After seeing the shooting thread, that reminded me.....

We have dozens of big fat pigeons, or doves, around here, and in the springtime they drive me fkin crackers. I know this will make me sound like Victor Meldrew but I can't stand their "oo-ooing" at the best of times. However, this lot like to get up earlier than me, and there's no better start to the day, apparently, than a nice hour or so of constant oo-ooing, preferably as close to my bedroom window as possible. At the moment we still have the windows closed at night, but I can still hear them, and it won't be long before we need the windows open and then it'll be earplugs or insomnia.

I have contemplated the air rifle route, but I have other properties around me and as far as I know, if you shoot outside your own boundaries, then you could be in trouble, and there will always be a busybody or two around to cause trouble (the parish council chairman lives along the road!). Plus, as well as our roof, they sit on telegraph lines just outside our boundary, or the cricket pavilion opposite.

So, the question is, has anyone had any real success with any of the other types of deterrent? I could put spikes on the gutter and roof ridge, for a start. What about either the owl/hawk decoys? Or the hawk sounders?

Failing that I'd consider poison (or aspirins!). I'm not sure I'll ever get rid of them as they're so widespread here (I'm sat at my desk and there's one ooo-ing across the road as we speak) but anything I can do to reduce them would be great.

Apologies to all members of the FFRR Twitchers and Humane Society!

its the time of year isnt it..

i've downed 4 magpies in the last 2 days..they're building a nest on a tree a garden away so i sit here with a loaded air rifle waiting for the cackling to start ..

Air rifle pellets may not leave your boundary so, unless you have the permission of those around you, then I'd not go that route. The police take a seriously dim view of that type of thing even if they are only pellets.

Cat?

I hate pigeons..
Last year they were all over my garden. We have beech hedging all around our home and they nest in it. The noise drives me bananas in the morning. They can start dooing and flapping from around 0530..
We can't walk from the house to the cars without standing in piles of their s t.. They s t on the garden furniture, the washing and leave piles of it on the roof..
A friend gave me a shot of his air rifle. It was a cheap Spanish made rifle, but effective. I nailed 6 on the first day.
I gave I back to him a week later with the pigeon tally at around 20.. I marked a cross on the calendar every time I shot one.
I went out and bought myself this...

http://www.bsaguns.co.uk/PDFS/BSA%20R-10.pdf

I Keep it charged up from a diving bottle. Illuminated telescopic scope. Extra 10 shot magazine.. And hollow point slugs.
I got over 70 pigeons last year.... And silence in the mornings...
My neighbours thanked me for it as well as they had the same problems with noise and s t all over their garden furniture.. Looking forward to spring, as I heard a few recently  Previously..
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buy a bird of prey

quite a few buzzards? around here seem to take a liking to eating them You can paypal direct using - www.paypal.me/duckworthparts
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@Contraband - that looks like a cracking bit of kit! Mind me asking how much? However, unless you have a Mick-sized country estate you're going to have the problem of keeping the pellets within your own boundary. For instance, a lot of the pigeons here at mine sit on some phone wires about 30m away, outside the side boundary of the garden. They'd be an easy hit - but would land in the street beside my place, which I can't actually get to from my house without a 5 minute walk, so unless I park MrsC underneath with instructions to bag the carcasses PDQ, I'd end up in the smelly stuff!

I don't know how big your garden is but if you have room these work remarkably keeping the pigeons off our rape http://www.scarem.co.uk/ and I am using one to keep the doves out of the conifer trees in my garden. 12MY Black FF VSE
12MY Orkney Grey HSE Lux RRS

If you shoot em at dusk off the lines i bet they wouldn't be there long as Fox's, Cats... all sorts would come by and have them off.

Failing that what happens if you just get a friend round with a Double Barrel and some blanks?? Noise would scare them off sharpish

Or remove the cat from your coop and let it warm up and a few pops on the over run should sort it

I'd say maybe make a sheet with House numbers on it near you or where they are most often perched and ask the owner to sign it to allow you to fire shots at the birds.

Another option is maybe enviromental health team at local council as they may just get someone in every few weeks to clear them off with a BOP

Maybe try the local falconry centre type place and ask if they could help you out at all with ways to attract owls or such like  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

beretta 12 gauge and a box of cartridges

Interesting ideas there. I guess the kite is only good during the day when there's a breeze - do the little feckers remember that a hawk hangs out around these parts and not come back?

I have a customer that put up owl decoys and swears by them

Kites only fly when there is wind... Pigeons make noise and s t in all weather conditions... Best cure for the problem is death !! Seriously tho', the garden is a better place for not having them here... And I have noticed that all the small birds are back again, which I like. I would never shoot any little feathery friend.. ever.
I am lucky to have a field across the road from me. We have a pine tree that they like to sit on, its a great shooting range, so with the field behind it, any stray pellets go there.
Pigeon also tastes lovely... I shot over 40 before I started to take the breasts. It sounds better if I tell people they are for food and not just for fun.. Previously..
Vogue SE TD6
Defender 90 2.4
Defender 110 TD5
Vogue 3.5 EFI

I bought a large concrete owl and move it about every now and again, no "Doves" now.

i've got a picture in me head of a massive 30 foot concrete owl in your back garden..