To hate pigeons with every bone in my body?

[MargoLivebetter]

I live in a flat and we have outdoor space and the pigeons have moved in and I cannot get rid of them. I made a huge mistake in lockdown of letting two pigeons rear a baby pigeon on the deck. I hadn't realised that they'd laid an egg and when I found it, it had hatched and I couldn't bring myself to lob it over the balcony.

Oh what a price I have paid for my kindness / weakness. I now have a colony of the fuckers living on my decking. I am constantly on pigeon patrol collecting up their sad twig nests and endlessly lobbing their bloody eggs over the balcony. I have pigeon shit everywhere and on days I WFH, I listen to their endless mating noises.

I have tried everything (bar shooting them). I have vile sticky stuff all over the edges of things, which is supposed to deter them but doesn't. I had a bird startler noise thing, which they got used to after about 2 days. I have festooned the place in bird scarers and silvery things, all of which they completely ignore.

I am so fed up with them. Does anyone know a way of getting rid of these bastard birds?

'am constantly on pigeon patrol collecting up their sad twig nests and endlessly lobbing their bloody eggs over the balcony'

Just have the telly on to drown out any traumatising coo'ing and rinse down any bird shit. Try a calming app? <maybe one without relaxing bird tweets..>

You destroy the babies

What a horrible person you are

Pest control would deal with them. You're not a horrible person for wanting rid, it's no different to having rats.

We’ve had success with one of these to deter pigeons from shitting on our bins.
https://nidfashions.com/product/360-swivel-head-owl-to-scare-birds-pigeon/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIo7m3i4jdhQMVCphQBh2uhweVEAQYByABEgLyC_D_BwE

@LaurieFairyCake I let the baby live and grow up on my deck, because I couldn't destroy it. Therefore, its parents and it and its new mate relentlessly try to breed on my deck each year, along with all their friends.

I do lob freshly laid eggs over the balcony. I also eat eggs - but not pigeon ones! 😬

@Tophelleborine I didn't know you could get pest control for pigeons. I will have to look into that. Thank you.

Put statues of owls about. Destroying nests is illegal. Try to think of them as rock doves and urban wildlife. Spray vinegar about.

We had a pair nesting on an outside ledge in a block of flats. Every time we passed them we threw water over them. Took 2-3 weeks for them to disappear and never return.

These really work. You'll see then on Asda, especially were the wagons go in. As well as warehouses etc.

I have several owl statues @Ponoka7 !!!!!! They sometimes sit on one of them 😩

Yup @FadedRed those are the owl statues that I have. They are impervious to them and sometimes land on the one with the less wobbly head.

Yes they are classed as .vermin. their shit is also toxic.

I love pigeons, and think you're extremely unreasonable.

Get a cat

Yanbu

i don’t think I could bring myself to do that with the eggs 🥺 (dh would without a doubt though)

Contact the council environmental health though they will help you get rid, I think lobbing eggs over the balcony will just encourage them to rebreed

I did not know that they were classed as vermin, or that there shit was toxic @Mrsjayy . Definitely going to look into pest control now.

Awful things and can't stand the noise they make.

Would have to take the eggs downstairs - I know they probably wouldn't survive, but I just couldn't lob them. I'm also an egg eater - so a massive hypocrite! Maybe something about 'knowing' the parents would put me off! :)

Do people realise that the vermin are only in 'our' spaces because A we have destryed their habitats and B they dont have a clue about the notion that humans have of owning a particular space...

Human shit is toxic too, as is cats etc etc. Truly disgusting attitude to have towards a living being

YANBU. Rats with wings. Don't get me started on seagulls....

I’m with you, OP. They are a nuisance in my area too. They seem to be constantly mating and building crappy twig nests in silly places which means they collapse and their eggs smash. They seem a feckless kind of bird, so unlike the others nesting nearby.

My dad calls pigeons flying vermin. Sometimes you see pics of tourists in London letting them sit on their heads and arms and I find that horrifying.

I would leave them alone if they are not invading my space, but in OP's position I would also take action. Pigeons and their mess are menaces.

Unfortunately OP you will probably find that councils will charge for the service, due to austerity. These days usually the only free pest control they carry out is their statutory duty to get rid of rats.

I'm definitely hardcore disgusting @ReallyUAreAnElegantChap as I have been known to kill a mosquito.

I jest, although I genuinely try not to be a disgusting human. However, I need to live somewhere that isn't constantly covered in bird shit.

Urban pigeons are the descendants of domestic pigeons abandoned or escaped. Humans used to keep more pigeons as pets, for food, and for carrying messages. Then these birds got abandoned or escaped. Now some people, no longer seeing the use for pigeons as their ancestors did, have a vile attitude towards pigeons. If it's a 'problem', it's one that humans have created.

It's illegal to disturb a wild nesting bird or take their eggs.