid of pigeons?

Getting rid of pigeons is not an easy task. These birds are survivors, having lived close to humans for a very long time. These pest control methods are relatively inexpensive and are things you can do yourself.

If you want to know how to get rid of pigeons humanely, you can do one or more of the following.

1 Use Mothballs

Using mothballs is a good way to keep pigeons out of the house. It is cheap and very effective. Mothballs release chemicals to any area of the house. Place the mothballs in any area these birds roost on, and it will scare them away from your home immediately.

2 Use a string

You can use a string as an anti-roosting measure to chase away pigeons from your home. You can purchase it and tie the string in places where these birds usually perch. The string stops them from perching, roosting, or nesting on your property.

The string can be placed anywhere in the house, including the roof, balcony, even gutters. No bird will be able to roost wherever you tie the string.

Some strings are resistant to weather, which means that it will last for a long time, and you can rely on them to deter pigeons.

3 Install anti-roosting spike

You can purchase spiked strips from any hardware store close to you and install them on the area of your house affected by the birds. These spikes don’t harm the bird, but they make it difficult for it to land. It also prevents them from roosting or making a nest. This is one of the most effective pigeon control methods you can use to discourage pigeons from roosting in your house.

4 Replace your sheathing

Another natural, effective home remedy is to replace the sheathing in your house. You may purchase a sheathing with a slant that prevents the bird from balancing when it tries to perch. Without being able to perch, the pigeon won’t be able to roost on your home.

You can put this sheath anywhere on your house, including your balcony, roof, window sills. It is very to install and also relatively cheap.

5 Install a sprinkler

Installing a sprinkler in your garden or yard is an effective way of getting rid of pigeons from your garden. You may purchase a motion-activated sprinkler that will spray bursts of water at the birds and discourage the pigeons from coming to your house. It is a cheap and effective home remedy to get rid of pigeons.

6 Use Bird shock tape

An efficient pigeon removal method is to deliver a shock to make the birds fly off. An easy and relatively inexpensive way to do this is to use bird shock tape. A bird shock tape is an effective way to get rid of pigeons from your property. This pigeon removal method is easy to purchase and use.

You can charge this device and tape it to the surface of the area where these birds roost. The transparent color makes it hard for the birds to spot. When they land on the tape, it will send electric bursts to their legs, making it impossible for them to perch.

When they repeatedly land on the house and keep getting shocked by the tape, they will eventually stop coming to your house.

7 Eliminate food sources

This is one of the major reasons why pigeons are attracted to homes. The presence of in the trash, fruits in your garden, feed inside bird feeders, or foods you leave for your pets is enough to encourage these birds to invade your house. Even if you scare the birds away from your home, these birds will always return if they know there is something for them to eat.

How do you prevent this? By eliminating these food sources, you will be taking a giant step in getting rid of pigeons. Clean out the trash regularly, don’t leave pet food out, prune your garden. Reduce every chance of these creatures invading your property.

8 Seal all the entry points

Even if you get rid of pigeons from your house, it won’t mean much if you don’t prevent them from coming back. These birds always come back to a place they find comfortable, and if you chase them out, you have to make sure they can’t get back in next time.

You need to make sure you seal all the entry points to your homes. You may use silicone caulk for small areas. For bigger areas, you may use hardware cloth to seal these openings.

The best way to get rid of pigeons is not to let them get into your house in the first place. If they are already in the house and you want to get rid of pigeons permanently, you need to ensure your house becomes inhabitable for them.

9 Remove the birdbath

If you have a fancy birdbath in your garden, you may want to get rid of it. The water in these baths is attractive to pigeons. The water in there is a way for them to cool off.

You may have birds in the house using the bath; in that case, you may be unable to get rid of the bath. You can drain the water there regularly to prevent it from becoming contaminated by pigeon droppings.

10 Clean out evidence of pigeons from your home

Removing their nesting materials is another way to discourage the birds from coming to your house. Cleaning out their droppings is also important because pigeon poop is harmful to your property.

Why should you clean out all evidence of these birds? Apart from removing the mess, they have made the nests’ presence and droppings a signal to other birds that your house is a safe landing spot. You can prevent that from happening by cleaning your house.

11 Pigeon Trap

Using a trap to catch these birds is one of the best ways to eliminate these birds from your property. Using this trap is that pigeons always know how to find their way back to a place they are used to.

To solve this problem, you can keep them in the trap for a week while feeding them. This will attract even more pigeons to the trap. When you want to release them, you need to take the trap far from the house before opening it. It will be hard for them to find their way back to your house.

How do I get rid of pigeons on my roof?

If you want to know how to get rid of pigeons from your roof, these are some of the best methods you can use to do so.

1 Stainless-steel Wire

You may use a stainless-steel wire to prevent pigeons from perching on your property. It prevents them from landing anywhere on your roof.

2 Pigeon Net

This is an effective way of excluding pigeons from your balcony. It is quite expensive, but it is one of the best ways to eliminate pigeons from your roof. This is a pigeon repellent that allows you to remove these birds from your home without hurting them. This pest control method is beneficial for those of you who have gardens to protect from these animals.

3 Loud Sounds

Pigeons can be deterred from coming to your house by loud sounds. A wind chime or loud music works perfectly for this as the sound will chase the birds off your roof.

4 Bright lights

Using bright lights can help to scare off pigeons from your home. You can use mylar balloons and aluminum foil strips to d0 this. You can also use hanging CDs to do this.

5 Scarecrows

This is a tactic as old as time. Using effigies or scarecrows to keep pigeons away from your house can be an effective pest control measure. The scarecrow can be in the form of natural predators of the pigeon-like an owl or a snake.

This method’s effect will not last, though, because the birds eventually realize it’s not a threat. The best thing to do is to move the scarecrow to a new area every few days.

6 Bird Repellent Gel

You can buy bird repellent gels and apply them to the areas where these pigeons perch. The gel makes it hard for them to land where you apply it because of its sticky nature. The only drawback is that dust can reduce its effectiveness, which means you need to apply it regularly.

7 Ultrasonic Devices

Using ultrasonic devices is an effective pigeon control method. These pigeon repellents scare away pigeons from your home by emitting a noise that makes the bird very uncomfortable. Place them around the areas of the house where these birds roost, and it will keep them out of your home.

The only drawback to using these devices is that they can also be uncomfortable for young children, especially if exposed over a long period. You can avoid this by placing them far away from living areas.

8 Call a professional

If your pigeon infestation becomes too much to handle for you, you can always call in a pest control professional. These people are trained and know how to get rid of pigeons from your house. They can help you scare pigeons away from your roof.

How do pigeons take off?

Pigeons take off vertically and can accelerate to speeds of around 100 kph in just two seconds. These birds bend their legs and jump so high that their wings’ first downstroke extends fully without touching the ground during takeoff. This gives them enough space to generate the force needed to launch themselves upward into the air.

If you watch a pigeon’s wings move when it is in flight, you will notice that they sweep directly from behind its back to the front fully extended. So, with the pigeon taking off vertically, the power it uses is generated in the jump’s thrust, not the motion from the wing stroke that powers the takeoff.

Conclusion

Pigeons, like many animals, have their uses, but it does not extend to them living in and destroying your home. They can be the most invasive of pests and will turn your home into a complete mess.

We hope this article has been able to do justice to the topic of how to get rid of pigeons for you. If you want more information on other pest control methods, make sure you check out our other blog posts.