[RichardA]

Is there really no way to get rid of these pests. By the time I had removed nets to weed amongst my brassicas and put it back and then re-covered various beds of strawberries and gooseberries after the family had been fruit picking I realised I had spent more time on the wild pigeons than on my own ducks and all for no eggs in return. I am a live and let live sort of guy but I am getting very fed up with it all now ..............................
R

[Swing Swang]

They seem particularly bad this year - seriously thinking about eating them for dinner rather than letting them continue to eat my dinner.

[allot2learn]

Our resident fox seems to be having a lot of ours for his dinner. I usually find a couple of sets of feathers most mornings but no carcase.

[Kirpi]

Surely they don't come down and eat your greens while you are there? They are some hard pijjins!

[Judd]

Buy a good air rifle 

[LeeR]

I found one caught up in my netting this evening.  blooming thing has destroyed half my mange tout plants.      I was so tempted to take it for the pot, but it managed to escape in the panic when he saw me coming for him 

[Plot74]

They do make a tasty meal but you need more than one.
All allotments should have a peregrine , that will keep them at bay.
John

[Swing Swang]

Buy a good air rifle 

Actually I'm going to - as putting both pigeon and greens on the table is a tasty option! - a
Any views on this I want maximum bangs for my bucks so as to speak. Range within 10m -12m - would you go for optics or stick to iron sights? Presumably .22. I'd be firing against a soft earth sloping backdrop on my own property from an elevated position so no probs with safety. Also not overlooked, but very close to an area where I could be overheard by the public so I don't want to be making a classic air rifle 'ping'. Do you have views on the type of airweapon and/or use of a moderator?

SS

[stooby doo]

I have the use of a Weihrauch HW97K with a Simmons scope which belongs to a friend of mine.  It is a very good rifle. 

I would definately recommend a .22 and a scope is a necessity.
I know pigeons are a pain in the backside but you need to make sure it is dispatched instantly.

I wouldn't bother with a moderator.

[Salmo]

If you want to be quiet get a compressed air or CO2 gun rather than one with a spring. You just get a FFFFFizz followed by a plop as lead enters flesh instead of the characteristic clank of an airgun spring.

Some of them on my plot just walk away when you approach. Too fat to fly?

[potatogrower]

pigeons in my garden are well fed and i think they're obese. they literally limp each side as they walk.

[angelavdavis]

They are a menace at our plot too.  If you visit early morning or late evening, the whole site is covering in the blighters!  You can barely see the paths for them.  I counted 32 on my plot alone while sitting in my car the other night.  Everything has to be covered - they will have the lot otherwise.

[DoubleDigger]

I have to contend with Pigeons, Jackdaws, French Red Legged Partridge, Pheasants & Rabbits.  I have 1/2" wire buried all around the perimeter to 4' tall, & 32mm Poly pipe hoops to 4'6 tall, spread to about 8' across the beds, covered with Debris net, which is tall enough to work under 'at a stoop' for most of the vulnerable stuff.

For the cost of a decent gun - if you go PCP, by the time you have bought the gun & 'air' kit, you could have covered/protected a serious amount of your ground & have a better all round growing environment which eliminates 99% of nasties rather than just the 'big' feathered ones.

[potatogrower]

where's are the foxes when you need them the most    there's a clearance offer on the pigeons for them 

[fatbelly]

This is the 1st year I have gotten my Peas to a decent size, but as soon as they were up I took the netting off because I needed it for the Brassica's. Unfortunately the Pigeons came along & have decimated my crop . They have taken nearly every plant to stubble, so next year its netting for the whole season.

Another plotter has erected a 10 ft high wooden frame to cover his plot and has now netted the whole of his plot. It took him the whole winter but he is now feeling the benefit because nothing can get at any of his plants.