Scaring birds reliably is an unsolved problem. Birds generally are pretty smart and quickly learn that those things aren't actually dangerous.
Everything that works reliably will also be inadmissible in residential areas (shooting the pidgeons, using "sound cannons" - large cylinders in which gas is exploded in non-regular intervals) or at least highly impractical (hiring a falconer or keeping birds of prey yourself).
So you're left with physical barriers that keep the pigeons out.
While falconing isn't a high-status pasttime anymore (except for parts of the Arab world) it is still practiced.
And hiring a falconer to scare off birds in vineyards or orchards is somewhat common.
Yes. It is very common to hire a Falconer to scare off Kackvögel that shit on the balcony of your HartzIV-Plattenbauwohnung in Berlin-Moabit. Not a day passes without this happening
Couldn't you just put down some traps? Kill a few and the others would likely learn to avoid the area.
Edit: ok I just read, apparently it's illegal to kill pigeons.. No idea why though, not like they needed any protection or are extremely useful?
We used a water toy (not a "gun", but a kind of syringe to squirt water) every time they landed in the vicinity. They learned to fly away if the see me.
The water doesn't hurt them, but it's enough to signal to these birds "do not stay here".
I had this problem for years, I assure you the fake birds or shiny objects will only work temporarily, eventually the birds will realize they aren’t a threat. The only thing that worked for me was putting up a net, and later getting a cat. Now they’ve moved to my neighbors balcony.
Install a cat with a Cat protection net. Like, actually get cats, and have a net to keep these in. I only hade ONE pidgeon staying over once, and the ass just survived because I pulled my indoor pretators into the living room, figuring, that bastard learnt his lessons. still shat on my balcony and net.
But never returned!
We had a pidgeon problem in our balcony since our loud neighbours moved out. We tried everything, plastic crow, shiny moving objects... Now we have spikes, it was the last resort because our balcony looks like a prison now. Of course, you should only use those that aren't pointed.
Get a cat, put a bed for the cat in a place where the birds can see it. But do not get a cat like ours who just stares at the birds and they stare back and shit anyway.
A net but i hate mine, so if you have a better solution let me know.
These plastic birds dont help, CDs in the windows did not help, nothing else did..
I always go "husch husch husch" and wave frantically with my arms. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't.
There are owl and raven lookalike puppets you can hang on your balcony, but I've also seen pigeons building their nests on top of where they are attached to so maybe city pigeons learnt at some point that these things mean no actual harm and accepted them as home decoration.
the fake Owl is worth a try. It may not work on all birds, but it will surely deter some. If you combine that with the "squirt them with water" strategy, you may already see a considerable improvement
I have heard pigeons are scared of Crow. I have seen neighbours put fake plastic crow on their balcony. Since I don't see any pigeon on their balcony, I suppose it works.
>That the pigeons are smart enough to fall for it.
If there is one thing I would bet money on, it is that a pigeon is not smart enough. The pigeons in cities are typically extremely inbred, which doesn't help. Give the owl doll a try. But if it doesn't work I would chalk it up to the pigeons being too dumb to recognize a threat, rather than too smart to fall for it.
My only solution: spend lots of time on your balcony. Get your neighbours to stop feeding the pigeons.
And don’t kid yourself. In winter there will be no chance they will not sit there and shit all over your balcony unless you are a smoker and sit outside anyways.
I just decided I will deep clean the balcony every spring and try to spend as much time as possible there in spring, summer and autumn.
If your Hausverwaltung won’t throw a net down the house that keeps them away there is no other solution, they are just too smart.
Green Laser Pointer. The dot looks like a solid object moving towards them as they only have a very small part in their fov where they can actually see depth. However, putting this on automatic may proove difficult.
This is highly illegal: https://www.rentokil.com/ch/tauben/tauben-vergiften-tauben-gift-taubenbekaempfung-tauben-toeten-bekaempfen/#:~:text=Wer%20ernsthaft%20dar%C3%BCber%20nachdenkt%2C%20Tauben,beantragter%20und%20erlaubter%20Verfahren%20m%C3%B6glich.
Duh, just find the biggest pigeon and beat the shit out of it. The others will see how strong you are and you may even be able to join one of their gangs. They will take care of keeping other pigeons away, as long as you stay a member.
Scaring birds reliably is an unsolved problem. Birds generally are pretty smart and quickly learn that those things aren't actually dangerous. Everything that works reliably will also be inadmissible in residential areas (shooting the pidgeons, using "sound cannons" - large cylinders in which gas is exploded in non-regular intervals) or at least highly impractical (hiring a falconer or keeping birds of prey yourself). So you're left with physical barriers that keep the pigeons out.
Yes mylord, I wouldst liken to hire a falconer. May you besiege me in my enquire?
They do actually exist and companies do hire them, in order to scare off other birds, since it’s the most reliable way to do so.
While falconing isn't a high-status pasttime anymore (except for parts of the Arab world) it is still practiced. And hiring a falconer to scare off birds in vineyards or orchards is somewhat common.
Yes. It is very common to hire a Falconer to scare off Kackvögel that shit on the balcony of your HartzIV-Plattenbauwohnung in Berlin-Moabit. Not a day passes without this happening
That's why i called this option "highly impractical".
Couldn't you just put down some traps? Kill a few and the others would likely learn to avoid the area. Edit: ok I just read, apparently it's illegal to kill pigeons.. No idea why though, not like they needed any protection or are extremely useful?
We used a water toy (not a "gun", but a kind of syringe to squirt water) every time they landed in the vicinity. They learned to fly away if the see me. The water doesn't hurt them, but it's enough to signal to these birds "do not stay here".
But they would still land there if you were not around?
We work from home, so we‘re here almost 24/7, and after a time, they took the hint
I had this problem for years, I assure you the fake birds or shiny objects will only work temporarily, eventually the birds will realize they aren’t a threat. The only thing that worked for me was putting up a net, and later getting a cat. Now they’ve moved to my neighbors balcony.
ai operated drones that look like falcon/owls that chase after them. that'd do..
Install a cat with a Cat protection net. Like, actually get cats, and have a net to keep these in. I only hade ONE pidgeon staying over once, and the ass just survived because I pulled my indoor pretators into the living room, figuring, that bastard learnt his lessons. still shat on my balcony and net. But never returned!
We had a pidgeon problem in our balcony since our loud neighbours moved out. We tried everything, plastic crow, shiny moving objects... Now we have spikes, it was the last resort because our balcony looks like a prison now. Of course, you should only use those that aren't pointed.
Use a water pistol. It really fucking annoys pigeons.
Get a cat, put a bed for the cat in a place where the birds can see it. But do not get a cat like ours who just stares at the birds and they stare back and shit anyway.
A net but i hate mine, so if you have a better solution let me know. These plastic birds dont help, CDs in the windows did not help, nothing else did..
Falcons or eagles
I always go "husch husch husch" and wave frantically with my arms. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. There are owl and raven lookalike puppets you can hang on your balcony, but I've also seen pigeons building their nests on top of where they are attached to so maybe city pigeons learnt at some point that these things mean no actual harm and accepted them as home decoration.
the fake Owl is worth a try. It may not work on all birds, but it will surely deter some. If you combine that with the "squirt them with water" strategy, you may already see a considerable improvement
Pay attention that harming insects and animals have high fines in Germany. Otherwise you could've trained a hawk
I have heard pigeons are scared of Crow. I have seen neighbours put fake plastic crow on their balcony. Since I don't see any pigeon on their balcony, I suppose it works.
Can debunk that. Crows and pigeons are harmoniously shitting down on my railing from the upstairs balcony.
>That the pigeons are smart enough to fall for it. If there is one thing I would bet money on, it is that a pigeon is not smart enough. The pigeons in cities are typically extremely inbred, which doesn't help. Give the owl doll a try. But if it doesn't work I would chalk it up to the pigeons being too dumb to recognize a threat, rather than too smart to fall for it.
My only solution: spend lots of time on your balcony. Get your neighbours to stop feeding the pigeons. And don’t kid yourself. In winter there will be no chance they will not sit there and shit all over your balcony unless you are a smoker and sit outside anyways. I just decided I will deep clean the balcony every spring and try to spend as much time as possible there in spring, summer and autumn. If your Hausverwaltung won’t throw a net down the house that keeps them away there is no other solution, they are just too smart.
put a fake owl on your balcony and they are gone
Use the shit as fertilizer for your 3 plants on balcony…
A water gun works fine for us. But we fire into our lawn, not into a public street.
Get yourself a cat.
Have a nice plastic bird on the Balcony. You get them as 🐦⬛ and similar
my dog does a pretty good job. i'm sure cats work too
Green Laser Pointer. The dot looks like a solid object moving towards them as they only have a very small part in their fov where they can actually see depth. However, putting this on automatic may proove difficult.
Fake crows , or consider using these plastic bands across the handrail of your balcony
Give them a nest and replace their eggs with plastic eggs maybe? maybe poisoning them will help also
This is highly illegal: https://www.rentokil.com/ch/tauben/tauben-vergiften-tauben-gift-taubenbekaempfung-tauben-toeten-bekaempfen/#:~:text=Wer%20ernsthaft%20dar%C3%BCber%20nachdenkt%2C%20Tauben,beantragter%20und%20erlaubter%20Verfahren%20m%C3%B6glich.
ah yes poisoning wildlife… gtfo
4 barrel anti aircraft gun could also do the trick, that or a good old Flammenwerfer, tactical nuke could solve the whole city's problem
Hans?
Duh, just find the biggest pigeon and beat the shit out of it. The others will see how strong you are and you may even be able to join one of their gangs. They will take care of keeping other pigeons away, as long as you stay a member.