If pigeons have decided to roost in or on your home, garage, barn, or other outdoor structure, you can humanely get rid of them by applying various deterrents, decoys, and devices—or you could trap and release them.

As far as birds go, pigeons rank right up there with seagulls in their relationship to humans and are generally considered pests throughout the United States. Often, the diseases they carry—combined with their highly acidic droppings—make pigeons a nuisance in cities and farmlands.

But getting rid of pigeons is often easier said than done, especially if they’ve already established a nest or roosting area. Fortunately,

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What are pigeons?

While it may seem silly to ask this, it’s important to first understand pigeons before you try to get rid of them. Doing so will give you a better understanding of why the methods we recommend actually work.

At a base level, “pigeon” encompasses all species of bird belonging to the Columbidae family, which includes all doves and the more conventionally-named pigeons. Rock Pigeons are the most common species found in the United States.

Pigeons are plump and known to be strong fliers with an excellent sense of direction. Pigeon pairs mate for life, and females are capable of laying two eggs every month, meaning they reproduce very quickly.

In the wild, a pigeon’s diet primarily consists of fruits and seeds, but they will eat just about anything humans leave behind, including chips, breadcrumbs, pasta, and the like.

Why are pigeons considered pests?

Pigeons are considered pests for several reasons, with the most egregious being:

Acidic droppings: Pigeons don’t have bladders, so all of their liquid waste—primarily uric acid—is stored in the cloaca alongside solid waste and expelled as one unit. When this acidic waste comes into contact with paint, stone, or even metal, it can cause irreversible damage.

Bullying behavior: If you have a birdbath or bird feeder in your yard, pigeons will often bully other birds—especially smaller birds—to secure access to these features.

Fire hazards: If pigeons build their nests in your chimney or block your chimney flue, smoke may not be able to exit properly, resulting in the buildup of poisonous gasses and increasing the chance of fire.

Carriers of disease: Pigeon droppings often carry diseases like psittacosis, histoplasmosis, and cryptococcosis—all of which can be life-threatening, especially for those with weak respiratory or immune systems.

Blocked gutters: Pigeons have also been known to build their nests in gutters and downspouts, resulting in a blockage that leads to water backup, overflow, and water damage.

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What attracts pigeons to your home

So what gives? Why are pigeons attracted to man-made structures? If pigeons have decided to roost in your home, barn, or garage, it’s usually because they’ve found a safe place to roost out of the elements. Your property may also provide access to an easy food source.

Attics, chimneys, and barn lofts are incredibly attractive spaces to pigeons as they are often easily accessible, warm, and dry.

Gardens, unattended garbage bins, and bird feeders also serve as reliable, easily accessible food sources, and pigeons will capitalize on them in a heartbeat.

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How to get rid of pigeons

Now that you have a better understanding of pigeons, their behavior, and what attracts them to your property, it’s time to learn how to humanely—and effectively—get rid of them.

Put down anti-roosting devices

One of the more effective ways to get rid of pigeons is to install anti-roosting devices along the areas they are known to frequent, such as railings, rooftops, and fences. At their core, these anti-roosting devices deter pigeons from landing by either confusing them or making the surface uncomfortable to stand on.

Some of these include:

Anti-roosting spikes: Prevents pigeons from landing on ledges due to the long, protruding spikes that make it hard to get a foothold and sit comfortably

Anti-roosting gel: This product comes in a caulk-like tube and is applied in much the same way—by laying down a bead or line of sticky gel along the surface you wish to deter pigeons from roosting on

Weatherproof string or wires: Stretch out thin lines of string or wire along the pigeons’ favorite roosting areas—when they try to land, they’ll grab onto the string instead of the ledge and be caught off balance

Use an ultrasonic bird repeller

Like most birds, pigeons have excellent hearing, meaning they can hear frequencies humans cannot, helping them communicate with other pigeons and birds to find food, find mates, and signal danger.

Fortunately, you can use this to your advantage by installing an ultrasonic bird repeller. These devices operate in one of two ways—either they emit pigeon predator sounds and pigeon distress calls, thereby tricking nearby pigeons into believing your property isn’t safe, or they emit an irritating sound that can only be heard by birds.

The key to ultrasonic bird repellers is consistency—you’ll need to leave it on for hours every day for several weeks to ensure that any pigeon flying by learns to associate your home with danger.

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Trap and release

If you’re feeling up to it, you could also try trapping the pigeons and releasing them in a new location. You’ll just have to check whether or not it’s legal to do so in your area.

However, for this to work properly, you’ll have to put the trap in a spot the pigeons frequent and bait it with food. Let the pigeons get used to the trap for at least a week to increase the chances of success.

If you’re dealing with a large group of pigeons, your best bet would be the Bird Barrier Knock Down Pigeon Trap, allowing you to safely trap up to 10 pigeons at once.

Call a professional

If you want to get rid of pigeons quickly and 100% effectively, it might be worth the money to have a professional handle the removal for you, as they’ll have the tools and experience to carry out the removal with ease.

How to prevent pigeons from returning

Once you’ve gotten rid of the pigeons, it’s time to make sure they don’t return. Take a look below for a few recommendations on how to keep pigeons from coming back to roost.

Eliminate potential food sources

One of the most important things you can do to prevent pigeons from returning is to remove all possible food sources. Pigeons will gladly eat just about anything humans leave behind, which means they can get food from a lot of places. But if you make it harder to access, they’ll move on to someplace where food is easier to come by.

You can’t do much about pigeons' natural food sources—which include insects and worms—but you can remove bird feeders, secure your garbage bins, and store things like pet food or livestock feed in places they can’t reach.

Use reflective surfaces

To keep pigeons from returning to a patio, balcony, or deck, apply reflective tape to railings and easy landing areas. This distracts and disorients the birds, making it much more difficult for them to land.

You can also hang reflective discs from tree limbs to deter pigeons from roosting in the branches of nearby trees.

Put out predator decoys

If you want to keep pigeons from coming back, put out at least one decoy predator—such as an owl or hawk—near the spot where they used to roost. If the pigeons think the location is no longer safe, they’ll move on and find another place to build their nests.

Seal off entrances

Another way to prevent pigeons from returning is to seal off any possible entrances, effectively eliminating their access to ideal roosting locations. Walk around the outside of your home, garage, barn, or other structure and identify any places that would allow pigeons to roost and seal them up.

Use olfactory deterrents

Like most birds, pigeons prefer to avoid strong smells, which means you can make an effective olfactory deterrent at home by mixing peppermint oil, cinnamon, or cayenne pepper with water and spraying it at any location pigeons have frequented.

This method will require you to re-apply the mixture every other week or so to remain effective, but it’s a fairly inexpensive, non-toxic way to keep pigeons at bay.

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What attracts pigeons to my home?

Two factors tend to attract pigeons to your home: easily accessible food sources and safe, dry places to roost. If you have a garden, bird feeder, or uncovered garbage bin, pigeons will treat it as their personal buffet and stick around for the long term. Similarly, easily accessible sheltered areas—e.g., attics, barn lofts, chimneys—provide ideal places for roosting and raising their young.

How do I get rid of pigeons quickly?

The easiest and quickest way to get rid of pigeons effectively and humanely is to have a professional deal with them. But if you don’t want to pay someone else to do it, you can try removing food sources, setting up predator decoys, and installing anti-roosting devices.

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