FOR years, like many other people, I had a problem with pigeons and gulls badly fouling our driveway from their sleeping quarters in the overhanging trees above.
As I respect them for having been on this planet for a lot longer than us, I looked for a solution that would not harm them and happened to read that a farmer’s field of wheat was being desecrated by pigeons which he sprayed with a 600-to-one mixture of water and Tabasco. The next day the pigeons were gone.
I now use a stronger mix in a gallon container and spray the overhead branches with a bicycle pump and the next day the pigeons or gulls have gone.
The birds obviously hate the smell of Tabasco, which contains pepper, and find kinder lodgings elsewhere.
Like us, the birds are creatures of habit and will keep returning to places of comfort so my average spraying seems to be twice a year.
Tabasco is available in all supermarkets.
Mr V J Harman
Chalfont Drive, Hove
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