Pigeons are birds that you don’t want to have hanging out on your property. If you’ve noticed some are roosting on your fence, you probably want to figure out how to get them to leave.
The bad thing about having pigeons around is that they can make huge messes. They’re very dirty birds, and you don’t want your fence area to be covered in bird poop.
Thankfully, there are a lot of different things that you can do to stop pigeons from sitting on your fence. You just have to take specific actions that will keep them from wanting to come around so much.
Read on to learn about some of the best options.
1 – Eliminate Food and Water Sources Near the Fences
One reason why pigeons might be coming around is that you have food and water on your property. Pigeons will look for convenient places where they can hang out and eat food.
If they’re sitting on your fence, maybe they’re doing so because it’s located near things that they can eat. You might also have pooled water near the fence or some type of bird bath.
Getting the pigeons to stay away from the area will be easier if you eliminate these conveniences. Try to pick up any berries or fruits that have dropped onto the ground from nearby bushes or trees.
Remove water sources if you’re able to so they won’t have water to use. This at least makes your fences a less appealing area for them to congregate.
2 – Scare the Pigeons with Decoys
Scaring the pigeons away from the area is something you can do yourself by making noise and approaching the birds, but you won’t always be around to do that. This is why people like to scare birds away using decoys of predators that pigeons fear.
One of the most common decoys that people use to scare pigeons is an owl decoy. These decoys are relatively inexpensive, and they work very well to frighten them.
If you place an owl decoy on the fence that the pigeons have been frequenting, they’re going to want to stay away. These owl decoys are very lifelike and will trick the birds into thinking that a real owl is occupying the area.
It might even be a good idea to buy multiple owl decoys if you have a long fence area. This makes it so that the pigeons won’t feel as if they can get anywhere near the fence.
Of course, they could catch on that the decoy isn’t real, but this is why you should try to be tricky yourself. Move the position of the owl decoy every day or so to keep the them guessing and you’ll get better results.
3 – Use Reflective Tape
Reflective tape is great when it comes to scaring away birds because it confuses them. Birds don’t have the ability to process reflections very well, and this means that things that reflect light will make them want to flee.
You can buy reflective tape at most department stores, and you can hang these strips of it on or near the fences. This should make it a lot less likely that pigeons will want to sit there.
If you don’t wish to utilize reflective tape, you can also use old reflective items that you have sitting around the house. For example, you could hang up some old mirrors or CDs that you aren’t using any longer.
It’s surprising how well reflective objects work to scare pigeons, and this is definitely something that you should try out. When used in conjunction with some of the other methods, it’s going to be an effective pigeon deterrent.
4 – Consider Pigeon Spikes
Pigeon spikes will make it so that birds won’t be able to sit on the fence because it’ll be painful for them to even try. Essentially, you’re going to be placing a strip of spikes on the top of the fence so that birds can’t land on it.
These pigeon spikes are really easy to install on a fence, and they also don’t cost much money. Whenever pigeons attempt to land on a fence that has the spikes installed, they’re going to realize that they can’t.
This is a very good way to prevent them from being able to utilize your fence as a roosting spot. The only potential downside is that they could attempt to use another nearby spot where the spikes aren’t present.
Even so, spike strips such as this are going to be a great part of a pigeon deterrence strategy. You should pair the spikes with other things so that you can enjoy a pigeon-free environment.
5 – Try Gel
If you don’t like the idea of using pigeon spikes, you might wish to use a special gel instead. At various stores, you can buy gel that is meant to keep birds from roosting on objects.
You coat the top of the fence with this gel and it makes it so that everything is slick. The pigeons won’t be able to get a grip on the fence any longer, and this will likely make them not even want to try.
Gel such as this has worked very nicely for people who are trying to deter pigeons from sitting on fences. Some people do find it to be a bit inhumane, though.
You see, it’s possible that this gel could get on the pigeon’s body, and if that happens, they might have a difficult time flying. When the gel gets stuck on the their feathers, it could ground them and that would make them easy prey for local predators.
If you aren’t concerned about pigeons and their well-being, you might wish to use the gel. It’s an easy way to keep them from using the fence as a convenient sitting spot and it comes highly recommended.
6 – Use Bird Netting
Bird netting is something that people use to keep unwanted birds from being able to land on certain spots. You can install it on the top of your fences if you want to, and this will make it very hard for the pigeons to use it.
Depending on where your fence is located, installing netting might not be an ideal solution. However, it can work on fences so long as you’re able to secure the netting and get it up.
Some people will install netting that goes from the top of the fence to nearby trees. This is an option, but it might not be as practical for fencing as it is for other parts of your property.
7 – Try Ultrasonic Pigeon Repellent
Ultrasonic devices on the market are capable of scaring away pigeons. These little devices will play sounds at ultrasonic frequencies that humans can’t pick up.
The pigeons will hear things that are unpleasant to them, and many of these ultrasonic repellent devices play predator noises. This should make it so that pigeons will be very wary of going near the fence.
You can place an ultrasonic pigeon repellent device on the fence or right near it. It should be able to keep playing sounds that will keep them from coming too close.
Conveniently, these devices are available in solar-powered variants. This means that you can easily stick one on a fence without having to worry about replacing batteries or charging it at an electrical outlet.
8 – Sprinkle Predator Urine
Predator urine is something that can scare away animals too, and you could use this to your advantage. You already know that pigeons are quite scared of owls, and this means that sprays that contain owl urine will make them nervous.
There are sprays that you can buy that contain either real or synthetic owl urine. You can spray the fence with this repellent spray to try to keep pigeons away.
Overall, this type of deterrent works really well to keep them from hanging out on fences. The only downside is that it might make your fence kind of smelly.
Depending on where your fence is located, it might not be ideal to have to use predator urine sprays. Even so, it’s an option and you can consider it if you need a way to scare pigeons off of your property.
9 – Have Dogs
Dogs are rambunctious and will love to bark at pigeons. If you have one, you’ll probably notice that it will chase birds such as pigeons if they happen to be in the yard when you’re walking it.
Some homeowners choose to use dogs as part of a pigeon deterrence strategy. You could set up a dog house near the fence that the pigeons sit on to try to keep them from wanting to come by.
Dogs aren’t necessarily natural predators to pigeons, but they are big scary animals that could easily kill them if they get too close. Dogs make a lot of noise that will scare them, too, and this might be just what you need.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to handle pigeons on your fence, letting your dog outside might be a good idea. You’ll likely need other deterrent methods as well because most people aren’t going to have their dogs live outside all the time.
10 – Trap the Pigeons
Some people choose to trap pigeons so they can relocate them, but it’s probably not be the best way to go about doing things. You’ll also need to check to make sure it’s legal in your area.
If you plan to trap a pigeon and choose to relocate it, you’re going to need to buy traps and then check to see if pigeons have been caught. After catching one, you’ll need to put it in a car and then drive it to a location that is quite far from your home.
The problem is that this is no guarantee that the pigeon won’t just fly back to your house. Also, it’s going to be a laboriously slow way to try to deal with a flock of pigeons.
Pigeon flocks often number between ten and thirty birds, and this isn’t going to be an efficient way to handle things. Overall, you’re much better sticking with other deterrent methods such as the ones mentioned above.
What About Killing the Pigeons?
Most people will find killing pigeons outright to be at least somewhat wrong. You don’t need to kill the pigeons to get them off of your property, but it is legal to do this in many places.
Pigeons are an invasive species, and this means that people are allowed to exterminate them in many areas of the country. You might need to look into laws to see if it is legal in your area, but you could technically kill the pigeons if you wanted to.
This is not a good idea, though, because it would involve a lot of work and probably wouldn’t solve your problem. Pigeons can replenish their numbers remarkably quickly, and every few pigeons that you kill would easily be replaced by the flock in no time.
You’d also have to take the time to dispose of pigeon corpses after exterminating them. Even if your inclination is to eliminate the them outright, it’s not going to be the wisest move for you to make.
Don’t Wait to Take Care of Pigeons
It wouldn’t be wise to wait too long to take care of a pigeon problem. Pigeons can be very troublesome, and they aren’t just annoying birds that won’t do any harm.
Pigeon droppings are actually highly acidic, and they could wind up causing some real damage to your fence over time. You don’t have to put up with them when you have so many options to deal with them, though.
The methods that have been laid out above should be effective enough to help you solve your problem. Overall, the deterrent methods are your best bet when you’re trying to keep them from being a nuisance on your property.
It might be wise to make use of several deterrent methods to keep pigeons away from your fences. Once you’ve picked out the options that make the most sense for you, it’ll be easy to move forward.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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