Pigeons can be a pain in summer as they will peck at any plants and leave their droppings everywhere, but there is a simple way to keep them out of your garden. Many gardeners put nets over their precious crops and flowers, and this is effective, but pigeons are easily frightened birds, and it really does not take much to deter them.
Ryan Jenkins, an expert from Sefton Meadows has shared a natural way to scare pigeons, or any bird being a nuisance, is to hang CDs or tinfoil around your garden. He explained: “Shiny objects might strike you as something that would attract animals (a rumour started by the humble magpies supposed attraction to shiny objects), but the opposite is true. When it is sunny, shiny objects reflect light towards birds which scare them away.”
It might sound strange, but birds are cautious around sudden movement or light flashes, which can resemble a predator flying around them.
This will cause pigeons to feel unsafe or at least uncertain about the area, and they will be less likely to perch in your garden.
Pigeons also look around before landing, and any flashing will cause them to search for another location and make them very reluctant to nest nearby.
All you need is anything that reflects light, like old CDs, DVDS, tinfoil or even the tray leftover when you buy a pie or cake.
Hang the objects in areas where they will catch the sun in the garden, such as fences, tree branches, or even a clothesline.
If possible, try to hang the objects at different heights. This will reflect more light and make it harder for pigeons to try and find a safe place in the garden.
However, it should be noted that while pigeons are easy to scare off, they are quite clever birds, and over time, they will learn that the flashing light will not harm them.
This is why it is better to keep rotating bird deterrents like flashing objects over the summer to confuse pigeons and stop them from figuring out they are not predators.
Other simple but very effective ways to keep pigeons away is to have statues of predators like owls in your garden, have pinwheels near birdfeeders and even plant lots of white flowers.
