Built a birdhouse with my kid using only scrap wood from the garage...

Pigeons moved in within a week and now they've claimed our entire backyard like some kind of feathered landlord situation, so has anyone figured out how to evict birds without upsetting your 8 year old?

3 comments

3 Comments

ross.sean1d ago

Pigeons moved in within a week" - man, I feel this. We had a similar thing happen years ago but with squirrels. Built this cool little feeder with my daughter, super proud of it, and then these two fat squirrels basically set up a condo in the tree above it. They'd just sit there and stare at us while eating all the birdseed we put out. I tried everything from hot pepper suet to those spinning baffles. What finally worked for the pigeons though, I heard from a neighbor, was just putting some spiky strips on the roof edge. Sounds harsh but they just decided the landing spot wasn't worth it and moved on. Your kid will probably think the spikes look like a dragon's back or something.

samward1d ago

Three houses on my street had the exact same problem last summer, all within the same month. It's funny how these things happen in waves like that, almost like the pigeons have a group chat or something. Makes you wonder what other patterns we're missing in everyday life just because we're not looking for them.

nora_park721d ago

The spiky strips idea is clever, they basically just make the surface uncomfortable enough that birds don't want to land. It's wild how fast word spreads among them though, one pigeon finds a spot and suddenly five more show up within days like they got a notification. Makes me think there's way more animal communication happening than scientists give them credit for. Even just pay attention to how birds react differently to different cats in the neighborhood, they know which ones are threats and which ones just lounge around. Probably the same kind of thing happening with those houses on your street, one pigeon scouted it out and reported back to the flock.