Advice
RHS Help & Advice
Pigeons (Columba palumbus)
Wood pigeons can be a serious problem in gardens and on allotments.
Hosts
Many plants, especially brassicas and peas; also sometimes cherry and lilac.
Symptoms
The foliage of peas, cabbages and other brassicas,
cherry and lilac is eaten by pigeons pecking the leaves and ripping off portions. In severe attacks most of the foliage is lost, leaving only the leaf stalks. Heavy pigeon grazing prevents brassicas and peas from growing and so no crop is produced. Pigeons also eat the fruit of cherries and currants.
Biology
Pigeons are present throughout the year but are particularly damaging during early summer when peas and brassica crops are developing. Pigeons are also a problem on winter brassicas, especially when snow or frost makes other vegetation unavailable. In winter, flocks of up to 50 birds can descend on allotments but at other times they are seen in smaller numbers.
Control
Shooting can be effective but is often not a safe option in gardens or allotments. Scaring devices or repellent substances are likely to give, at best, only temporary protection. The only certain way of protecting vulnerable plants from pigeons is to grow them under netting.