Pigeon & Bird Proofing

How do I know pigeons have moved in, not just passing through?

A pigeon on the ridge tiles is part of life in Manchester. The time to act is when the same birds start treating your home as theirs, and you’ll usually notice the mess first: droppings piling up in the same place every morning, on the balcony floor, a bedroom sill or the path under the gutter.

Other giveaways are twigs and feathers poking out from under the edge of your solar panels, scratching and cooing on the roof at first light, and a row of birds settling on the chimney stack or aerial every evening, which means they’re sleeping there. Blocked gutters, damp patches where rainwater has backed up, and tiny mites around a window frame or loft hatch after young birds leave a nest all point the same way.

Birds that drop in to feed drift off again. Birds that roost or nest on your house have picked it, and they’ll keep coming back until that spot is closed off.

Why are pigeons choosing my house or flat?

Town pigeons are descended from rock doves, which nest on cliff ledges, and a lot of Manchester housing does a convincing impression of a cliff. The Victorian terraces off Burton Road have chimney stacks, deep sills and bay roofs to perch on. Put solar panels on a 1930s semi in Burnage and the gap between panel and tiles becomes a dry, sheltered shelf that cats can’t reach.

Flats are just as attractive. At the 2021 Census, around 28% of Manchester households lived in purpose-built blocks of flats, and many more live in converted warehouses and mills in Castlefield and the Northern Quarter. A balcony offers shelter, a railing to sit on and, often, plant pots and the odd dropped crust.

Food is never far away. Takeaway leftovers, overflowing bins and people who feed birds on purpose keep a flock going all year, and pigeons can breed in any month, raising several broods of two, so a spot that suits one pair soon suits a few more.

That’s why removing birds without changing the building doesn’t last. When pigeons were shot at Manchester Victoria station in autumn 2025, the contractor’s own reports accepted that culling gave only short-term results, and Northern later stopped culling at its stations after a public backlash.

What happens when you call us?

We’ll ask where the birds are, how high up, whether you’ve seen eggs or chicks, and whether you own, rent or lease, because that can decide who has to agree before anything is fixed to the building.

Then we come and look. At each spot we work out whether pigeons are perching, sleeping or nesting, what any fixings would go into and how we’ll reach it safely. If your home is listed, fixings on the outside may need listed building consent, and we’ll flag that at the survey.

You’ll get a written plan with photos. On the day, we clear old nests and droppings first, then fit whatever suits each spot. Under solar panels, that’s a wire mesh skirt clipped to the panel frames around the edge of the array, with no drilling into the panels or roof. On a balcony, it’s fine netting on a tensioned wire frame, usually around 50 mm mesh for pigeons. Sills and ledges get low-profile spikes or post-and-wire, which stop birds landing without hurting them, and gaps into the loft or eaves are closed once we’re sure nothing is inside.

What does the law let you do about pigeons?

Feral pigeons are wild birds in law. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects them, their eggs and any nest being built or in use. Proofing is lawful, as long as no bird is hurt or trapped and no active nest is destroyed.

Natural England’s general licence GL41 allows limited action against feral pigeons, including removing nests and eggs, to protect public health or safety. Only the owner or occupier, or someone they authorise, can rely on it, and only for real problems such as a slip hazard or a risk of spreading disease. Natural England’s advice is to look at non-lethal options like proofing first, and the conditions can change when the licence is reissued each year. Mess on the car won’t meet that bar, so most homes should wait for a nest to empty, then close the spot off.

Gulls are a different matter. Herring gulls and lesser black-backed gulls aren’t covered by that general licence, so dealing with an active gull nest normally needs an individual licence from Natural England. Talk to us before anyone touches one.

Is pigeon proofing safe for children and pets?

Yes. Proofing is a physical barrier, with no poisons, baits or sprays, so once we’ve finished there’s nothing a toddler or a nosy spaniel can get into.

The mess is the part to be careful with. Dried droppings can carry organisms linked to illnesses such as psittacosis and cryptococcosis. The risk to a healthy family is low, but it rises when the dust is disturbed and breathed in, so we damp everything down, wear masks, bag the waste and disinfect the surface rather than dry-sweeping it into the air. We’ll ask you to keep children and pets indoors or well away while we’re clearing and working at height.

If you find a dead bird, don’t pick it up with bare hands.

How many visits will it take?

Usually two: one to survey and one to clear and fit. A single balcony or a simple set of panels is normally done in that fitting visit; bigger roofs, awkward access or heavy fouling can take longer. If a nest still has eggs or chicks in it, we do everything else and come back for that spot once it’s empty, usually a matter of weeks.

How do I stop pigeons coming back?

Proofing does most of the work, but remove the other reasons to visit too. Don’t feed pigeons, and swap open bird tables for caged feeders that let small birds in and keep pigeons out. Sweep up spilled seed, keep bin lids shut and don’t leave takeaway boxes on the balcony. Keep gutters clear, and tell us quickly if a net tears or a clip works loose.

On a row of terraces or semis, have a word with the neighbours. If next door’s panels aren’t proofed, the birds may just shuffle along the roof, and doing both houses together often works better. Food left out for pigeons draws rats too, so if you’re seeing both, our rat control page explains what to look for.

When does DIY stop being enough?

A strip of spikes on a ground-floor sill is a fair weekend job. Beyond that, things tend to go wrong. Gadgets stop working once the birds are used to them, and cheap netting sags; a slack net can trap a bird, which is cruel and could put you on the wrong side of the law. Anything above first-floor height means ladders and real risk, and nobody should be climbing about on solar panels.

Call in help if there’s a nest under the panels or in the loft, if droppings have built up over a doorway or balcony, or if your block has rules about the outside of the building. Don’t be tempted by anything sticky meant to catch birds: using bird-lime or a similar substance to take a wild bird is an offence under the 1981 Act. And if it’s scratching in the loft rather than cooing on the roof, it may be squirrels; our squirrel removal page covers that.

Is it my landlord’s job, or mine?

If you rent, section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 means landlords of most rented homes must keep the structure and exterior in repair, including the roof and gutters, so pigeons getting into the loft through a gap or nests blocking the gutters often point to the landlord. Pests can also be assessed under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 gives tenants a route to act if a home isn’t fit to live in. Who pays still depends on the tenancy and the cause, so report it in writing with photos.

If you own a leasehold flat, check your lease and talk to the managing agent before anything is fixed to a balcony or the outside of the block.

For small cafés, takeaways and corner shops, pigeons around the back door or bin store are a food hygiene issue, because the law expects food businesses to have adequate pest control. Keep the proofing record with your food safety paperwork, and see our commercial pest control page for regular checks.