Facts
| Trapping Tips
Back to Birds
Facts
Feral pigeons are descendants of the rock dove of Europe, Asia and Africa. The pigeon was first brought to this country as a domestic bird in 1606 and is now found in the wild state in virtually every city.
Pigeons take on the status as a pest when they conflict with human activites or present health problems.
Pigeon droppings deface and accelerate deterioration of statues, buildings and equipment and foul areas where people may walk or work.
Pigeon droppings and nests clog drain pipes and air intakes, mar window sills and make fire escapes dangerous. The droppings and feathers can contaminate large quanities of livestock feed and food destined for human consumption.
Pigeons are known to carry or transmit pigeon ornithosis, encephalitis, Newcastle disease, histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, toxoplasmosis, pseudo-tuberculosis, pigeon coccidiosis and salmonella food poisoning. Pigeon parasites include a number of bugs, fleas, ticks and mites, many of which bite people.
Pigeons are monogamous, mating for life. Wild pigeons can live for 15 years or longer, while pigeons in an urban environment seldom live more than three to four years.
The pigeon diet consists of seeds, grains, some fruit, and green feed. They also feed on garbage, livestock manure, insects and a wide range of other foods.
Trapping Tips
Feral pigeons are not protected by federal laws, but state and local laws should be checked before reductional control is attempted.
Live-trapping of pigeons can be a very effective method of control. A variety of traps have been used, including loft traps, funnel traps, and bob-type traps. The bob-type trap is the most effective.
Bob-type traps all work on the same principle: the door through which the pigeons are lured is the key feature of the trap and consists of a row of evenly spaced individual, one-way, free-swinging bobs. These bobs permit the pigeons to push them upward and onward to enter the trap but prevent their exit. Grain is scattered at the entrance to entice the birds into the trap. One to three decoy pigeons in the trap improve the trap's efficiency. Live-catch traps should be checked frequently to remove the captured birds.
Various methods are used to dispose of the trapped pigeons,
but under no circumstances should they be taken away and released
since the pigeon's homing ability will defeat any trapping and
release program.