Pigeons are common in cities, where buildings and bridges make great nesting areas. However, these pesky birds can become a real problem when they start to take over a community, bringing infectious diseases with them. Learn how proper control can help prevent a complete pigeon takeover.

How Pigeons Live

The pigeon, or rock dove, is a strictly diurnal bird, easily adapting to its daytime surroundings. At night, these birds rest in the most unlikely areas, from skyscrapers and parks to airports and stadiums. These birds also mate for life, living and traveling in communal flocks that loaf and roost together.

Pigeons are quick to create a new home where there is enough food and shelter available, feeding on grains and some fruit. As pigeons learn how to adapt to living in urban locations, they have changed their diet, looking for handouts from humans or waiting in parking lots for food scraps. For the most part, pigeons have been able to subsist on all kinds of diets.

Pigeon Problems

Many people see pigeons as “flying rats” or rodents that invade human habitats. In part, this is true, as pigeons carry diseases that will cause infection.

Pigeon problems mainly stem from feeding. The more food available, the larger the flock grows, creating a nuisance for everyone else. Humans should not feed the birds in case they bite, and should not carry wounded or dead pigeons, since they can still spread disease.

Controlling Pigeons

The trouble with most pigeon control methods is that pigeons are able to return uncannily to the same place as before. In fact, some people have domesticated pigeons for racing. Visual and audio scare tactics sometimes work, along with inaudible devices, mechanical contraptions and heating products that make the pigeons feel uncomfortable. The goal is to force the pigeons out of their current home by creating a distraction that prevents them from wanting to settle into their old nesting area.

Exclusion is the most effective form of pigeon control. By creating physical barriers, such as bird netting, it keeps the pigeons from their roosting area and forces them to relocate elsewhere.

Poisons are not particularly effective, but substance controls can disrupt flight behavior and force the flock to disperse, thereby ending nesting behavior. For long-term pigeon control, find an exterminator with experience that can get rid of the birds for good.