How To Scare Pigeons With Sound? – 4 Effective Ways
Pigeons can be a nuisance when they flock to and perch on roofs, balconies, patios, and even farms. Their droppings can make homes ugly and spread disease, while they can also destroy crops like millet and sorghum on farms. However, you can get rid of pigeons by scaring them with sounds.
But how to scare pigeons with sound? You can use raptor sounds and distress calls to scare them by insinuating the presence of predators. Since pigeons are scared of cats and dogs, you can use barking and growling sounds, too. Loud sounds like fireworks and gunshots also scare pigeons.
Read on to learn how to use sounds to scare pigeons and how to choose the most effective sounds according to your situation.
How To Scare Pigeons With Sound? – Effective Ways Discussed
It’s no secret that some sounds scare pigeons while others don’t. So, if you’re trying to scare these birds away from your property, here are a few sounds you can use.
1. Pigeon Distress Calls
Distress calls inform pigeons about the presence of a predator in an area. Since they are relatively smart birds, they avoid areas known to have predators. Hence, using a device that emits pigeon distress calls will scare them away.
When using distress calls, use the following tips for the best results.
- Play the distress calls at a natural pitch. If the volume is too high or too low, the birds may catch on and not be scared
- Change the sounds from time to time. If you use one sound for too long, the pigeons will become accustomed to it and begin to ignore it
2. Sounds of Raptors
You can use a device that broadcasts predator sounds to scare pigeons away, like hawks, owls, eagles, crows, etc. Whenever these birds hear these sounds, their instinct is to fly out and avoid the vicinity of predators.
However, you should avoid playing these sounds continuously since pigeons can get used to them.
3. Loud Noises
Sudden loud noises are also scary to pigeons. For instance, a loud car alarm that turns on suddenly can send pigeons scattering away at a moment’s notice.
These sounds are very effective against pigeons in the countryside. However, they can fail to scare city pigeons since they are accustomed to them.
Some sources of loud noises you can use include-
Propane Cannons
A propane cannon detonates pressurized propane gas to produce a loud banging noise. This loud bang scares pigeons, making them fly away from your area. These cannons are used in large farms where they won’t disturb residential areas.
Firearms
Gunshots are loud, so they can also scare pigeons. However, since you don’t want to harm the birds, you shouldn’t shoot live bullets. Instead, you should fire blanks.
Fireworks
Fireworks are just as loud as gunshots. So you can use them to scare away pigeons. They are better than gunshots since you can rig several fireworks to explode successively and last longer than gunshot sounds.
4. Dog and Cat Sounds
Cats are bird predators, and pigeons are no exception. According to Science News, cats kill more than a billion birds yearly. Hence, pigeons have an instinctive fear of cats. They are also afraid of dogs and other large four-legged animals.
Playing loud sounds of cats growling and dogs barking will scare pigeons away. Sounds of dogs barking are easier to use since cat growls are typically low-pitched and must be played at a higher volume.
How Do You Decide What Sounds To Use For Scaring Pigeons?
The sounds you choose to scare away pigeons depend on a few factors, including-
Area of the space
The size of the area you want to scare pigeons away from is important since it directly determines what sounds you choose. Firing blanks would be too noisy if you want to keep pigeons away from a small area like your balcony. Instead, you can use cat sounds or pigeon distress calls.
On the other hand, scaring pigeons from your farm using cat growls is impractical since you will use many speakers or a few powerful ones. Instead, you should fire blanks and detonate propane cannons because they’re very loud.
Location
It is important to consider where you live before deciding on what sounds you’ll use to scare pigeons. If you live in a city, you can’t use propane cannon sounds because that would be too much noise in a residential area. In cities, you’re better off using quieter sounds, like predator sounds and cat growls.
If you’re scaring pigeons from your farm in the countryside, you can use loud noises without worrying about bothering neighbors.
Automation
Pigeons are active during the day, so they mostly come to your place when you’re probably at work. Hence, having an automated way to scare them is convenient and useful.
An example of an automated system is a sonic device that emits recorded distress calls, predator noises, or even dog barks. Even propane cannons can be rigged to detonate periodically.
On the other hand, firing blanks with your firearm is a manual process that requires your presence.
Can You Scare Pigeons With Ultrasonic Sounds?
Ultrasonic sounds have frequencies that are higher than 20kHz. Humans have difficulty detecting sound frequencies above 20kHz, called ultrasonic sounds.
Some pigeon deterrents are advertised as ultrasonic devices that irritate the birds without affecting humans. However, although pigeons have sharp hearing, there is little evidence to indicate that they can hear ultrasonic frequencies.
Since it is not well established whether pigeons can hear ultrasonic sounds, the effectiveness of this method of scaring them is debatable. Hence, the use of ultrasonic sounds may or may not scare pigeons.
Are Sounds A Long-Term Solution?
Since pigeons are adaptable, they get used to different environmental situations quickly. For example, although most pigeons would be scared by cars honking and alarms going off, town pigeons don’t care about those sounds.
When using sound to scare away pigeons, you must consider the possibility that they will get used to the sounds. That is why it is important to vary the sounds from time to time or even change the type of sound scares used. Better still, use scary sounds together with deterrents like decoys and repellants.
If you’re interested in learning more about pigeon behavior and communication, you might find our articles on can pigeons talk and mimic human voices and can pigeons poop while flying helpful. Our article on can pigeons talk and mimic human voices explores the unique vocalizations and mimicry abilities of pigeons, while our article on can pigeons poop while flying sheds light on the physiological mechanisms that enable pigeons to defecate in flight. Check them out to deepen your understanding of pigeon behavior and communication.FAQs
Here are some answers to questions about scaring pigeons with sound.
The sounds made by wind chimes can scare pigeons away from your patio or balcony. Besides the noises wind chimes make, they also often have reflective surfaces which scare pigeons.
Yes, a bursting balloon makes a loud bang sound that will startle and scare pigeons, making them fly away. Balloons also have a similar effect as scarecrows, which means they can also scare away birds before they burst.
Yes, loud sounds can lead to bird deaths. If a firework hits a bird, it can burn off its feathers and even kill it. In some cases, loud sounds cause birds to panic and bump into houses and tree trunks when trying to escape, killing them.
Conclusion
Scaring pigeons using sound exploits their fears or things that make them uncomfortable. Playing the sounds of raptors, cats, dogs, or distress calls scares pigeons because their survival instinct kicks in. On the other hand, loud noises like fireworks startle the birds, forcing them to flee.
The type of sounds you use to scare pigeons depends on where you live and whether you want an automated system. You should be careful when using propane cannons, fireworks, and firearms to prevent injury to yourself or the pigeons.
