• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Pidgeons

Share this page

catfood

catfood

Jedi Knight
Country flag
Offline
There is a possibility that my classic car collect my double soon to two which means my daily driver will be parked on my drive. Unfortunately my drive is in the shade of a large oak tree frequented by pidgeons. Anything parked there for more than a few hours gets covered in c**p. I can't remove or trim the tree, its on council land (I live next door to a park) and the council are only obliged to trim it if it is a danger to person or property.

So how do you discourage pidgeons - remember no guns in the UK! :nonono:

I've had a plastic owl suggested but apparently that only works for a few weeks until the pidgeons start treating it as a perch!

Suggestions please.
 
Congratulations on expanding your collection. But if the tree doesn't belong to you, and it's not on your property, then you'd better get a *big* cover for the car. Or park elsewhere.

The pigeons have considered that tree their own property for a lot longer than the council has!
 
Got you some stool pigeons eh? :jester:


Rubber snake, move him around daily.
 
The last time I did park my car there I got a disembodied pidgeon leg on the roof (as well as the usual c**p). The local sparrow hawk had made a meal of one of them. The pidgeons disappeared for a few days after that. Maybe I should take up falconry.
 
I have a two car garage. If I get my second oldie my daily driver will be parked there permanently (at least when I'm not at work). I could park it on the road but then the insurance goes up. Her indoors already parks on the other side of the drive but she can park far enough away from the tree for it not to be a problem.
 
I don't know there's much that can control the "rats with wings" Falconry seems like a really good idea. From this website you can shoot feral pigeons with an airgun in the UK https://www.airgunshooting.co.uk/expert-advice/airgun_law_in_the_uk_1_1111764 Airguns can be pretty powerful and accurate, although you'd have to put the time in for the eradication. Even if it wasn't successful, it would be pretty satisfying to dispatch a couple of the **** things that pooped on your car. I'd still check with your local authorities to make sure this was legal.
 
catfood said:
I have a two car garage. If I get my second oldie my daily driver will be parked there permanently (at least when I'm not at work). I could park it on the road but then the insurance goes up. Her indoors already parks on the other side of the drive but she can park far enough away from the tree for it not to be a problem.
Click to expand...

In that case, might want to consider renting another garage. Or building a canopy over the car park area.

You don't really have any long-term options if you *have* to park there; you don't own the tree or the land it's on. I'd concentrate on protecting the car; I think the rubber snake idea, sound devices, chemical or "pepper" sprays, or even shooting at them would get old pretty fast.
 
Another thought. In the U.S. it's generally the law that branches overhanging the property line from a tree rooted in a neighboring property may be trimmed by the owner of the property encumbered by the branches at the expense of the tree owner. Might be worth a brief chat with a solicitor to see if the law in the UK is similar. BTW, did you hear about the lady barrister who dropped her briefs and became a solitor? :jester:
 
catfood said:
Maybe some sort of up and over cover like these - https://www.canvasandnylon.co.uk/5507048 Front.pdf - is the way to go. I could probably fit one of these down the side of the garage so it wouldn't be in the way (and it would be out of sight).
Click to expand...

Steve,

Consider the source. I'm from Boston, the Cradle of Liberty and the Cradle of the Revolution. I have a legal education and am pretty well versed in prorperty rights both here and in the mother country. This should not be your problem. If the tree is not on your property, then its branches are encroaching on the your rights or the rights of the freeholder. I'm reasonably sure it's the problem of the tree owner to fix without expense to you. See a solicitor before spending your own funds to fix it.
 
Start leaving out food for a feral cat near the tree. Cat will eat the food and hopefully start stalking the pigeons.
 
Get a different car :grin:

 
Plastic drop-cloth that painters use. Home improvement centre. Cheap, renewable and recyclable.

...says th' guy who uses a blowgun to knock squirrels outta the branches over the driveway... :smirk:
 
I'd probably go with a "hoop house" (portable building). See below.

You could also try spraying various spices on the tree (they don't like sharp odors).
Or foil balloons (tethered to be near their roosting areas).
Or maybe one of those ultrasonic devices that bother pigeons (I'm not sure how well they work).

Also, I have to comment on your spelling of "Pidgeons".

America and Great Britain: Two countries separated by a common language. :highly_amused:



$(KGrHqF,!jEE+E8+wniqBQ!E5IvIIw~~60_12.JPG
 
One thing about those hoop houses (or those folding "garages") - How do you anchor them to prevent disaster when the gales blow strong?
 
Be careful putting plastic tarps over your car. On a real hot day the tarp can melt and stick to the paint. I saw it happen to someone else before.
 
Tarps - and if you even just slightly drag the tarp over the paint when putting it on or pulling it off, you'll get scratches.
 
Back
Top