The pigeon or rock dove is the number one bird pest in the United States. These nuisance birds were introduced to the United States as pets but quickly adapted to our environment and have continued to flourish in numbers, becoming a pest of business, airports, historical landmarks, schools, stadiums -- any place where adequate food and shelter is available. Pigeons primarily feed on grains with some occasional fruit in their diet. This basic diet has changed as the birds learned to live in our neighborhoods and cities. It is not uncommon to see flocks of pigeons walking through the parking lots of shopping centers and fast-food restaurants, looking for handouts or scraps of food dropped by humans.

Pigeons are birds that live in communal flocks. These flocks generally feed, loaf and roost together, enjoying the company of their companions. These birds usually mate for life. Pigeons have a life span of up to 10 or 15 years in the wild but in urban areas they may only live for about 5 years.

Most pigeon problems occur where the birds are loafing or feeding. It is in these areas that you generally need to use nuisance bird control products.
Elimination of nuisance birds (including pigeons) can involve the use of visual scare devices, roost inhibitors, audible or sonic devices and inaudible or ultrasonic devices. Ultrasonic devices work well in lofts or high ceilings of warehouses, dry docks or other large, indoor areas. Professional ultrasonic units (such as the Quadblaster) cannot be used outdoors, as their speakers cannot tolerate rain, snow or other moist conditions.
For outdoor pigeon problems, the Super Bird Expeller Pro 1 works better than any other audible unit on the market. To enhance the effectiveness of the Super Bird Expeller where large pigeon flocks are present, use one or two visual scare devices. Irri-Tape and Prowler Owls work best with the sonic repellers. Successful combinations or sonic, visual and roost inhibitor bird repellers are discussed further in this article.

Bird Proofing

Mechanical devices used to physically prevent birds from loafing or nesting in specified areas include visual scare devices, "hot foot" products that make a bird feel uncomfortable when standing on treating surfaces, netting to product fruit trees and spikes that make landing or standing on ledges difficult.

Eliminating Pest Pigeons

Nuisance birds can be tough to eliminate and nuisance pigeons are historically harder to control than other birds. The reasons for this are numerous but main reasons are their sheer numbers, IQ (4!) and their strong nesting instincts. These nesting instincts make it imperative that all nests, nesting materials, etc. are removed at the start of your pigeon control program. This also means that a combination of devices is usually needed to keep pigeons out of unwanted areas for good.
Examples of good combinations:

Super BirdXPeller Pro with Irri-Tape and Prowler Owl.
Irri-Tape with Bird Proof
Irri-Tape or Bird Lite with Spikes or Bird Proof

As you can see, it is best to use an audible with a visual, a visual with physical roost deterrents or a combination of visual devices. Rarely will one visual device scare away unwanted pigeons or other nuisance birds when used alone. The exception to this rule is when dealing with small numbers of sparrows or woodpeckers. In these cases, Irri-Tape used alone can solve the problem - but not when dealing with pigeons! Choose the combination of products that you feel best suites your problem.

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Pigeon Control