Is Poisoning a Pigeon a Good Idea?

Pests are annoying, and I get it. And sometimes, like in the case of mice and rats, poison is both an effective and inexpensive option. But resorting to poison every single living being that finds its way inside your home is not the way to resolve all your pest problems, and it's certainly not the best way to get rid of pigeons in your attic. Why is it a bad idea?

It's inhumane

Killing a living thing is a savage act, no matter how you do it. But when it comes to the most painful deaths an animal can experience at the hands of man; poisoning takes the cake. Contrary to popular belief, poisons DO NOT kill animals instantly, meaning the pigeon that eats the poison bait you left for it will probably spend the last few hours of its life in unimaginable agony. And the pain felt by the poor animals is nothing to joke about.

Of course, if you're considering poison in the first place, it's unlikely calling it humane will sway you. But you should also consider this: using poison is far from practical.

Be ready to clean up a huge mess

Remember the part about poison not being instant? Well in the short time the pigeon would have left to live, if it did ingest something poisonous, it could very well choose to take its final breaths in a difficult to reach the corner of your house. Which would mean you would discover the rotting corpse days later when its smell spreads throughout the entire house and becomes unbearable. Have fun cleaning up the corpse when, AND IF, you find it, being fully prepared to deal with the swarm of insects already feeding on it.

You're putting others at risk

Introducing a toxic substance in an environment is bound to have repercussions. First off, there is no guarantee any poisonous bait you leave will be ingested by the targeted pigeon and the targeted pigeon only, which means pets and small children are at huge risk if poison is carelessly used. Even if you successfully target the pigeon, its carcass may be eaten by neighborhood animals or pets (since once again poison isn't instant and the bird may get out), which would result in unwanted animal deaths. Hope you're happy with innocent blood on your hands.

So many other options

This is by far the biggest reason I can give you to note use poisons; there are so many easier and effective ways to solve the problem like using a live trap to catch it or using exclusion funnels to keep the pigeon out once it leaves. But the most important aspect of your pigeon problem is preventing future entry. You need to close up any openings the pigeons may have used to get inside. Then you need to take care of your current problem, non-lethally, and you're good to go.



Also read our other bird tip: Ways To Deal With Pigeons On Beams