Pigeons come in large flocks to habitat in a suitable area with food, water and perfect nest spots. Unfortunately, spots suitable for pigeons might not be the best for homeowners and also business owners. For example, food health and safety regulations have strict clauses against bird droppings anywhere near restaurants or hotel kitchens. Besides bird droppings being bad for business, most people generally do not like cleaning up after birds in their homes. How can you change pigeon population growth in your vicinity?
Reducing/Removing habitats
The first plan of action when you recognize an increase in pigeon population in your vicinity is to reduce or remove habitats. Look out for any spots where pigeons have built their nests or potential targets. Destroy the existing nests and make building new nests on target spots hard.
When pigeons have settled in a spot, they are likely to move to another nearby location. This might require you to actively destroy any new nests until the birds move on to another location further away. During the day, driving them away from the lawn or driveway coordinates with the “dehabitation” efforts. The downside of reducing or removing habitation is that it takes time, and another flock might just settle.
Introduce contraceptive
Introducing bird contraceptives in pigeon flocks is the leading solution to permanently stop pigeons’ population growth in your vicinity. This concept is not that popular, but it is highly effective. OvoControl offers pigeon contraceptive solutions to depopulate bird flocks. Reducing bird habitats in conjunction with contraceptives yields greater results.
The results of coordinating these efforts are fast and have long-term results. Destroying pigeon nests might be short-term because another flock might habitat and build new ones. However, using contraceptives blocks a generational problem of pigeons building habitats around your home or workplace. Using bird contraceptives is an innovative and economic strategy for ensuring that birds do not cause problems in the long term.
Use deterrents
Another solution that can be used in conjunction with using contraceptives and destroying pigeon nests is installing deterrents. Bird deterrents are plentiful in pest control shops, and they include solutions such as shock tracks, spikes, and other contraptions that make like uncomfortable for pigeons. The contraptions can be custom-built or bought off-shelf.
Ensure that the contraptions you purchase are compatible with where you’d like to place them. For example, shock tracks and spikes might be best for balconies and backyard porches. They might not be as effective on the roof since they cover a small portion of areas where pigeons try to habitat. Therefore, be specific when buying bird deterrents to find functional contraptions perfect for where you will place them.
Prevent habitation
Instead of being reactive and destroying habitats after being built, be proactive and look out for potential spots for nests. Focus more on areas on the roof, such as gutters and downpipes, especially during summer. Elevated areas with voids like these make the perfect spot for pigeons to roost and build nests.
Other spots prone to have pigeon nests are voids behind solar panels on the roof. If you have solar panels or similar installations on the roof, these might also be potential targets for roosting. Get proactive by buying some netting and spreading it across entry points to prevent pigeons from building nests in those voids. Also, spread metal nets over gutters and downpipes to prevent roosting.
Avoid feeding the pigeons
If bird droppings all around the yard get on your nerves, avoid by all means feeding pigeons. Birds like pigeons tend to stay and find a habitat anywhere they find food and water. Although giving them food and water might seem like a humane instinct, avoid it by all means possible.
Dry out any water fountains once you have identified a pigeon infestation until the problem has been solved. Look out for any way you might be indirectly feeding the birds. For example, assess the food waste disposal procedures. That applies both to homeowners and food processing businesses since some food could be made to the pigeons when being disposed of.
Pigeon traps
If all else fails, using pigeon traps is another reliable method of getting rid of large populations of pigeons. Since pigeons are more prone to eat anything around where they are roosting, trapping them is a viable option. Buying or building traps such as cages, crates, or nets is a relatively effective strategy.
From the cages, pigeons can be sold to hoarders or let go out in the wild to find another place to roost. Trapping all the pigeons might take some time, and there is the risk of not getting all the birds. Therefore, trapping pigeons can be used in supplementation to using contraceptives.
