How to scare pigeons away?

1. Make anti-pigeon spikes

A really effective solution to scare away or rather to prevent pigeons from coming on the roof or even on the edge of the balcony are anti-bird spikes.

Make or buy?

You can of course buy these anti-pigeon picks at Anchan, Leclerc, Carrefour, Castorama (in France) or other hardware stores such as Rona and Home Depot (in Quebec) but you can also make homemade picks.

1. Gather long nails or long narrow screws, a board and a hammer.
2. Nail or screw in the screws on a board thin enough to allow the nails and screws to protrude a good length.
3. Place and glue the board with the homemade spikes to the places visited by pigeons and other unwanted birds.

Be careful to install the spikes in a hard-to-reach place to avoid incidents. I do not recommend make this anti-pigeon spike if you have children and/or pets at home.

« Pro » anti-pigeon spike

If you prefer, here is a model of anti-pigeon spike that you can easily install on your cornices, roofs, window sills and balconies. It is ideal for keeping pigeons away from balconies and roofs:

2. Homemade pigeon repellent

If you prefer you can also make your own homemade pigeon repellent. You will find below some interesting ideas to keep pigeons away using things that are easily found at home.

Aluminum and pigeon:

To keep pigeons away, nothing beats using a sheet of crumpled aluminum foil or even aluminum plates. Not liking this noise, the pigeons will quickly move away from the roof or balcony.

All you have to do is hang aluminum plates or tin cans in different places. When the wind blows, the noise of the aluminum will quickly scare away the pigeons, but also other unwanted birds and animals.

CD to scare away pigeons:

So rather than throwing them away here is how to turn old CDs and DVDs into pigeon repellent:

• Hang a rope or string from several CDs.
• Then hang the CDs high up to reflect the light.
• You can also stick 2 CDs together before hanging them up.

CDs will reflect light, especially when in motion, and act like mirrors, which will keep pigeons and other birds away naturally.

3. Scare pigeons away with repellent tape

If you don’t like tinkering, another product you can buy is repellent tape. These are actually shiny, reflective strips that help repel pigeons and other birds like the CD trick.

They are not self-adhesive strips, but rather a kind of shiny ribbon that you hang up and use natural light to keep away pigeons, ducks, woodpeckers and even crows.

This type of repellent makes it possible to cover a larger surface and therefore to keep pigeons away more effectively from the balcony or better still from the garden.

Other pigeon scarers:

There is also a bird scarer balloon (with very bright colors) that can also be hung in a tree or on the balcony. to scare the pigeons. I don’t know if it’s as effective as repellent tape though. There are also fake owls and fake crows that can be placed in the garden to keep pigeons away.

4. Homemade pigeon repellent spray

As with other species of animals and birds, pigeons hate certain smells. So here is a grandmother’s recipe to scare away pigeons:

• Add equal amounts of water and vinegar to a spray bottle.
• Add 20 drops of eucalyptus and peppermint essential oil.
• Spray the repellent spray in the different places where the pigeons perch such as the balcony.

This trick is really very effective in keeping away pigeons hanging around on the balcony and window sills, but you will need to spray this homemade spray regularly to keep them away effectively.

To be really effective against pigeons, it is necessary to spray this natural repellent regularly, especially in case of rain.

5. Marseille soap against pigeons

Another natural repellent that works well for driving pigeons off ledges and window sills is Marseille soap.

Super easy, here’s how to make this pigeon repellent:

1. Take a block of household soap and scrub the railings, window sills and other surfaces that pigeons love.
2. Spray a little water afterwards to make the surface very slippery for pigeons.
3. Repeat the operation regularly to stop having pigeons on your balcony and windows.

In addition to hating the smell of Marseille soap, the pigeons will have difficulty landing on the now slippery ramp. You can also spray the repellent spray (proposed in the previous tip) for even more effectiveness against pigeons.

6. Other smells that pigeons don’t like

In addition to vinegar and Marseille soap, pigeons also hate several other smells and fragrances. So why not also use them to keep pigeons away naturally?

Here are some products and smells to test against these birds:

• black pepper
• Cayenne peppers
• cinnamon
• white vinegar
• Curry and other hot spices
• Eucalyptus essential oil.
• Peppermint essential oil

The best is to mix 2 or 3 of these ingredients with white vinegar to make a really effective anti-pigeon spray!

7. Keep pigeons off the balcony with honey

Another 100% natural repellent to prevent pigeons from landing on the balcony is to make it sticky and therefore uncomfortable for birds.

1. Apply a little honey to the surfaces where the pigeons come to rest.
2. Repeat in case of rain or to make the surface tacky again.

Be careful though, because insects such as ants love honey and other sweet foods. It would be a shame to fix your pigeon problem, only to end up with an ant problem in the house.

8. Anti-pigeon stretched wire for balcony

For city dwellers, it can be difficult to keep pigeons from roosting on the balcony. So if you want to effectively solve your pigeon problem, the stretched wire is a VERY effective product to chase them away.

Indeed, the taut wire simply prevents pigeons from landing on the roof, the cornice of the house or even on the balcony railings.

Unfortunately, the price for the purchase and installation of this anti-pigeon taut wire system is still expensive depending on the size to be covered.

This is what a taut wire system against pigeons looks like:

Making a homemade string system?

You can also tightly stretch a rope, a cable or better still an iron wire that you have at home where the pigeons roost. This is effective against pigeons at first, but will not replace a real tension wire system that you buy in stores.

9. Plexiglas to prevent pigeons from landing

Another product against pigeons that can be found “relatively” easily is plexiglass. As pigeons have fine claws it is impossible for them to land and perch on smooth and slippery surfaces such as plexiglass.

Securely place Plexiglas strips over:

• balcony railings
• on the walls
• on window sills

10. Anti-pigeon ultrasound… Yes or no?

A pigeon repellent that we often hear about is ultrasound… But is it really effective in keeping pigeons away from your home?

I have never personally tested an ultrasonic repeller against pigeons, but to keep rats and mice away from the shed yes. The problem with pigeons is that the repeller needs to be installed outside near where the pigeons are roosting, hence my reluctance with ultrasound.

So if you use an ultrasound against pigeons or other harmful birds do not hesitate to write to me to tell me whether or not it works! ?