When we attracted pigeons to our home, I figured an owl scarecrow and reflective bird scare discs might help. But did these deterrents solve our pigeon problem?
Trigger warning: mentions of bird p**p and animal cruelty.
Summary (TL;DR)
How our pigeon problem started
Once upon a time, my niece and son were small, and my mom was staying with us. Now mom wanted to have some type of morning activity to do with the little ones. Something for them to remember when they’re grown. Unfortunately, the activity she decided to do with them was “feed the birds” (mom’s from a different culture). And most of the birds in our environment are pigeons.
In the mornings, mom and the kids would wait for pigeons, and feed them stale bread. This was kind of nice and cute and all, except the pigeons thought this was an act of warm welcome to our home. And as it turned out, pigeons have a good memory.
So then the pigeons thought we were an AYCE bread place.
And they’re so attached to our house that they’ve gone from nesting somewhere around the front to thinking we’re offering all you can eat bread. But reality hit hard when they turned our house into a maternity ward.
Shortly after we had solar installed, one of the pigeons built a nest and laid eggs under the solar panels.
And usually, at around 5 AM or something like that, the noise from the nest served as an unwanted alarm clock of sorts. So that wasn’t great, especially on weekends, when we wanted to sleep in.
The thing was, this wasn’t the worst part of it. So what was?
Pigeon p**p littered our yard.
Lots of it.
It’s gone on for years
At some point, I began to imagine the lifespan of pigeons. I could’ve Googled this info, right? But no. I had to imagine that pigeons probably don’t live that long, as city birds, and pass after a year or so.
Then the next generation, once they’re young adults, look for a different place to hang out.
Because by that time, our place wouldn’t be the hip place to hang out anymore. Right?
Wrong.
Online, I asked neighbors how to get rid of pigeons
And I remember a pretty girl responding to my Nextdoor post. She recommended some type of thing that turned out to be “exploding targets.” Now I don’t know much about those. But reading the description had me concerned and asking questions.
Should anything be ‘exploding’ around my young son, who sometimes plays in the backyard?
Now let’s say I didn’t have a son. Should anything be exploding in my backyard?
Is ‘exploding’ something that I want to happen to living things?
What kind of life are we building?
“Should we even bother?”
Reaching a point of self-reflection, I had to ask myself this. Because what if the pigeons were just like us, struggling to make ends meet? It was hard not to feel sympathy for them. That was maybe the pregnancy hormones at work.
Either way, I didn’t want to harm pigeons, and I couldn’t deal with having exploded pigeons on my conscience.
A solution was necessary
I had a conversation with a rep from our solar company, and the rep told me that carbon monoxide from pigeon p**p (hazardous material) could be seeping into our home. Back then, I was a few months pregnant with baby number 2. So of course, it was hard not to freak out.
After thinking about it for a while, I figured we could try some humane options. Driving home late one night, I noticed 2 owl scarecrows on our neighbor’s roof. They looked like permanent installs, and I thought, “Well, those probably work.”
Desperation is the mother of…solutions
Googling options, in time I decided on an owl scarecrow and reflective bird scare discs. Quickly going over the reviews for them, I noticed that the products had 1 star ratings. A bit sketch, I thought.
But then again, my desperation level was through the roof. So I didn’t even really bother going through the reviews. And with the new baby on the way, I figured we had nothing to lose but a few bucks, if the owl scarecrow and reflective discs didn’t work.
The 16″ Dalen Great Horned Owl Scarecrow Garden Statue was the one that I decided to go with. It’s made of plastic, looks realistic-ish, and has some weight to it. So it’s not easily knocked over by the wind. On the product page, there was some sales pitch about how owls were the natural enemies of pigeons.
Create Your Own Urban Legend option
Another option I considered was this owl scarecrow with a 360° rotating head, glowing red eyes, and makes loud sounds. Basically the stuff of pigeon nightmares that would’ve made it official that we’re the haunted house in the neighborhood.
But I decided against this one, for other reasons:
- Those were more expensive.
- I didn’t want to do a real number on the pigeons, psychologically. My only wish was for them to find a different hangout spot.
- I didn’t want to birth some urban legend or conspiracy theory among pigeons. It’s one thing if the pigeons get scared by their natural enemies. And yet another to scare them with some zombie-like supernatural ‘owl man’ version of said enemy. Something that’s next level loud, with glowing red eyes and a spinning Exorcist head.
It wasn’t my intention to turn these pigeons’ lives into a horror movie.
How do reflective discs work?
You’re supposed to hook them onto something. So I hooked them onto the string lights around our canopy, where the pigeons p**p. Pretty unsightly, but I thought they would work best this way.
When the sun shines and the wind blows, tiny specks of light dance around our yard, reflecting onto our brick wall.
PROS / What I LIKE about the owl scarecrow and reflective discs
The reflective discs look a lot like the dangling earrings I used to wear to parties back in the day. Except these reflective discs are big, maybe around 10 inches long from end to end.
As for the owl scarecrow, it really reminds me of the EDC 2023 China owl. I mean, bro. They’re practically twins.
Pros-wise, that’s about it. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Back then, my only concern was getting enough water to drink.
CONS / What I DON’T LIKE about the owl scarecrow and reflective discs
So let’s start with the reflective discs. They needed assembly. I guess if my Dr. Browns Deluxe Sterilizer is like a butler that’s all like, “Your baby’s bottle, ma’am,” these discs were more like…
“Here’s your bird thing. Go make it yourself.”
These were the opposite of deluxe. On top of that, the maybe 2-person operation that created these discs didn’t provide any instructions or guides, no siree. In fact, some part of me had to wonder if they downright hated me for buying their product.
“Bird Blinder”
There are plenty of these holographic discs online. Some of them use the term “bird blinder” in the product listing. Obviously, that is an overpromise—not that I wanted that to happen, anyway. But the term is a bit misleading.
Dependent on light/sunlight and wind
What, then, happens when it’s overcast? Or when it’s nighttime? Truth be told, I’m not sure a lot of thought went into the creation of these discs.
I wonder if these reflective discs were used at hippie communes in the 70s. Where, at the end of the day, it didn’t matter that the reflective discs didn’t work. Everything was fine and floaty and groovy.
Moreover… I feel like the part of me that decided to get these bird scare discs is the part that’s prone to magical thinking. The part that still believes that Santa and the tooth fairy actually exist.
Our regulars still come to our AYCE place
I have seen the same pigeons completely ignore these holographic bird scare discs.
The discs swivel, flash, dazzle…? 💃🏻
Another claim on the product page for the hanging discs is that the discs swivel and flash and dazzle to keep the birds away. Idk. The discs don’t swivel.
But did they dazzle?
Yeah, but not in the way that we needed them to. Maybe that’s why our pigeons were so enchanted by them. Not repelled. Note that I said ‘our pigeons’ there. At this point, we were this close 🤏 to making them our pets and giving them names and scheduling a vet appointment.
These discs…make me feel like this lady that I once saw on TV. Who plugged a big hole in her house with a rolled sock—to stop a big rat from going through the hole. Idk. These discs are like a “That should work. I mean, I hope so…” type of solution.
They did work somewhat, but only at first
Initially, the pigeons may have been a little bit scared of the discs. But these are not even the pinwheel types, which I’m thinking the pigeons maybe see as windmills that could hurt them.
I guess let’s put ourselves in the pigeons’ shoes. After getting scared of these ‘a little bit’ for a week or so, they’re like, “Know what? NO. Imma conquer my fear and show you.”
Think about it. It gets really hot in Las Vegas in the summertime. And our canopy is so readily right there. And the pigeons could really use the shade that our canopy offers. So it seems they take this leap of faith, and then realize there was never anything to be afraid of, after all. No boogeyman. It was all their imagination.
The reflective discs didn’t repel pigeons.
Or stop them from coming and p**ping in our yard.
So we waited for a bit to see if these shiny discs worked. But by the time that we realized that they didn’t work, the return window had closed.
What about the owl scarecrow? Did it work?
Short answer: no.
Falls short of reality
While the owl statue looks very realistic and may also remind you of your party days, its size falls short of being realistic. By that, I mean literally a few inches short.
Wiki says that adult Great horned owls are at least 17″ long.
This Dalen owl scarecrow is only 16″, including the fake stump it rests on.
Which begs the question: do pigeons get scared of smaller owls? Imagine a tinier version of your worst nightmare.
‘Scared’ the pigeons for about a week or so
At some point, we tried to outsmart the pigeons, but it seems the pigeons were smarter and more desperate. We tried moving the owl around, to ‘trick’ the pigeons into thinking it was a living thing.
This turned out to be a time-consuming process that fooled no one but us.
I then started to wonder if pigeons could smell that the owl was not alive, and made of plastic. Idk.
After that, the pigeons seemed to realize that their “boogeyman” owl doesn’t ever leave the stump it’s stuck to. Also, the owl doesn’t ever move.
I underestimated the pigeons. I honestly thought the expression “bird brain” was accurate. And meant that we humans are smarter than them. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Whether they could or not, a little while later, the pigeons were p**ping in the corner where this owl scarecrow sat. As if to taunt us and ask,
“What are you gonna do about it?”
It’s as if the pigeons were telling the owl that they know the owl’s full of it. Within days, this owl scarecrow went from scarecrow to very useless scarecrow to decorative thing. Though idk if I can really say “decorative.” The owl looks kind of scary, and never in a million years would I ever have bought it as decoration.
Similar bird repellents
4″ Wide Bird Spikes
$99.95 at Walmart.com
Bird Repellent Spray
$20.99 at Walmart.com
Bird-X BirdXPeller® Pro Electronic Bird Repeller (uses sounds from natural predators)
$135.79 on Amazon
JL JIA LE Ultrasonic Animal Repeller (Solar Powered)
$28.99 on Amazon
Conclusion
I don’t recommend the owl scarecrow or reflective bird scare discs.
⭐ (1 / 5 for both)
The owl scarecrow and reflective discs did not work for us. But for some perspective, it is good to consider what others have to say.
Thinking about these other reviews, I wonder if others just had a different experience. A lot of people gave these “deterrents” 4 or 5 stars, mostly positive ratings. But if I were to go by just my own experience, I have to assume that not everything marketed to us, or is rated highly, is “as advertised.”
We thought this alternative solution worked for us
In the end, we had guards installed around our solar panels, which cost us a few hundred bucks. Then guess what happened?
The pigeons started taking shade under our canopy. And they p**p all over the backyard. They still p**p there.
So if you’re considering buying these two bird deterrents, you may want to consider other options.
Do you use an effective pigeon 🐦⬛ deterrent? What has worked for you? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments.
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