The DIY Guide to Cleaning Up Pigeon Poop

If you don't already, we highly recommend that you take a good look at exactly what kinds of diseases that pigeon poop can bring along with it, and the feces of many other wild animals that could be lurking right in your back garden, too. Why? Because some of them actually have the potential to kill, and we're talking about killing humans, not just other animals or pets. Although, they are definitely at risk when a pigeon problem lurks.

In order to clean up pigeon poop, you're going to need a few essentials. This will include - gloves, a breathing/face mask, eye goggles/protection, full coveralls or clothes that you don't mind burning/disposing of, foot coveralls or footwear that you don't mind burning/disposing of, a water-spray bottle, 10% bleach solution or steam-cleaner, plenty of garbage bags, a pit or similar to have a bonfire with, and lots of cleaning implements. The more buckets and sponges, etc., that you can bring with you, the better.

Before you start, you'll want to have a good idea of exactly where the pigeons have left a mess. You must ensure that you clean away every single shred of it. Don't sweep or dust the feces around, either. This can send disease spores into the air, masked by the dusty and dry material, and this is when it can then be inhaled by passing humans or animals. If you have seen dry and dusty pigeon feces, use the spray bottle to spray it with a little water first. This prevents too many of the particles from being able to get airborne. We still recommend that you wear a breathing mask, though, and those eye protection goggles.

All material must be cleaned away, including nesting material or food leftovers, leaving you free to then use liquid solutions — bleach and disinfectants — to get rid of any biological remnants. Do not mix cleaning items to avoid hazards to health, but feel free to clean over the area more than once, with multiple solutions or products, ensuring each layer is thoroughly cleaned off beforehand. With pigeon poop, there's no such things as overzealous cleaning.

Everything you wore during the operation will need to be disposed of or burned, including your footwear. That is, unless you can find a way to clean it at a very hot wash, perhaps twice for good measure. Any biological trace that remains on your clothing or cleaning equipment/tools will be a potential hazard to health.

If you have pigeon droppings in the backyard, you may find that they are slightly harder to clean. If the material has fallen down onto soil, an easy solution is to turn the top layer of soil over to ‘bury' the biological traces, but this isn't always advised, especially if you have pets or children that play or hang out in the same area.