Pigeon Poison
Peter M; Arlington, VA asks: What poison best works for killing pigeons? Someone told me that gopher poison works well.
Dear Peter: Yikes! Gopher poison? You don't have gophers on your roof. You have birds. The product used must be labeled for the target pest. Imagine if you were to use gopher poison and it did, in fact, kill the pigeons. The birds fall from the sky on streets and the backyards of your neighbors. A pet finds the dead bird and is poisoned by eating the dead pigeon. Somehow, the authorities track the dead bird back to you and you are sued for a million dollars. Get the picture? Don't do it!
Okay! That said, there is a strychnine-based pigeon poison sold as Avitrol, but you need to be a licensed pest control operator or bird control professional to purchase this restricted product and
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you can't use it in California. Avitrol is not listed as a pigeon poison, but rather as a pigeon dispersal product. It is used to disperse large flocks of pigeons, not one or two. It requires three weeks of distributing non-poisoned corn to attract the pigeons to feed on the poisoned bait corn. Depending upon how the product is mixed, you usually kill about ten percent of the flock and the rest of the flock flees, not to return. Avitrol is seldom used to treat birds in residential areas.
If you are only trying to get rid of a few pigeons you may want to consider excluding them using netting to close off the area where they are roosting and/or nesting. That's a whole other email.
Comments
25 May 2009, 17:30
I have the bird ladies next door they put out a ton of bird food,now we have nasty pigeons there daily feeding! they refuse to stop feeding them! what can I do there is pigeon poop everywhere!
25 May 2009, 18:11
26 May 2009, 06:39
08 Jun 2009, 12:35
09 Jun 2009, 09:52
Once pigeons have chosen a nesting spot, no product other than netting will succeed in excluding them. Hot Foot and electric shock devices only work on loafing birds, not birds that have built nests.
09 Jun 2009, 23:46
There are other businesses in the area including a convenience store where they roost when they're not roosting at the drive-in. This is at a high traffic intersection in a city; lots of cars/trucks all day. A couple of apartment complexes nearby, but no pets running around and no other animals, wild or domesticated.
I will send this webpage link to the manager. I'm sure netting is out of the question from the main office because it wouldn't look attractive. Any suggestions??
10 Jun 2009, 09:07
A pest control company with netting experience can erect a net that is nearly invisible. Many national monuments, including the Capitol building in Washington DC, have netting.
15 Jun 2009, 17:18
16 Jun 2009, 22:44
17 Jun 2009, 14:11
17 Jun 2009, 22:52
20 Jun 2009, 20:15
Many thanks.
01 Jul 2009, 12:32
03 Sep 2009, 09:28
30 Oct 2009, 16:40
07 Nov 2009, 01:01
For a few months I could not identify the non-visible thing that was biting and stinging me, mostly in one spot in my apartment. They also get into my clothes. They've now infested the person who was helping me at home, and I can't let him come here anymore.
I finally figured out that they are caused by this: a crazy-seeming and hostile woman feeds pigeons near my building. They hang around outside one of my windows, and it's the window in the part of the apt where I am bitten. I assume the mites come with the birds, on their bodies or in their excrement.
Apparently people have been trying to control her for years with no success -- Google "crazy pigeon lady New York."
My question: can I get hold of something that is like an IGR, but for pigeons, and put it where she dumps her hundreds of pounds of birdseed?
Would it work - stop them reproducing - and is it illegal? If nobody's arresting her for destroying our peace of mind, health, and property values, are they going to bother me for co-feeding them?

