Pigeons can add color to your farm, but they can also create problems by eating vegetables, roosting in trees, and leaving harmful droppings. Usually, pigeons fly in a group of 15 to 20 birds. So, a toxic, smelly load of droppings can be left by a single flock on a farm, which will destroy crops and damage vegetation resulting in lower production and financial losses. The source of food is one of the significant reasons why pigeons flock and destroy farms. When they become used to the feeding routine, they keep coming back. Pigeons are not aggressive, but they do inflict costly harm to farms and agricultural buildings. 

Pigeon damage occurs throughout the year in farming, and farmers need to keep pigeons away from their farms. With techniques like netting, cannons, and sound systems, many farmers attempt to drive pigeons away from the fields.

There are many techniques used to keep pigeons away from your farm. It is critical for all farmers and nature lovers to keep the methods humane and as environmentally friendly as possible. Below you can find possible strategies to keep pigeons away without hurting them.

Reduce Reproductive Rate

Use techniques to get rid of pigeons by minimizing their reproduction rates. You can go for birth control solutions like Ovocontrol to reduce their population. Or if you can get access to the pigeon’s nests, stabbing a hole in the pigeon’s eggs is preferable to eradicating their nests. Since the pigeons will wait for their eggs to hatch, sitting on them all that time, they will not build another nest elsewhere as they usually would do when you destroyed the eggs. This method will eventually reduce their numbers, and the farm will be safe from the pigeons.

Use of Pets

Having a real predator is another way to keep away pigeons from your farm. A well-supervised dog will be driving away pigeons from the farm for the whole time of its life. If you have an outdoor cat, that is also useful. But, cats can get furious chasing pigeons. Also, cats may create other issues by turning your lightly tilled soil into an improvised litter box and digging up the precious plants. Farmers should also be mindful that farm cats are not that dull-minded. They will get used to the pigeons at some stage and avoid attacking them or vice versa.

Use of Wind Chimes

Objects that can cause unexpected noises or motions, such as wind chimes, may come in handy as well. If you are going to use wind chimes to get rid of pigeons, make sure that you install it on your farm as they are not going to do much good far away. It will become even more effective if you can find those made from metal or any other shiny reflective material.

Reduce the Source of Food

Food abundance is a strong trigger for pigeons to return to the farm. It is also the easiest way to get rid of pigeons – stop feeding them. The indirect food sources, such as remaining grains and polluted water, promote the continuous return of pigeons. The best way to keep away the invasion of pigeons is to remove these food sources or restrict the access of pigeons to the field. 

Use of Scary Eye Balloons

The fear of an eye balloon is the most often used to keep pigeons away from the farm. In a gentle wind, the giant, inflatable balloon swings steadily. The wide eyes on the ball and the motion of the ball itself will easily frighten the pigeons. You can purchase eye balloons at the nearest gardening center or make your eye balloon by replicating the eyes on a yellow beach ball.

Use of Toy Snakes and Plastic Predators

Some farmers install toy snake, plastic decoy owl, or falcon to keep away pigeons from their farm. Even unrealistic looking birds appear to have a significant impact on smaller birds of prey, such as pigeons, sparrows, and blackbirds. They, however, may not be affected if you keep these decoys in one specific place, permanently. For best results, move the plastic predators or toy snake around the farm to make it look like a predator bird and pick those that produce a sound.

Use of Noisemakers

Noisemakers can be both sonic (audible to humans) and ultrasonic (can only be heard by animals and birds). Ultrasonic instruments produce high-frequency noises that pigeons find quite discomforting, preventing them from roasting or visiting your farm.

Garden Netting

The most efficient way to keep pigeons away is potentially to build a barrier using garden netting. On the farm, use a wide range of hoops and pull butterfly nets over them. Butterfly netting defends seeds from hungry pigeons while allowing pollination by insects.