When we think of pigeons, we may picture a flock of pigeons hungrily pecking at breadcrumbs that someone sitting on a park bench is throwing out to them. We see the scene played out in popular movies or we may live in a city where we see it regularly. Their iridescent feathers light up in the sunlight, making us think they are just another pretty bird.

However, an overabundance of pigeons can become a nuisance and cause problems. Pigeon droppings can ruin an automobile's paint or deface a building, monument, or statue. They carry bacteria and fungi that cause several diseases. Pigeon droppings are messy to step on and they stink. A park bench or picnic table is rendered uninviting when there are pigeon droppings on it.

When pigeons take up residence in your attic, you know it's time to do something about them. But what? Sure, if you had known, you could have covered over the attic vent cover with netting or wire mesh that would have kept the pigeons out in the first place. Or you could have removed the bird feeder until the pigeons got hungry and moved on. But you didn't know what a nuisance they would become, so now you're stuck with a family of them—or more— in your attic, and you're desperate to get them out of there. What can you possibly do, short of putting a couple of hungry cats in the attic with them?

Catch And Release
One of the first things you will probably need to do is to catch the pigeons and relocate them. Supposedly, they aren't too difficult to catch after dark. But you can also purchase a bird trap that they will enter when it's baited with corn. Or you can call a professional wildlife removal company to come and catch them for you.

Seal The Entrance
The next step would be to seal up all the entrances to your attic. This will likely involve covering the attic vents with netting or wire mesh screen so the birds can't gain entrance again.

Clean The Attic
Birds can be very messy creatures. Anyone who has had a parakeet in a cage knows how they can scatter their birdseed, spill their drinking water, and leave droppings all over the roosts and cage floor. Wild birds aren't much different. Pigeons will leave a big mess in your attic. They will spread their nesting materials, their feathers, parasites, and worst of all, their droppings all over your attic. It will be a huge job to get all that mess cleaned out of there, but it is necessary to the health of your household and your home itself.

Hopefully, you have a trap door in your house that leads into the attic. That will make thing easier. You'll need a shovel, trash bags, rubber gloves, a face mask if you wish, broom and dustpan, and later on, disinfectant. If you so choose, you may open up one end of the attic and just shovel the bulk of the mess out the opening into a receptacle below. A small open utility trailer, a wheelbarrow, or a large trash can (if your aim is good) will suffice to catch the debris in as you shovel it out. Otherwise, you'll need to just shovel the stuff directly into a trash bag that you brought into the attic with you. If you're lucky, your attic ceiling is high enough so that you can stand up to do the majority of cleanup. Otherwise, it's going to be a hard, uncomfortable job.

After shoveling up the bulk of the debris, sweep the floor to get the finer particles picked up. If you have a really good vacuum cleaner that you can get into the attic, it's a good idea to vacuum, too. The vacuum will suck up dust and small particles that a broom can leave behind. Then you should use some type of strong disinfectant in a spray bottle and spray the entire attic—floor, walls, and ceiling—to rid it of all the parasites, bacteria, fungi, and other creepy-crawlies that the pigeons so generously left behind. And don't forget to close up the attic vent hole if you had it open to shovel out the debris! Otherwise, Mr. and Mrs. Pigeon will move back in before you know it.

You can also obtain an enzyme-based decontaminating fogger that you can set off in the attic that will destroy any remaining organic or biohazardous waste by breaking it down and digesting it. This fogger will kill any parasites or pathogens that may be left, but it won't hurt any people, pets, or structure.

If all of this sounds like way too much work for you, you can always call a professional bird control company to come out and do it for you.

Read the How to get rid of birds page for helpful information and to learn more about How To Get Pigeons Out Of Your Attic