Pigeons nesting under my panels

Exterminator

Leepop wrote: »

We have Panels fitted by A Shade Greener and pigeons were nesting and cooing from very early morning to mid afternoon, Was driving me nuts!. We approached ASG and they said the work would cost £500+ for them to fit the mesh and another £500+ for them to get an external scaffolding company. Rip off merchants

We contacted Expel Pest from their post on this forum. Ray came to our Property on 31/01 in Leicester. We didnt need to be at the property when he did the work, just left the back gate unlocked for access. We have CCTV fitted around the property (Not that I don't trust the chap) and I was able to watch from work as he was working away. Very clean work and even had a friendly natter with our neighbour. Charged less than half of what ASG wanted and havent heard a Coo for 4 days! Would throughly recommend :T

Many thanks for the recommendation Lee.
I can honestly say when I posted on this thread I was just trying to help with an opinion and a little knowledge, it never occurred to me that it would be bringing work in but I'm over the moon with the amount of enquiries it's generated.

Thanks to all :beer:

johnts

datec66 said:

My Mrs has been nagging at me for last 2 years or so re Pigeons and poop on the back patio. So after using the hose to scare them away, taking down 3 nests only for them to build another nest and put an egg init in under a week, it was time to sort something permanent.

I bought 4x 5.2metre gutter brushes for £36, wrapped these around the panels and thought that was it, done. Only to find 7 pigeons under the panels still within 2 days. Great!!!!! I caught them just walking through a part of the brushes where I'd bent them underneath the roof bars to keep them in place.

I then realised I had bought 100metres of 316L grade stainless wire for my vape coils off ebay. This was 620 micron thick and came out at too little ohms resistance for my liking so was a waste of £5.20 delivered I thought. Why didn't I think of this being sat there in the house a few weeks before spending £36 on brushes that didn't work???

So anyway, the wire is quite flimsy after taking off it's spool, so I ran 2.5metres length and back again to double it up and make it 1.2mm thick, got the Mrs to hold 1 end with some pliers and put the other end into a drill. Span it for a while which twists the wire together making it double thick, double strength and straight instead of flimsy. Then a trip up the ladder with a 'v' shape fishing rod rest inside a pole, bent the wire in half and used the V and the pole to take it over the 1.5 inch bar holding the panels up (ridge side). Remove the pole, make sure the wire covers top and bottom along all 4 roof bars down to me (gutter side) then used pliers to twist it secure and tight. This gives you a 1.5 inch gap with a rust proof twisted wire top and bottom that they can't get across and is almost invisible too from ground level, almost like installing the aluminium roof bars vertical closing the gap they create to hold up my double array. Considering I only used about 10 metres of wire to do both sides, it's cost me about 52p to do and an hour of my time and boy is it effective lol. It doesn't stop them getting under the top panel to the roof bar, or the bottom panel to that bar, but they won't nest as there not really under cover so to speak so my roof has been pigeon free for the last few days. They just land on the roof now and again, try to get in like they were doing, can't so give up and fly off:j:j:beer::beer::beer::beer:

Hope this helps.

My next thought if this didn't work was to buy some cheap 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch waste pipe or aluminium box section, complete with 90's to run around all the panels to stop them getting under any of them. Again cheap, rot proof and the stainless wire can tie them to the bars to stop the wind messing with them but this hasn't been needed so far.

Carl

Hi Carl
   did this work long term  ? seems to have worked for me .. but while I have some scaffolding up, thinking of doing the top and bottom as well with pipe as you were yhinking of doing
Regards
John

mickyduck55

Since I started this thread I have had little trouble from pigeons but I still get them trying  it on.  I find that disturbing them ASAP does stop them nesting but sometimes its a bit like Laurel and Hardy with me up and down the stairs with my "Pigeon Stick".  I have got 17 panels which cover one side of my roof and have developed a fear of heights in my old age  so unless I need any roof work requiring a scaffold I guess I will have to continue the game.

ctdctd

I had pigeon mesh installed around the panels last year as there were flocks of them nesting underneath.

The mesh and fixing kit cost me about £120 and a local roofer installed it for £300 which included a scaffold rail so they could work safely. The pigeons were still hanging around so I got one of these:-

https://davesemporium.ltd.uk/water-blaster-xlr-extra-long-range-soaker-cannon-gun-bird-and-cat-scarer.html

Great fun and worked perfectly - they haven't come back this year!

[Deleted User]

Has anyone been able to get help with bird nesting from free panel providers? 

pinnks

What is in the contract/agreement about maintenance and the like?  Are they liable to ensure you are not bothered by such pests?  Just a thought...

[Deleted User]

pinnks said:

What is in the contract/agreement about maintenance and the like?  Are they liable to ensure you are not bothered by such pests?  Just a thought...

i don't believe it is explicitly stated but i will have a close look.

clive0510

if you leave them under the solar panel, you could have ready cooked pigeon breast for tea.

cphilly

Our neighbour has solor panels which was attracting pigeons, it is in total view of us constantly as we have bifold doors across The rear of our open plan house, he has since got mesh placed round the panels however the nests where not removed and now we have 30 pigeons on the roof trying to get to there squabs. Its been over 4 weeks we thought they would have left by now. Its driving us insane any ideas of when the pigeons will go or any ideas of how to get rid of them ? 

Exterminator

If you're right and the young were left underneath then that would be breaking animal welfare laws. Also, the parents will feed them through the mesh all the way to adulthood at which point they will be abandoned to starve to death.
Mistakes can and do happen but whoever installed the mesh should be prepared to return and correct the situation or face prosecution.
If you can't speak to your neighbours about it (much preferred) a call to the RSPCA will probably bring results.