# Legal to kill Pigeons in Ontario?



## Urban_Legend (May 29, 2003)

I live in an apartment and pigeons seem to love my porch. My porch is quite long and big, every morning I get woken up by some dumb male pigeon doing his mating call. Talk about being harassed. They keep crapping all over my porch causing a huge mess all day. 

Yesterday I spent a few hours cleaning and scraping off the bird crap, over one pound worth. I noticed that some people who have those plastic owls on their porch actually keeps away the pigeons. So I thought I would try the samething. For the life of me I couldn't find any place that had any owls. Canadian Tire had only one, went to Walmart - nothing, Home Depot - nothing, Homehardware had the samething as Canadian Tire. So I decided to pick one up. 

Now I put the owl in one corner of the porch as it is the only place to tie it down, or I could try the other side. However, I think the owl kind of blends into the wall being brown as the pigeons still land on my porch and avoid the owl sitting there. The other apartments have a more grey to white wall instead of brick brown. My porch is also all concrete and has no polls or stands. What the heck can I do to solve my pigeon problem? Should I find a huge branch and have the owl hang out on that while tied down to my porch? Should I take my fire arm and attach a silencer and start knocking off the pigeons as target practice? What works for people living in apartments? I'm losing my mind here.


----------



## minnes (Aug 15, 2001)

I feel your pain .
I used to live in an apartment where the pigeons just wouldn't leave me any peace.
You could get some sort of stand and put the owl in the middle of your balcony
You could make loud noises whenever they come back
In some areas of Hamilton they fire a starter's pistol at groups of crows that hang around city hall.


----------



## arminarm (Jan 12, 2002)

Urban_Legend,

It might be that a former tenant fed them. Wash the area with a caustic cleanser like bleach. 

WEAR a MASK!

Here are some humane ideas like:
"Apartment dwellers may consider installing fine netting across the front of the balcony if pigeons cannot be convinced to move elsewhere."
http://www.cfhs.ca/Programs/HumaneEducation/GeneralPublic/UrbanWildlife/pigeons.html 

If the area is large like the whole porch consider a cat.

Using loud noises will make you a target for your neighbours' ire.


----------



## minnes (Aug 15, 2001)

you're right Macello, loud noise in a quiet building are a bad idea.
The darn things would not leave even when I went out on my balcony, I had to rap on the metal railing a few times to get them to leave.
No one should poison birds either because a cat or dog could pick it up and die as a result.
People should stop feeding them and that shou;d reduce the problem. All kinds of folks feed them around here and they crap all over our downtown. So they put up owls and a sign warning people that they will be fined if they feed them, but I guess the signs don't apply to illiterates. The problem is much better now in our downtown, much fewer pigeons in my opinion.
I think if you have a porch or balcony that get's the moring sun , then you are the biggest target.
washing with bleach is what i did too, but eventually i moved and I assume the pigeons regained their territory.. But Pigeons are less of a pest than flocks of crows, burr. they are like a black cloud that is really destructive.


----------



## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

ehMac does not condone the killing of pigeons.









Maybe hire Bert to come over and do the pigeon and lead them away. 

--

Doin' The Pigeon

Sung by Bert (Frank Oz) 
Written by Joe Raposo 

--

Every time I feel alone 
And slightly blue 
That's when I begin to think 
It's what I'd like to start to do 

And though it may not be the kind of thing 
That's quite your cup of tea 
I recommend you pay attention 
To the little dance you're gonna see 

Doin' the (coo, coo) pigeon 
Doin' the (coo, coo) pigeon 
Dancing a little smidgeon of 
The kind of ballet 
Sweeps me away 

Doin' the (coo, coo) pigeon 
Doin' the (coo, coo) pigeon 
People may smile but 
I don't mind 
They'll never understand 
The kind of fun I find 

Doin' the (coo, coo) pigeon 
Doin' the (coo, coo) pigeon 
Doin' the (coo, coo) pigeon everyday 
People may smile, but 
I don't mind! 
They'll never understand 
The kind of fun I find 

Doin' the (coo, coo) pigeon 
Doin' the (coo, coo) pigeon 
Doin' the (coo, coo) pigeon everyday


----------



## Urban_Legend (May 29, 2003)

Hahaha very funny ehMax  

Well thank you for all the advice minnes and macello. Also thanks for the link Macello.

Looks like I have some learning to do, maybe I will find away to balance the equation for both the pigeons and myself.


----------



## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

Just be thankful they aren't sh*thawks (Gulls), Our neighbor has been adpting them lately...Now we are really ticked off.

Dave


----------



## Urban_Legend (May 29, 2003)

Anyone seen the movie "Congo" where they set up a night time perimeter fence with lasers and automatic machine gun fire? That's my answer to this problem  .

Hey Dave, at least I can handle gulls. They are easier to train then a pigeon around here. Once you make a gull mad or really piss him off, they get the hint. Pigeons around here are really stupid. I kick the one pigeon off the porch, then I watch him circle the area and land again. I swing a broom at him to scare him and he takes off, but yet returns again. The worst part is just around the corner of the building is a HUGE tree and someone keeps feeding the pigeons. They are not affraid of humans at all.


----------



## arminarm (Jan 12, 2002)

Urban_Legend,

Definitely call your city councilor's office and make a formal pest complaint and emphasize that the pigeons are being fed close by to make the problem worse.

Have the pigeons trigger a loop of Nick Nolte's face in "The Good Thief" ..... they will surely rather leave than watch.


----------



## Urban_Legend (May 29, 2003)

Macello,

Hmmmm you know at this point I am willing to try anything


----------



## RicktheChemist (Jul 18, 2001)

*


----------



## Britnell (Jan 4, 2002)

There is some gunk that comes in a tube that you smear around the railing and where the birds land. 

I prefer the .410 shotgun method, but it is terribly illegal in a city.

The plastic owl did not work for me, but cleaning the balcony and getting rid of all the furnature and plants, cleaning the concrete with a mild acid solution, and sitting quietly and then swatting with a broom seemed to work.


----------



## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

If you have some method of killing them or if that is illegal then "disappearing" them, pigeons taste pretty alright.  

The easiest answer (assuming your building allows it) is a big furry cat that has a big feathery appetite. It will only take a short time for them to not come around anymore one there is a predator around.

--PB


----------



## Cynical Critic (Sep 2, 2002)

While I'm not a fan of killing any animal, you could open a fast-food burger stand and serve _alternative_ meat in them. That way your pests would be culled, not wasted, and you could turn a small profit.


----------



## lotus (Jun 29, 2002)

Pigeon Pie? Ugh!

Snakes, real or artificial work. I use all the free CD's from AOL.


----------



## minnes (Aug 15, 2001)

hey if you were a hobo in the 30s you could have roasted pigeon over a open fire
Oh, wait isnt that what squab is?


----------



## Britnell (Jan 4, 2002)

LOL

Squab has to be better than quail. Quail is all bones. You need to serve 2 per person...

As a cat owner, I don't let the cats on the balcony, because I am afraid that they will try to pounce on a bird on the rail, and end up falling 10 stories.


----------



## murr777 (Oct 17, 2012)

*Get rid of pigeons*



Urban_Legend said:


> I live in an apartment and pigeons seem to love my porch. My porch is quite long and big, every morning I get woken up by some dumb male pigeon doing his mating call. Talk about being harassed. They keep crapping all over my porch causing a huge mess all day.
> 
> Yesterday I spent a few hours cleaning and scraping off the bird crap, over one pound worth. I noticed that some people who have those plastic owls on their porch actually keeps away the pigeons. So I thought I would try the samething. For the life of me I couldn't find any place that had any owls. Canadian Tire had only one, went to Walmart - nothing, Home Depot - nothing, Homehardware had the samething as Canadian Tire. So I decided to pick one up.
> 
> Now I put the owl in one corner of the porch as it is the only place to tie it down, or I could try the other side. However, I think the owl kind of blends into the wall being brown as the pigeons still land on my porch and avoid the owl sitting there. The other apartments have a more grey to white wall instead of brick brown. My porch is also all concrete and has no polls or stands. What the heck can I do to solve my pigeon problem? Should I find a huge branch and have the owl hang out on that while tied down to my porch? Should I take my fire arm and attach a silencer and start knocking off the pigeons as target practice? What works for people living in apartments? I'm losing my mind here.


My father knew of my problem and heard something on the news. Spray WD-40 on the patio surface and walls. It soaks in.

I sprayed my entire balcony (1/2 tin), then again 1 week later....never see pigeons any more. Fact.


----------



## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

murr777 said:


> My father knew of my problem and heard something on the news. Spray WD-40 on the patio surface and walls. It soaks in.
> 
> I sprayed my entire balcony (1/2 tin), then again 1 week later....never see pigeons any more. Fact.












Almost made it a decade!


----------



## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Nothing like oiling the patio to make a place feel like home.


----------



## macintosh doctor (Mar 23, 2009)

Britnell said:


> LOL
> 
> Squab has to be better than quail. Quail is all bones. You need to serve 2 per person...
> 
> As a cat owner, I don't let the cats on the balcony, because I am afraid that they will try to pounce on a bird on the rail, and end up falling 10 stories.






+
YouTube Video









ERROR: If you can see this, then YouTube is down or you don't have Flash installed.





EPIC!


----------



## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

start a new hobby... Falconry. 

I know the falcons at my work building do a good job of keeping the pigeons away. I thought they were keeping the seagulls away, but lately there seems to be alot of them. Either seagulls don't fear falcons or the falcons have migrated.


----------



## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

Some other suggestions:

How to Get Rid of Pigeons: 11 steps (with pictures) - wikiHow

I've seen the spikes used in some places. Not sure if it would work in your situation, though.

I've heard of the spices idea for squirrels and other pests. It doesn't seem to work for squirrels.


----------

