Pigeons roosting under solar panels and on roof

For the past few years it was just two pigeons roosting on the roof and I could ignore it. But now they seem to have attracted a whole flock of 14 pigeons. I cleaned the gutters recently - lots of poop and in two weeks they are filling up rapdly again. They are pooping all over the solar panels too. I cleaned them but still noticed a drop in production for my old system which is linked in series. I assume if the pigeons are on one panel it reduces the production for all of the panels in that strong. On my new system (which I added in advance of getting the Leaf) each panel has a microinverter so it is not as much of an issue.

My question is if anyone else with solar panels has this problem with pigeons finding it an attractive place to roost and how did they get rid of the pigeons? Given the area of the roof taken up by the panels I think it would be impractical to lay strips of the spikes around them. Thanks!

I have never worked with solar panels. So take that into consideration with my reply. Generally, birds like to sit on prominent raised areas. To discourage this you have to provide somewhere higher/better, put in some kind of deterrent, or put in a barrier.

Provide something better:

• A rod or something higher than the panels. However this just moves the poop so may not be desirable.

Deterrent:

• Place something pigeons are afraid of. A rubber snake, a fake owl, etc. This is very much trial-and-error. Some birds are scared away, others find it amusing to play with said device. (I saw one bird use a coiled rubber snake as a convenient wall for her nest!)

Barrier:

• Fish farms and gardens use this. String fishing line about 1 foot apart and six inches above panels (perhaps just above the high edge but I think you need at least two lines). It's nearly invisible but birds don't want to get their wings tangled in it and stay away.

I like the fishing line idea. It should be relatively easy to try. I'd string it above and below the panels. The panels are elevated a few inches off of the roof and the pigeons like to roost underneath the panels at night so by stringing it below the panels it could deter them from seeking shelter underneath.

Thanks.

ChipsLeaf said:

I like the fishing line idea. It should be relatively easy to try. I'd string it above and below the panels. The panels are elevated a few inches off of the roof and the pigeons like to roost underneath the panels at night so by stringing it below the panels it could deter them from seeking shelter underneath.

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Fishing lines, from what I have seen, deter birds who are attempting to fly through a space. If they are walking on the roof to get under the panels it may not be as effective.

Another option I've used for ground structures is gutter mesh which does a nice job of closing narrow gaps. They have it in segments and in rolls in various materials.

Chips,

Military bases often have 'gate guard' aircraft on display - and they'll often have wire barb/spike strips on surfaces to keep birds away. I haven't found the metal material on the open market (not saying it's not available, just didn't turn it up in a quick search) but did find this plastic product:
http://blog.birdbgone.com/blog/bird-control-2/plastic-bird-spikes-are-easy-to-use


Good hunting!

I've worked at a couple place in town that had bird problems and the spikes as they had applied did not seem to affect the birds at all. Could be installation errors or they just don't work.

I like the idea of the fishing line if it's actually preventive and they don't get fowled (pardon pun) up in the line.

AndyH said:

Chips,

Military bases often have 'gate guard' aircraft on display - and they'll often have wire barb/spike strips on surfaces to keep birds away. I haven't found the metal material on the open market (not saying it's not available, just didn't turn it up in a quick search) but did find this plastic product:
http://blog.birdbgone.com/blog/bird-control-2/plastic-bird-spikes-are-easy-to-use

Good hunting!

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Through my solar company (Namastè), they installed a wire mesh that prevents the pigeons from entering under solar panels.

SpiffySolar said:

For those encountering this problem, know that bird spikes prevent landing only. If used in places where pigeons can walk, they will wriggle right through them and under the panels.

Screening is the solution, but your attachment should be done without drilling into the panels, because that will void the warranty.

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We installed spikes, recommended by our solar installer and a pest control company. The birds landed nearby and just wiggled through the spikes. Eventually the glue failed and the spikes came loose - no great loss.

Screening was our solution. It would have been fairly easy had the barriers been part of the frame during initial installation. As it was we made our own custom nylon mesh net, with slightly heavy and stiff Romex tied in along all the edges. We stretched it across the panels and cinched it down around the frame legs. It was a lot of work.

These days I'd expect new panels to have less trouble with pigeons because many of them are able to sit closer to the roof than ours, so the birds might not be able to get under them. If there is enough clearance for a bird to get under then there MUST be a screen along the edge of the frame. Best are the "panels" used in new home construction which take the place of normal roof tiles.

Oh, and if you see one pigeon, get rid of it however you can as soon as you can; or else you will very soon have two and three and a dozen and two dozen...

walterbays said:

These days I'd expect new panels to have less trouble with pigeons because many of them are able to sit closer to the roof than ours, so the birds might not be able to get under them. If there is enough clearance for a bird to get under then there MUST be a screen along the edge of the frame. Best are the "panels" used in new home construction which take the place of normal roof tiles.

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Wire mesh can be attached to the panels with clips like the heyco sunscreener. Keeping rodents out is important because they may bite the wires or damage the roof.

Building integrated panels has some great advantages, but it is still quite expensive in comparison.

veramis said:

walterbays said:

These days I'd expect new panels to have less trouble with pigeons because many of them are able to sit closer to the roof than ours, so the birds might not be able to get under them. If there is enough clearance for a bird to get under then there MUST be a screen along the edge of the frame. Best are the "panels" used in new home construction which take the place of normal roof tiles.

Click to expand...

Wire mesh can be attached to the panels with clips like the heyco sunscreener. Keeping rodents out is important because they may bite the wires or damage the roof.

Building integrated panels has some great advantages, but it is still quite expensive in comparison.

Click to expand...

Building integrated panels certainly have advantage in this scenario but IMO the pricing is prohibitive thus are only for people that don't like the look of real panels and insist on solar but don't care about money.

Walterbays, what panels are you referring to that sit closer to the roof? AFAIK not much has changed except for some non standard panels like Silicon Energy panels or non standard mounting that mount directly to the roof. Otherwise you still have roof mounts, stand offs, and rails that all bring the panels above the roof which is good for air circulation but certainly leaves room for birds and rodents to get under them. I've had my panels up for nearly two years and haven't any problems with the squirrels but I think the species of squirrels we have around here are less of a nuisance in general than the stories I hear about in the mid west where they seem to hate hate squirrels.

Only issue I've noticed with birds is it appears they might sit on the edges of the panels sometimes as the top edge seems to get more soiled than other areas. No idea if it's worth trying to put bird deterrents for that.