On 7 Sep 2003 19:25:03 -0700, (David Naugler) wrote:

Hi,

I hope this isn't too far off topic in this news group. I did a Google
search which said that the topic of bird control came up often in this
news group. Please direct me to a better news group if necessary.

I am bothered by misbehaving pigeons that defecate all over my
apartment balcony as soon as I turn my back. As soon as I put a new
object out on the balcony the little rascals go out of their way to
defecate upon my belongings. I think they do it out of a sense of
revenge because I shout at them.

I've seen a solution to this problem. I've seen some people mount a
black silhouette of a blackhawk (or some sort of predatory bird) in a
window to scare away pigeons. Can some one please point me towards a
graphic that I can print out, cut and paste upon my window? It only
needs to be scary to pigeons. Thanks in advance.

dgn

I hate to give you bad news but I think you'll find that silhouttes
and other replicas of predatory birds have very limited use. Birds
(and most wildlife) become habituated to these distractions, sometimes
quite quickly. These methods can work to some extent but they work
best when the devices are continually changed in some way or moved. A
mix of things will probably work best. This might be streamers,
balloons, plastic owls, etc but unless they're changed they will not
work for long. Your best bet is to modify their access or somehow
change the space so it is no longer as attractive (habitat
modification is the technical term) to the birds. This can be very
difficult and expensive if not downright impossible. Maybe you should
develop a taste for squab. Good luck.