How to Stop Pigeons Sitting on My Fence and Yard

If you see pigeons sitting on your fence frequently, chances are there’ll be plenty of pigeon poop around your yard just as frequently.

With pigeons literally colonizing every brick, every lamppost, and every fence or wall in your backyard, there are some things you need to know.

One of these things is how to keep them away and stop pigeons from sitting on your fence. Especially without having to physically shoo them away every five minutes!

Read on to find out how exactly to solve this annoying problem.

What is the risk of having pigeons in the backyard

Pigeons sitting on fences and pooping all the time
Source: Frédéric BISSON (Flickr)

1. Pigeons can make a lot of noise which is annoying for people living in your house.

2. Pigeons poop on your plants and flowers, making them ugly and smelly.

3. If pigeons fly away, their feathers might fall on your plants, which makes them hard to clean up.

4. Your backyard might become their next place to sleep, so there will be a lot of pigeons who are living in your backyard.

This is called pigeon breeding. They will increase the population of pigeons if you don’t stop it.

5. They can carry some diseases like:

  • Psittacosis, also known as parrot disease, is a lung infection caused by a bacterium that can be transmitted to humans from birds.
  • Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome is a rare but sometimes fatal lung disease caused by hantaviruses.

Pigeons like to sit in high places that people cannot reach, like roofs and fences.

You can’t scare them away because their natural habitat is in high places.

How to stop them from sitting on my yard fence

It’s a known fact that pigeons have a habit of coming back to the same place where they have enjoyed before.

Since they’re a creature of habit, all you need to do is to disturb their routine. Make it uncomfortable for them to come back to the same spot or area.

Source: Quinn Dombrowski (Flickr)

Here are some simple ways to solve the problem of pigeons sitting on your fence or yard:

1. Cover all the garbage properly

Cover the garbage bins to prevent these pests from being attracted by any foul smell from these places.

Remember that food or any source of attraction must be away completely; otherwise, you’ll keep attracting them over and over again even after eradicating them totally.

2. Make your fence more unattractive for pigeons

You can make your backyard fence unattractive for pigeons by adding some spikes on the top of the fence.

These spikes make it impossible for them to sit on such fences.

You can also add a wire mesh at the bottom of your fence and space out the vertical bars widely, about an inch apart from each other, and then coat this with oil paint in order to stop them from perching on this place.

3. Use bird repellent

You can use chili pepper or any chemical that will repel these birds away from your backyard.

It’s best to use such bird repellents powder because they are safe for children and pets.

4. Use a bird sound recorder

If you don’t want to get involved with such messy stuff, purchase some bird sound recordings that come with some flashing lights, which will scare them away after some time.

5. Keep your backyard clean

Remove all the water sources like pools or fountains, also get rid of any plant that might attract them, and make your yard look unattractive to these birds.

6. Cover your entire yard with nettings

You can also try some nettings to cover your entire yard and stop them from landing in any place.

For larger buildings, it’s best to discourage pigeons from sitting on roofs by hanging up some wires at least 6 inches apart vertically.

They work best when connected to some battery-operated blinking light placed about 18 inches apart horizontally.

Also, place any switch in an open area where these birds can see it clearly. Remember that you must not cover up this wiring because pigeons always land in high places where they cannot be easily spotted.

Tips on stopping pigeons sitting on your fence

Why there are always too many pigeons

One can say without a doubt that feeding them is one of the primary reasons why their population has increased so much in such a short time, especially when there is no natural source of food around for them.

One may wonder how pigeons get into these situations where, even though there’s nothing available for them in nature, and their numbers swell with each passing day.

This is because of the fact that they breed much faster than other birds, and their growth is also very fast.

There are many types of pigeons in the world, but the feral pigeon is considered to be one of the smartest among them. These birds usually feed on seeds, plant matter, and small invertebrates like worms and larvae.

They usually travel in flocks due to the fact that they mate for life; therefore, these birds nest together.

Both parents feed the young ones until they can fly enough distance to reach their own nests, which are usually built on the roofs of high-rise buildings where people cannot climb easily.

Warning: Most feral pigeons carry diseases that might infect human beings who directly contact these pests.


So now you know all the possible reasons why pigeons prefer landing in your home and how to make them go away.

If you wish to attract wildlife such as birds, butterflies, or bees into your backyard, don’t take too much care of your yard because that’s exactly what they want.

I hope this article was helpful. Stay updated with us on all your backyard problems.