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How to Get Rid of Doves at a Feeder

Backyard bird feeders offer hours of entertainment, especially when natural food sources are scarce. When doves become frequent visitors, however, they can wreak havoc, making a mess and discouraging smaller birds from feeding. These persistent pests will return to the food source as long as it's convenient and offers a taste of their favorite seeds. It's possible to deter these unwelcome visitors peacefully while keeping more desirable birds coming to the feeder again and again.

Things You'll Need

Striped sunflower seeds
Peanut kernels
Canary seed
Caged or tubular bird feeder
Broom
Screen
Suet feeders

Instructions

- 1
  Avoid using a bird seed mix that contains black-oil sunflower seeds, millet or niger seeds, which are favorites of doves. Offer striped sunflower seeds, peanut kernels and canary seeds instead.
- 2
  Replace open bird feeders with caged or tubular types that make it difficult for large birds to feed.
- 3
  Sweep fallen seed from the area beneath the bird feeder at least once each day, if possible.
- 4
  Place a screen under the feeder if it's located in an area where sweeping isn't practical. The seed will collect beneath the screen, out of the reach of doves.
- 5
  Remove the feeder for one week, which may encourage the doves to move on to a more promising location for food. Put out one or two suet feeders during this period to keep desired birds nearby until you put the feeder back out.

Animals & Science