Anyone have any strong opinion on pigeon traps?

The good, the bad, the ugly. Are they all basically the same? Any particularities that I should consider?

I have my first pigeon removal and exclusion job, and I don't gots no pigeon traps! Yikes!

Flat roof, commercial building. Flock size is 50-60 birds, heavy pressure. Prebaiting will begin when I get the traps.

Online....credit card in hand......

wcs has them. Never have used traps,air rifle my choice.
You need to kill birds or they fly back so why bother trapping if you can gun them?
bob

Edgtho-
A three year ADVANCED SEARCH on the ADC Forum for pigeon will bring up about 99 posts on the subject. Some information on traps, some on shooting, some on netting jobs, etc. Just pick and choose what you have time to read.

They all seem to work equally well except for Tomahawks collapsable model. I've watched pigeons walk right out of them.

I use the three chamber traps That I get from WCS, I've had great success with them have cought thousands of pigeons with them over the years.

I choose trapping over shooting because around my area the pigeons are like small peices of gold to the local hunting and retriever dog training groups throughout the state. Pigeons make excellent training birds. I happen to be involved in the groups and we use every bird I catch and they are destroyed and not released.

If you have any questions feel free to ask
Good luck

Gotbats? has it right. Dog trainers will pay for pigeons especially at this time of year. IF they go inside an old building they can be easier to trap. Make the trap over the window they enter and put a drop door that you can trip after dark. They will go in a roof trap if they are fed grain and a few other pigeons are inside. I used to catch some of them in Lincoln, NE with a Landing net on a long piece of conduit inside of a building next to the railroad tracks. Put them in the cage trap to lure the others to the feed. Hope this helps. If they are on a low roost, popping a landing net in front of them after dark will launch a few of them into the net each time.

Sorry for the delay here...

Thanks for all the advice everybody.

I decided on the WCS Large Pigeon Trap (48"x36"x24") because this is a big commercial job.

It's a saweet trap I must admit (I really like how it breaks down for transport), but it don't do no good if the birds don't go in it!

All told, I've had food up there (whole kernel corn; pre-baiting w/no trap; pre-baiting with door bobs held open, etc.)for 23 days. Heck, I even purchased some decoys to pretty it up some!

Nothing.

I think I've seen a total of 3 pigeons on the roof near the trap since I started this program.

I've decided to change up the bait, and have switched out the corn for "pigeon pellets". Who knows, maybe this flock got hammered by Avitrol laced corn?

Well, it's a theory anyway.

Unfortunately shooting these buggers ain't an option even if it were legal. This is a heavy traffic area (vehicle & foot), and even more so latenight and weekends (food/wine/bar district).

Fortunately I bid this proposal in 2 Phases: Trapping and Exclusion. If I can't trap them, and they decide to hire me for the exclusion work....well, at least I gots that going for me.

Any other advice?

I'll let ya know what transpires....

Do the five stay in the same location each day? Can you rig a net to fall over them?
just wondering?
bob

Are the pigeons eating the feed you put out for pre baiting or when the doors are locked open on the trap? Are they just avoiding the trap?

Sometimes it is difficult to determine where the "X" is, where the pigeons want to be and feel compfortable eating on the property you are working.

Are the birds roosting inside the building? Outside at specific places, or somewhere else? How tall is this building? How many windows/openings?

all i can say is your gonna have to study the birds a while, most times its hard to trap them at roosting points. try and focus and feeding points. also i wouldnt pre bait any bird any situation, the birds know what the feed looks like. just my .02

The best sucess I've had is after a snow fall, and they remember where the food is. If they are use to bread crumbs the that be it.

EDGTHO Pm sent