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The overengineered solution to my pigeon problem

maxnagy.com

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Re: The overengineered solution to my pigeon problem

#21

Post by maccard »

oneeyedpigeon wrote: post #19

> [Spikes] work IFF you buy the right ones AND put them absolutely everywhere AND are careful to actually mount them correctly AND you don’t plan to use the area covered yourself at all AND you don’t even want to look at its disgraced looks. So it is completely pointless for a balcony. They can also be horrifically cruel. I've seen a pigeon die after getting impaled on those kinds of spikes and it was a traumatic exp…

I don't often comment on usernames but I feel like you're just trying to make sure you don't lose your other eye.

Re: The overengineered solution to my pigeon problem

#25

Post by darkerside »

neopallium wrote: post #5
maxmunzel wrote: post #2

Hi HN! I commented about this project of mine a month ago [0] and decided to write a more in depth blog post about it. Feel free to ask any questions :) [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31024099

A motion activated sprinkler could work too. Or buy a motion detector and have it activate plant water sprayers (the kind used for automatic watering of potted plants).

Also works great for keeping kids off your lawn

Re: The overengineered solution to my pigeon problem

#26

Post by oneeyedpigeon »

maccard wrote: post #21
oneeyedpigeon wrote: post #19

> [Spikes] work IFF you buy the right ones AND put them absolutely everywhere AND are careful to actually mount them correctly AND you don’t plan to use the area covered yourself at all AND you don’t even want to look at its disgraced looks. So it is completely pointless for a balcony. They can also be horrifically cruel. I've seen a pigeon die after getting impaled on those kinds of spikes and it was a traumatic exp…

I don't often comment on usernames but I feel like you're just trying to make sure you don't lose your other eye.

Would you believe, I actually forgot my username while making that comment?!

Re: The overengineered solution to my pigeon problem

#27

Post by yeldarb »

Any interest in over engineering it a bit more? We did something similar to spook rabbits[1] in a garden using a computer vision model to detect them (vs your masked motion sensor). Looks like lots of users have shared pigeon detection datasets[2] that could make a good starting point.

[1] https://blog.roboflow.com/rabbit-deterrence-system/

[2] https://universe.roboflow.com/search?q=Pigeon&t=subject

Re: The overengineered solution to my pigeon problem

#28

Post by secondcoming »

severino wrote: post #24

This is funny. I've tried to make pigeons come into my terrace to feed them and allow them to nest with no success at all. Yet other people struggle to keep them out of their balconies :D

Why would you want this? They'll crap everywhere. If you have neighbours they may not appreciate it either.

Re: The overengineered solution to my pigeon problem

#29

Post by 93po »

I built something similar using the same internals of a battery operated water gun. I 3d printed a 360 turret enclosure, stuck it on a stepper motor. However mine was manually controlled via my phone. I used it to break up cat fights in the middle of the night

Re: The overengineered solution to my pigeon problem

#30

Post by oblak »

severino wrote: post #24

This is funny. I've tried to make pigeons come into my terrace to feed them and allow them to nest with no success at all. Yet other people struggle to keep them out of their balconies :D

Have you tried providing food? All you need is raw seeds, no salt!

There are all kinds of small and big birds that visit our balcony, especially in what passes for winter these days.

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