Pigeons taking over bird stand and garden and messing all over

gardenroute

Lady_K wrote: »

the main big lawn has had to be killed and repeatedly killed due to ground elder so its just soil now apart from a few bits of dead grass in parts. This cannot be re-seeded until the ground elder stops shooting through and its safe to re seed again. Would they be attracted to the large area of soil?

(If they are) woodpigeons are attracted to bare soil; they are used to feeding on emerging wheat, etc. They like open spaces so moving the feeder close to the house/bushes would keep them away. They also like cheap bird food with corn and peas in it - its best to use sunflower, niger and hemp seeds to attract the smaller birds.

Ground elder is not a typical lawn weed - tbh I'm not sure your going about that the right way.

Turfing might be a better idea if the birds will be a problem with the grass seed.
If that's too expensive some grass seeds are coated with a bird repellent and you can resow any bare areas once most of the lawn has got going.

emiff6

Generations of farmers have not solved the problem of keeping wood pigeons away, and still have to resort to scaring them off at irregular intervals.
They use, among other things, live hawks, tethered hawk-shaped kites, loud noises, metallic mobiles that spin and sparkle, or, occasionally, small boys with stones, or large boys with airguns
Possibly a large cat or a hyperactive dog would do the job for you in an enclosed garden.
Or you could fell all the trees.....:eek:

Lady_K

gardenroute wrote: »

(If they are) woodpigeons are attracted to bare soil; they are used to feeding on emerging wheat, etc. They like open spaces so moving the feeder close to the house/bushes would keep them away. They also like cheap bird food with corn and peas in it - its best to use sunflower, niger and hemp seeds to attract the smaller birds.

Ground elder is not a typical lawn weed - tbh I'm not sure your going about that the right way.

Turfing might be a better idea if the birds will be a problem with the grass seed.
If that's too expensive some grass seeds are coated with a bird repellent and you can resow any bare areas once most of the lawn has got going.

Thanks, Yes I had already been thinking about the re-seeding just attracting the pigeons more, turfing would be too expensive its a large area so I will look into the bird repellant seed.
I'm not going to feed any birds at all until this problem has gone away if it ever does. I don't think it will drive the other birds away because I still have the privet which they love and they love looking for worms when the grass is cut but at the moment there are less because I think they are scared of the pigeons

My nieghbour does not do his garden at all so its a wasteground and weeds are spreading rapidly, they spread through the privet hedging so this is where the ground elder is coming from. It has gradually taken over just about the entire of my main lawn. I did not realise what it was until last year. This is the only way to deal with it and I'm sure it will never go completely and will always come creeping through the privet so the only answer is to kill it (roundup) until it stops shooting through then grow a new lawn. After this I'll try to keep it under control by spot treating any areas that might pop up again and re seed as needed. Plus at least annual spraying of the whole length of the privet where it will continue to creep through. No point me even trying to explain to the neighbour because he doesnt even trim his side of the privet so hes not going to be bothered what weeds are in his garden

cootambear

Give permission to a local air rifle shooter to kill them. half shares if you like.. they are very very tasty.

therealdessie

Lakeland sell a bird feeder which comes with an extended cage around it, I think it was about £30. Previously I had tried to make one using chicken wire but found the pigeons would simply crash into it instead and flatten it down.

More recently I tried tying extra long cable ties to the feeder as it aggravated the pigeon's wings when they were trying to feed. Again it worked for a while. Now with the caged feeder they don't have a ready source of food so only really come in when there's bread out - or when the sparrows are chucking food from the feeder onto the floor.

The other option is a ground feeder. Most small birds will use them and of course pigeons can't make their way inside!

peter_the_piper

therealdessie wrote: »

Lakeland sell a bird feeder which comes with an extended cage around it, I think it was about £30. Previously I had tried to make one using chicken wire but found the pigeons would simply crash into it instead and flatten it down.

More recently I tried tying extra long cable ties to the feeder as it aggravated the pigeon's wings when they were trying to feed. Again it worked for a while. Now with the caged feeder they don't have a ready source of food so only really come in when there's bread out - or when the sparrows are chucking food from the feeder onto the floor.

The other option is a ground feeder. Most small birds will use them and of course pigeons can't make their way inside!

Two old wire hanging baskets make a useful cage to keep out pigeons. Good bit of recycling.

STOCKWIRE

Whisky soaked corn ~ Drunk Pigeons in a box, over the Severn Bridge & release in Pigeon Heaven !

lufoo7

i read somewhere that they like the wheat that is in a lot of bird foods, so i spend a little more and buy one without wheat in it, billie oddie range does one and its often on offer in wilkinsons

victoria_stiles

Anti-bird netting is one way to counter birds from damaging your fruit trees and plants. This physical bird repellent is one of the safest and cost-effective ways to care for your plants. A variety of bird repellents are available in the market. Common items like bird spikes, wire, flash tapes and fogging devices are used to divert birds from settling on your lawn, patios, pavements, plants, seeds and fruit-bearing plants. Anti-bird netting is just one of instrument you can use to counter these birds safely and effectively at minimal costs.

parsonswife8

We use a high powered water pistol which has a range of about 25 feet.
Now, they just have to see the gun and they are gone.:T