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AIBU?

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to want to slap pigeon lady

58 replies

jollygoose · 11/05/2015 13:55

The neighbour next but one feeds the pigeons and seagulls daily, leaving out a large tray of food all day. Next door had an infestation of them in the roof and had pest controllers to evict them. Since then they have taken up residence on our pitched roof and crap all over the car and the drive. I will try and get some spikes up there to stop them but it is very high up.
If anybody has any ideas of how to get rid I would be grateful.

OP posts:
Collaborate · 11/05/2015 14:09

Call environmental health.

MagelanicClouds · 11/05/2015 14:11

Argh, one of my neighbours does this, but on the green away from the houses. All it does is attract minting pidgeons and their poo.
BB gun?
Sorry, can't think of anything helpful..

MagelanicClouds · 11/05/2015 14:12

Minting? Minging!

HamishBamish · 11/05/2015 14:12

You have my sympathy. We had someone feeding pigeons near our last flat and the mess from their crap was disgusting. I'm sorry to say that we found them really tricky to get rid of. We did try spikes, but they even managed to build nests on top of them! In the end we hired a hawk to fly over and frighten them off. It wasn't perfect, but the best solution we found in the end.

What did you next door neighbours use? Personally I would call your local council to see if they have any powers to get her to stop feeding them.

GnocchiGnocchiWhosThere · 11/05/2015 14:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CheeseandPickledOnion · 11/05/2015 14:14

Awesome. 'We hired a hawk....' Grin

AlpacaLypse · 11/05/2015 14:15

At least one ASBO has been issued for this. yy to calling Environmental Health for advice.

drbadbride · 11/05/2015 14:15

Your best bet may be to hire a pest control company such as Rentokil, see their site on birds here: www.rentokil.co.uk/birds/how-to-get-rid-of-birds/

Be careful about trying to sort out the problem yourself: gulls are a protected species and you don't want to fall foul of the law: www.rspb.org.uk/makeahomeforwildlife/advice/gardening/unwantedvisitors/gulls/thelaw.aspx

Snooksbury · 11/05/2015 14:16

I've seen shopping centres have fake birds of prey like owls etc on their roofs presumably to frighten off birds. There are some you can get that are like a kite kind of thing that is on a long flexible stick, it looks like a large bird swooping around. seemed to work for the shopping centres as no birds around

GnocchiGnocchiWhosThere · 11/05/2015 14:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HamishBamish · 11/05/2015 14:21

I think the 'hawk' option was recommended by the council, but I'm pretty sure there are companies online who provide the service.

I must clarify that the hawk did come with it's own handler. It didn't arrive on it's own!

Another thing to be aware of is that they can and do catch and kill. It didn't happen with us (our local pigeons are too wiley!) but apparently it's not a pretty sight if it happens. Hawks aren't the tidiest of eaters! So bear this in mind as you neighbour would probably freak out if one if her birds was torn to pieces on her lawn.

WendyTorrance · 11/05/2015 14:32

The hospital that I used to work in had a man with a hawk who used to come and let it fly over the hospital at night to discourage pigeons. 'Twas brill and made the night shift worth doing.

Just thought I'd shove my twopenn'orth in Grin.

juneau · 11/05/2015 14:34

I love the idea of hiring a hawk Grin

Chippednailvarnish · 11/05/2015 14:36

Visions of a hawk pulling up outside your house driving a white van

www.hawkforce.co.uk/

BitOutOfPractice · 11/05/2015 14:39

Chipped that's exactly the image I had as weel!

chocolateyay · 11/05/2015 14:40

My sis gets a hawk for the farm for those perky vermin... The hawkman cometh.

FarFromAnyRoad · 11/05/2015 14:43

We have a family of sparrowhawks somewhere nearby and more than once I've seen the end result of a hawk's light snack - a pile of feathers and not much else. They eat everything! You can tell when there's one around - every single bird scarpers for up to an hour. I bloody hate seagulls - big useless shit-spraying fuckers - I'm not sure a hawk would take on a seagull would it?

sebsmummy1 · 11/05/2015 14:44

Hate hate hate pigeons with a vengeance so am also loving the hawk idea.

You can get wind socks in the shape of a hawk that dive and dart. I did look into getting one last year but I wasn't convinced our garden was big enough.

I also looked at the reviews of the owls with the heads that turn but they weren't great. Apparently the pigeons got quite matey with them Grin

I'm so tired of my son coming in covered in pigeon shit and if I don't watch where I'm walking I too end up with it all over my feet. Horrible big grey shagging shit bags.

FresherThanYou · 11/05/2015 14:52

We have a war against pigeons ducking hate them one thing that works if I'm consistent is shooting them with a water gun. They learn & don't come back...for a while...then they're back again. I pay ds's 5p for every pigeon they get Grin btw the best ones for hitting the roof are the £land foam suck up ones

FresherThanYou · 11/05/2015 14:53

fucking not ducking Grin

chipshop · 11/05/2015 15:58

Oh god we have this problem. A woman over our back fence puts food out for the pigeons every day. We have them congregating on our roof which is a nice high perch to wait for their food. They crap all over our patio.

We called the housing trust who looks after the sheltered housing behind us and they didn't want to know. Now trying to get the council to do something about it.

Might tell DP to hire a hawk it's driving him insane.

PatricianOfAnkhMorpork · 11/05/2015 16:11

One of the joys of working in City of London is that you sometimes get to see the hawkman working, although there are quite a lot of raptors that are now nesting too including a pair of Peregrine Falcons on the Thames Barrier.

PPs are right on how messy they can be if they catch something too. We had a Sparrowhawk eating its breakfast of a Collared Dove in our back garden which I was watching for ages. Left the garden covered in feathers but nothing else was left. It could clearly see me stood at the window and wasn't bothered at all - see pic.

Call environmental health about pigeon woman as its probably also attracting rodents as well as the birds.

to want to slap pigeon lady
londonrach · 11/05/2015 16:26

Mag...minted pigeons....Grin.

PureMorning · 11/05/2015 16:29

You hired a fucking hawk?!

Thats brilliant. TrulyGrin

retrocutie · 11/05/2015 16:31

Hired a Hawk Grin

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