How to Stop Pigeons on the Chimney

At first glance, having pigeons on the chimney might seem like the most preferable place on your property to have the birds at all. At least they're up high and out the way, right? Well, actually, wrong. Pigeons can just as much damage up there on the roof — if not more — than what they could have caused by being down at ground level, eating grass seeds or similar.

Having pigeons anywhere on your property is not a good problem to be faced with, with the birds linked to a string of diseases, some of which could actually prove fatal in rare cases. There are over sixty diseases linked to birds in general, and sparrows, starlings, geese and pigeons (all pest animals in a lot of places across the United States) have been shown to carry and transmit Cryptococcosis, Candidiasis, Histoplasmosis, Salmonellosis, St. Louis Encephalitis, and E.coli.

Not only are birds, like pigeons, responsible for the spread of those diseases (among others), they are also responsible for a number of bugs and parasites. There are over fifty of these reported to come hand-in-hand with pest bird populations, and close to 60%-70% of them can also affect humans and pets. Some of these bugs are quite common — mites, particular chicken mites; bed bugs, and yellow mealworms. The latter is one of the biggest parasitic-beetle problems currently faced by the USA. All of these bugs are also responsible for their own set of side-effects and associated medical afflictions.

So, now that you know why birds are so bad to have around, particularly in terms of feces, it's now time to go about the task of planning their removal. You have a number of options.

1 - Use a wildlife removal expert. This is someone that is fully-trained and experienced in handling wild animals. Some will deal with a larger number of animal species, while others will have specific specialties. You will want to ensure the wildlife professional you hire is specifically trained, permitted, and licensed to remove pest bird populations from your property. It will usually tell you on the professional or company website whether or not they deal with birds/pigeons.

2 - Remove the pigeon population yourself. This will usually take longer, and can even work out to be a lot more expensive in the long-term, particularly when efforts are not successful. Whether you choose to use repellents or deterrents for these birds (we don't recommend them), you MUST ensure the birds have no way of returning to the area. This is most easily done with spike strips, a cage created from wire and wood, or bird netting. The right material/approach will depend on the problem and space itself — each job will need to be dealt with on a specific and unique case-by-case basis.

The final part of the mission is to ensure that every shred of those pigeons has been eradicated entirely from your yard and property. This means cleaning up all of the feces that may have collected there and around the property, as well as replacing the bits that the pigeons might have damaged, and even repairing holes and other problems caused by them.