England house in residential area- what can I use to deter birds like pigeons and magpies from garden?

[Mrsmockingbird]

Any ideas anyone has used that’s not too expensive and not a sound deterrent as we have elderly neighbours who are in all day so don’t want to impact them.

Thank you

lol

A pet cat

You can get plastic massive eagle owls that you stick on a stake . Sort of works for us. Failing that an air rifle?

Nah - doesn't work.

We have pigeons and magpies in ours, and two different cats that are constantly sleeping on our patio despite the fact we don't have any cats .

Why? What is the problem with Magpies?!

I've yet to find anything that works. Shooting (with an air rifle) is only legal if they are causing a specific issue - damage to crops etc.

Dropping bird lime on your car isn't a valid reason.

I have a neighbour who shoots them early in the morning before many people are up. It keeps the pigeons out of his veggie patch, and he loaths magpies with a passion, says they kill too many song birds. He is at least a competent shot. I say nothing, in the interest of good neighbours relations.

Don't feed them.
Get a cat, or dog.
Get therapy/hypnosis so you can learn to accept wildlife.
Failing that, move to somewhere that doesn't have a garden.

move to somewhere without a garden? Wildlife live in the wild funnily enough.

Leave them be and enjoy your garden.

They have just as much right to life as you do.

Pigeon is very tasty. I don't think I'd eat town ones, though.

A cat

At my house the magpies stand just out of reach of the cats laughing at them…..they are windup merchants.

lol
I think the Op might be the same

Also - what's the problem with pigeons?

What’s the problem with them? We have lots and they don’t bother us

What is the deal with this person and magpies? Why the illogical hatred for this bird?

Magpies have suddenly decided they are going to be wankers in our garden.

So tempting to get an air rifle and shoot the annoying fuckers, as they are pissing off the other birds in the garden.

Magpies are pricks.

In what way are magpies pricks? We have a variety of garden birds - pigeons, magpies, crows, sparrows, gulls, tits, dunnocks, robins. It helps keep slugs and insects from destroying some of the plants and they're part of the wider ecosystem. We don't feed them but do put out water if it's very hot or freezing.

@snowymarbles our resident magpies look in the dining room window and ask for food 😂 we also have 3 cats.... they just ignore eachother

Get a grip maybe? Wildlife in this country is under huge pressure and has declined massively and then we have idiots like you saying they don’t want birds in their gardens. Get over yourself.

Please don’t let this slide, please, please report him. This is awful.

Please report him. It can be done anonymously. Anyone who stands by and ignores animals being harmed is just as bad in my opinion.

You sound very unpleasant.

Magpies have taken over in my garden too. All the lovely small birds have gone and their nest boxes are now unused.

You must be my neighbour. I put scraps out, first come first served and a local cat was peacefully munching whilst two magpies dive bombed him. Another was stood on a branch stamping to drop leaves and twigs on him or her. Hilarious. Then the fox comes and there's a standoff. Last night is was six seagulls tho and they are big and fighty. No more scraps