WOOD PIGEON'S EATING LEAVES OFF MY TREE

Can anyone help??

This only started this year but I am having major problems with Wood Pigeon's.  They are eating the leaves off of my ornamental red leafed plum tree.  This started this spring when the blossom appeared.  They started to eat this and then when the new leaf shoots started they began to eat that aswell and are still eating the leaves now.  They are stripping my poor tree of it's leaves and I fear that if I don't stop them they will kill the tree.

The tree is approx 15 years old and they never did this till this year.  They used to sit on a neighbouring crab apple tree but since the neighbour went mad with his over enthusiastic pruning they have moved on to my tree and are decimating it.  I've never seen pigeon's doing this till now - why do they do this!!!!!

Any ideas or help on how I can stop them from doing this would be greatly appreciated please.  I'm desperate to stop them from killing my beautiful tree.  Thank you.

The only thing that I can think of is to net it, but you will need to be careful to do it safely so that other creatures can't be caught in it. You could also use fleece if you prefer.

I'm afraid that's not an option - it's a 15 year old tree!!!!!  Can't net or fleece a tree that's at least 15 feet talk.  Wish it was as easy as that.  Horrible flying rats!!!!

Can you try chasing them off, then? For example, turning a hose on them? That done a few times should help to discourage them.

Grow a sacrificial malus? Get a gun and some pastry? Motion sensor attached to a sprinkler system? Or you could try hanging some cds/dvds in there to put them off...Celine Dion may have found her purpose in life after all.... They could well go back next door once your neighbours tree recovers so the cds could be a short-term thing.  Pesky varmints.

Pigeons strip my 20 'cherry tree every year, first of most of the leaves, then of all the unripe cherries. I tried partial netting to try to get at least a taste, but the birds go to unbelievable lengths and trouble to get every last cherry through the net. Perhaps some unpleasant ultrasonic device is available to keep them away?Thank God I don't run a fruit&veg stall!

I have given up on fruit trees due to wood pigeons.    I haven't seen them taking the blossom or leaves, but they strip the fruit off before it is even ripe!

I'll try the CD's though don't hold out much hope.  I'll research abit on the internet to see if I can come up with anthing else.  Keep leaving me any ideas please - thanks

I've got some cheap little jingly bell xmas deckies that i bet would put them off - they sound off at the slightest movement. Quite a pretty sound by human standards but might well scare a pigeon... Bet you'd get em on a certain online auction site or south american book seller. Or maybe one of those horribly loud wind chimes the garden centre "granny tatt" sections sell (sorry grannies - but thats what my charming OH calls it). Thats it for ideas from me. Good luck. x

How about trying a plastic bird of prey decoy?  A quick google shows Falcon and Owl models at reasonable prices (just search "pigeon scarer") with the suggestion that you put it high up and move it about every few days (although that might be easir to say than do!)