I hate pigeons – and I’m sure they don’t like me.
At a previous house which backed onto farmland, I had a sporting .22 nitrogen fired airgun with a very accurate telescopic sight and laser with which I despatched many a rat or pigeon when they had the temerity to come into the garden. Then I met and married Libby and she ‘persuaded’ me to get rid of the gun.
Fast forward 12 years and we have moved house and I am now battling more big fat flying shit machine Wood Pigeons. They make an awful mess on the artificial lawn which I have to clean up prior to one of our 3 and 4 year old great grandkids visiting. They love to play on the lawn.
It does not help that Libby and I love garden birds (except crows and pigeons of course) and we have bird feeders suspended under a tree at the end of the garden. Unlike Tits, which make a dash and grab to get seeds and retire into the tree to eat them, Green and Gold Finches sit on the feeder to eat – and drop seed or spit the husks down onto the lawn which attracts the damned pigeons.
I have tried various pigeon deterrents including :-
Bashing the window to scare them off – they eventually took no notice
Using a toy water rifle to squirt a jet of water at them. This works but only when I am on guard duty.
I bought a sporting catapult with light ammunition – that only stings but does not really hurt them. Yet again it is effective but only when I am around.
My latest gadget is a battery operated water sprinkler connected to a garden hose which has a sensitive movement sensor. Cost £14.99 from Lidl, rather than spending £29.99 from Amazon or £34.99 from Robert Dyas.
This has proved to be very effective and pigeons are now rare visitors.
However (there is always a however isn’t there?) Libby is not entirely happy with it. This is because when she does a patrol of her garden domain she has forgotten to turn the water off and has got soaked. The sprinklers movement sensor sees he as a larger bird and scares her off. Tis said that laughter is the best medicine – take my word for it, from personal experience, it isn’t.
The other problem is that the seeds and husks the birds drop are no longer being cleaned up by the pigeons – they have delegated the chore to me.
So I donned my thinking cap and came up with an idea.
I popped into our local Wilko and bought two clear plastic 12” diameter mixing bowls. They were 75 pence each and have been worth every penny. I have attached one to the bottom of each feeder and they are now doing sterling service as Finch spittoons thus keeping the lawn clear of detritus.
No pigeons, no crap or bird seed debris on the lawn. Aint life sweet!
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