why do pigeons roost on my property?

Before deciding on the best solution to rid pigeons from your property it is a good idea to try and understand why they are there.

If pigeons are regularly roosting on an area of your property it means they are there for one of two reasons:

• Because the area provides them with a vantage point overlooking a well-used feeding area or a regular food source - possibly a restaurant, fast food outlet, food preparation or storage facility, sandwich shop, bakery or even a neighbour's garden where there is a bird feeding station. However, the most likely cause is the regular persistent feeding of the pigeons by a local person
• Because the pigeons have access to an area that is suitable for breeding such as a flat surface that is under a roof overhang or other ledge that offers protection from the elements

The most common problem people face from pigeons roosting on their property is related to guano soiling the external areas of a building. This is as a result of:

• overnight roosting (and breeding) and/or
• daytime perching (where pigeons are using a building as a vantage point to exploit a food source)

Of the two problems, overnight roosting/breeding problems are the most serious, normally resulting in much larger quantities of pigeon droppings being present than with daytime perching. This situation may prove the most difficult to rid the pigeons from. This is because when pigeons are exploiting a food source during the daytime they are constantly on the move, checking each of their numerous feeding sites and never spending long on one site. When the birds are roosting, however, they are static for anything up to 16 hours depending on the time of year. In the summer months they may only be in their roosting sites for 8-10 hours, but in winter it can be as long as 16 hours and in some cases even longer.

Soiling resulting from daytime perching tends to be random and spread over quite a large area, although on buildings that overlook well-used bird feeding sites guano-related problems can be quite extreme.

Soiling from overnight roosting/breeding tends to be found in large piles directly below the perches that the birds have been occupying throughout the night. Cleaning pigeon droppings from a roosting site tends to be easier than cleaning guano resulting from daytime perching as it is generally found in one or more specific areas and in quantity. It is also the case that if pigeon droppings are being removed from a roosting area prior to the installation of anti-perching products it will be considerably easier to identify areas in which to install the products based on the location of the guano.

It is quite possible for one building to experience both daytime perching and overnight roosting/breeding problems, but this is less common. In most cases pigeons will not roost and feed on the same site unless open-ended food sources and optimum roosting/breeding opportunities exist.

If you clearly have a need to rid pigeons then check out our 'how to get rid of pigeons guide'.