How To Get Rid Of Pigeons From The Roof

Pigeons can be a pain in the aine when they keep landing on parts of your property. Personally, if they land on my roof it doesn't really bother me. Out of sight out of mind! What does bother me is when I throw out some bits and bobs, like bread, out to the smaller birds and a big flock of greedy Pigeons who think they're at an all-you-can-eat buffet fly down and just devour the lot! But that's another story. However, I'll quickly tell you what I do to make them fly away and come back another day so that the smaller birds can have a little feed. I fill a jug of water and throw it out at them. Usually two bouts of the water treatment does the trick and they don't come back until a few days later. At which point they are welcome again.

Anyway, getting rid of Pigeons from ledges, gardens and balcony's is fairly easy when compared to getting them not to land on a roof. This is because the usual methods that work with ledges, gardens and balcony's like putting down sticky substances, bird spikes, Scare Ribbons, compact discs (CDs) for their reflection, or pepper etc, don't really work that well with a roof because the area is much bigger. You can cover one corner or ledge of a roof and the Pigeons will just land of another part. So for these methods to be effective with a roof much more effort must be made. More coverage. I don't condone the killing of birds, or any animals to be honest, so I will not recommend you buying and poisons or traps that end in the birds popping their clogs.

So what are the best methods to remove / deter our feathered friends from your roof?

It really depends on what type of roof you have. A flat roof will be easier. A decent method would be bird spikes or a sticky substance like a bird gel repellent that remains sticky around the edge of the roof and a product like Yard Sentinel Repeller installed on the roof for when the Pigeons try to land anywhere else on the roof other than the edges. It will work its magic and scare them away.

Or you could use a sticky substance (gel repellent) on the edges and ridge and also a big bunch of scare ribbons, two sets strategically placed in prime locations on the roof. You're neighbours, if you have any, might be amused! But what counts is the birds will be discouraged.

What is Yard Sentinel?

It's basically a deterrent device that scares animals and birds away. It uses ultrasonic technology (also has an audible Alarm mode) coupled with a motion sensor (PIR infrared). It's completely customisable and has various frequency settings that can be used to repel anything from cats, dogs and foxes, to rodents and BIRDS! It can be plugged into the mains or used wirelessly when powered by batteries. This is a heavy duty item for the price and is fully waterproof and weather resistant so could be used on top of a house no problem.

This method could still be done on a gable design but is more complicated to set up in terms of where to place the Sentinel Repeller.. And the sticky substance you use would most probably be placed along the gable ridge rather than the edges. Or added to both the edges and ridge if you feel its necessary. However, this is dependant on circumstances / roof design, and each case / Pigeon problem. Although these birds do have certain traits and habits each problem is unique to a certain degree.

If you don't want to use a product like Yard Sentinel, depending on how badly you want the Pigeons gone, and if you don't care what your neighbours think, you could buy a fake owl and fix it onto your chimney. Pigeons are scared of owls and will not want to be anywhere in the same vicinity. There are some fake owls on the market that have a revolving head (I think it moves when the wind blows) so they are slightly more convincing (Customer reviews are mixed).

They are quite a cheap item to buy (around £10) so definitely worth considering. However, for the additional £15 you would pay for a portable ultrasonic deterrent like a Sentinel gadget, which has much more versatility than a fake owl (It can deter most animals the UK has to offer) it would be worth considering shelling out that little bit of extra money for a quality item that has a proven track record and can be used for other pest problems.

And, if Pigeons do land and another one of his friends, or other species of bird just happens to be flying overhead and has a great poop-aim and lands a direct hit, a poop on the owls head but doesn't get a response, such as an "Oi you dirty b*****d" or even worse, an owl beak to the face, the birds are going to know something isn't quite right. Hmm, They are intelligent birds, but I don't think Pigeons are that clever!. Would be funny if they were.

There is no 100% solution that will definitely work to make sure no birds ever land on your roof. However, there are a lot of ideas to try. Take it as a personal challenge. You Vs the Homers! Just don't hurt them. That solution doesn't count. Have a solution that has worked for you? I'm interested in clever solutions. Is your roof Homing proof. Tell us about it. Comment below.