I'm in a constant battle with them. Have tried shiny streamers, plastic windmills, owl figures of all kinds, anything that would shimmy and shake in the wind, vaseline on the railings - nothing works. I'd like to try the plastic spikes, but it would cost a small fortune to put them out there - they'd have to be on top of the railing as well as on the ledge at the bottom of the baclony. My biggest problem with them (two in particular) is that they are forever trying to make babies on my terrace. Four eggs already this spring (picked up and destroyed, so now I can feel like a murderer). This particular couple has been around for years and I simply cannot get rid of them! My garden this year looks like crap, what with all the various protections I've got over my pots to give the plants a chance to grow - aside from pigeons, this year I got a ton of those pesky little starlings eating my plants. The bamboo skewers in the pots were pretty effective against the pigeons, but those starlings just swooped into the pot from the top and ripped up/out quite s few small plants. A BB gun might work - but I don't want to kill or injure them, just keep them away from my terrace. Sigh. PV

Blackbird squabbles bothered me, with one pair attacking another pair's baby, etc. Plus they would try to roost on my house. And peck at all my growing things. So, since I have soil with plenty of small rocks I started waving my arms and then throwing rocks NEAR them, not at them. After a few days they learned that arm-waving precedes the rocks, and they would fly away. Next I would slam a door or sliding window before going outside to waive my arms. Persistence paid off and from then on the blackbirds were deterred from spending much time at my place just by slamming a window or door. The next year they only needed a few days of re-training. My neighbors down the street often have fifty blackbirds on their property. I seldom have any.

Tray feeders, spreading seed on the ground, leaving dry dog food out and throwing people food on the ground usually attracts trash birds/nuisance animals, so if you are offering high quality food in tube or upside down feeders, you are doing the right thing. When I was still in KY, if a flock of trash birds arrived I immediately pulled the feeders until they moved on, but if pigeons are already around and being fed elsewhere it could be more complicated.

Robins are birds that I enjoy viewing, but not as they try to build nests under our porch lights which are on both sides of an area right by our front entrance door. For three days my husband has removed the straw, twigs, etc in order to prevent a completed robin's nest. They put the straw, twigs, etc. up, he takes them down immediately. Today after reading these posts, I sprayed the area with ant and roach spray that I use when the ants try to visit too close to our outside walkway. Two robins just came with straw in their mouths, but they flew away. I hope this is a long-term solution. This is the first time that we have had this problem in the nineteen years that we have lived here. I am already tired of the mess on our porch and the potential health hazard presented if the robins succeed in building a permanent nest. We have plenty of trees that the birds usually choose for their nests and are still quite welcome to do so. However, why our porch this year is a puzzle. Thanks to all who have posted for their solutions. To the haters, because one does not want a bird's nest in an area that he/she frequently uses in his/her home, does not label the person as an animal hater. Why should my quality of life be compromised daily upon trying to enter my home for the sake of a bird's nest? The answer is that it shouldn't and will not. We will win this fight and reclaim our safety and keep our good health.