Need help with pigeons!

[MrGuy]

I moved into my apartment last October, I'm not a big fan of apartments but it was the first time in 6 years I didn't have to shovel snow. Spring finally showed up and I kind of miss yard work. My old house had an 19 thousand square foot yard, so there was a lot to miss. Now I have a bigger problem... I can't keep these pigeons from trying to take over every last piece of my little 10x7 balcony! They try to build nests in the corners, under the shelves of my grill, in the storage area under the grill. One night I stepped out to a whirl of feathers and they had attempted to build a nest right smack in the middle of the balcony!
Has any one ever had any success in keeping pigeons at bay? I saw a couple of sites suggest hanging things that move in the breeze to scare them off, but due to lease agreements I can't do that. There are a couple of products that supposedly the birds don't like the scent of, but I don't want to drop money on something that won't work. Help, I feel like Dick Dastardly here!

 

[RichGem]

Have you tried a stuffed (for garden use, not a toy) owl?

 

[gollum83]

See if you can't get them to nest in the grill. Nothing better than barbecued pigeon.

 

[MrGuy]

I haven't tried owls, but I've seen them on shops downtown... more often than not with pigeons perching on top of them

 

[MrGuy]

See if you can't get them to nest in the grill. Nothing better than barbecued pigeon.

Maybe I'll wait until they lay eggs to turn on the heat, have a little omlet on the side

 

[SavantStrike]

See if you can't get them to nest in the grill. Nothing better than barbecued pigeon.

Sadly I hear it is often illegal to kill pigeons. Plus who would really want to eat a rat with wings on it?

 

[Leche]

Air rifle/pistol. Leave a message!

 

[MrGuy]

Pigeons fall under varmint animals here, so I could shoot them if I chose to. I don't know how tasty they are. I live next to a lake with about 10 thousand ducks, so I guess I could accidentally miss a pigeon and have a duck dinner.

 

[gollum83]

Sadly I hear it is often illegal to kill pigeons. Plus who would really want to eat a rat with wings on it?

What do you think squab is exactly? Pigeons are actually quite tasty.

 

[RichGem]

What do you think squab is exactly? Pigeons are actually quite tasty.

Thems is fancy pigeons; not the cheap street kind.

 

[MrGuy]

What do you think squab is exactly? Pigeons are actually quite tasty.

Ya right. Next you're going to tell me that calamari is squid...

 

[gollum83]

Pigeons fall under varmint animals here, so I could shoot them if I chose to. I don't know how tasty they are. I live next to a lake with about 10 thousand ducks, so I guess I could accidentally miss a pigeon and have a duck dinner.

We had a Chinese restaurant around my next of the woods that used to get rave reviews about their duck. Real fresh is what a lot of people said. And it was too! They got caught 'stealing' ducks from a lake not too far from the back door after about a year of doing this. Got some of the townsfolk in a bit of an uproar, and the health inspectors even more so!

 

[Thebigspendur]

We had a Chinese restaurant around my next of the woods that used to get rave reviews about their duck. Real fresh is what a lot of people said. And it was too! They got caught 'stealing' ducks from a lake not too far from the back door after about a year of doing this. Got some of the townsfolk in a bit of an uproar, and the health inspectors even more so!

I guess they ran out of stray cats eh?

 

[RichGem]

I guess they ran out of stray cats eh?

 

[gollum83]

I guess they ran out of stray cats eh?

Well it was in a town by the name of Lake Orion, plenty of ducks with all the lakes in the areas. Cats not so much. So I doubt cats were ever on the menu.

 

[MrGuy]

One of the local Chinese places here closed down several years ago due to rumors of stray cats being served. I don't know if it was ever proven to be true, but there is still a large stray cat population in that area
If it's true that the did serve cat all I can say is, cats taste good with orange sauce

 

[TorzJohnson]

Sadly I hear it is often illegal to kill pigeons. Plus who would really want to eat a rat with wings on it?

They're related to doves. Once when I was a kid my dad only got 4 doves and we had 5 people to feed for dinner. We kept pigeons and there was one that was a bully, so my mom wrung his neck and cooked him up. He tasted just as good as any dove I ever ate.

 

[gollum83]

One of the local Chinese places here closed down several years ago due to rumors of stray cats being served. I don't know if it was ever proven to be true, but there is still a large stray cat population in that area
If it's true that they did serve cat all I can say is, cats taste good with orange sauce

Well if it means anything back when I was in high school our cat went missing for a few days. That in itself wasn't unusual as she was and still is a very much a part time barn cat and would sometimes disappear for a day or two hunting, but you would usually see her around. Anyway, three days passed with no sign of her. So my mother and I went door to door up and down the road. Turns out that a house a little ways down the road was just sold to a young Chinese couple. We inquired about our cat. They claimed they didn't see her, but they were acting a bit odd. Anyway, about an hour later the cat shows up at the house, all hungry and skinny.

 

[Kratos]

Well it was in a town by the name of Lake Orion, plenty of ducks with all the lakes in the areas. Cats not so much. So I doubt cats were ever on the menu.

Oh, they're never "on the menu." They may make an appearance in other places, like the buffet line, or the Mu-Gu Gai Pan.

 

[SavantStrike]

Thems is fancy pigeons; not the cheap street kind.

They're related to doves. Once when I was a kid my dad only got 4 doves and we had 5 people to feed for dinner. We kept pigeons and there was one that was a bully, so my mom wrung his neck and cooked him up. He tasted just as good as any dove I ever ate.

See above. It's completely different to eat a captive pigeon. I like the story about your mom killing the mean one though .