Doves are attracted to easy food, open ground, and sheltered nesting spots, so the most effective way to keep them away is to remove those three things. A single approach rarely works on its own. Combining food control, physical barriers, and visual scare tactics gives you the best chance of moving doves off your property for good.
Why Doves Are on Your Property
Understanding what draws doves in makes every other step more effective. Mourning doves eat almost exclusively seeds, with seeds making up roughly 99 percent of their diet. They favor cultivated grains, grass seeds, ragweed, and similar plants. Unlike many songbirds that pick insects off branches, doves forage almost entirely on the ground. They fill their crop quickly, then rest somewhere nearby to digest, which is why you’ll see them sitting on ledges, fences, or rooftops for long stretches.
For nesting, doves build flimsy twig platforms in trees, shrubs, building ledges, or occasionally on the ground, usually below 40 feet. They prefer “edge” habitats where trees meet open ground, which describes most suburban yards perfectly. If your property has scattered trees, open lawn, and a food source, you’ve created ideal dove habitat.
Cut Off the Food Supply
This is the single most impactful step. If you have bird feeders, doves are likely eating spilled seed beneath them. Adding a seed catch tray under a tube feeder might seem like a solution, but it actually makes things worse by giving doves a comfortable platform to feed from.
Two feeder modifications work well. The first is a wire mesh cage that fits around your existing feeder. These cages have openings large enough for small songbirds like finches and chickadees but too small for doves and pigeons to pass through. The second option is a weight-sensitive feeder that automatically closes its feeding ports when a heavier bird lands on the perch. Doves are heavy enough to trigger the closing mechanism on most of these designs.
Beyond feeders, clean up any seed that accumulates on the ground. If you grow grain crops, sunflowers, or ornamental grasses that go to seed, those are buffet stations for doves. Sweep patios and walkways where seed collects. If you keep chickens or other poultry, switch to enclosed feeders that doves can’t access.
Install Physical Barriers
Bird netting is the most reliable way to physically exclude doves from specific areas like gardens, patios, eaves, or fruit trees. For doves, which are roughly pigeon-sized, a mesh size of 1 1/8 inches or smaller will block them effectively. A 2-inch mesh stops larger birds like seagulls but may let doves squeeze through.
For garden use, UV-protected polypropylene netting can be draped directly over plants or suspended a few inches above the area you want to protect. No special tools are needed. For more permanent installations on buildings, heavy-duty knotted polyethylene netting rated at 40 pounds of break strength holds up to weather and sun exposure for years.
Bird spikes on ledges, beams, and rooflines prevent doves from landing and roosting. Doves love flat horizontal surfaces, so focus on windowsills, porch rafters, AC units, and the tops of signs or light fixtures. Spikes don’t harm the birds; they simply make the surface impossible to land on.
Use Visual and Reflective Deterrents
Visual deterrents exploit doves’ instinct to flee from perceived predators or unfamiliar movement. Several types work:
- Reflective spinners. Wind-powered devices with mirror-like finishes that catch sunlight and create moving reflections. These create a “distraction zone” of flashing light that confuses and startles doves.
- Scare-eye balloons and diverters. Hanging objects with large predator-eye designs and reflective surfaces. The combination of movement and the eye pattern triggers a flight response.
- Holographic flash tape. Shiny strips of reflective tape tied to branches, railings, or garden stakes. The tape moves in the breeze and makes a crinkling noise, adding a sound element to the visual disruption.
The critical limitation with all visual deterrents is habituation. Doves will eventually get used to a stationary object that never actually harms them. Move your deterrents to new positions every few days, and rotate between different types. Pairing visual deterrents with other methods (like removing food sources) makes them far more effective than using them alone.
Modify Your Landscaping
Doves nest in trees and dense shrubs, so strategic pruning can make your yard less inviting. Thinning out dense lower branches removes the sheltered spots doves prefer for their nests. Focus on trees and large shrubs near open ground, since that combination of cover plus foraging space is what doves seek.
Timing matters here. The best window for tree and shrub maintenance is September through February, outside of nesting season. Trimming during spring or summer risks destroying active nests, which is both harmful to the birds and illegal under federal law. If doves have already nested, you’ll need to wait until the young have left before pruning.
Keep in mind that excessive thinning is bad for tree health and removes habitat that benefits other wildlife you may want around. The goal isn’t to strip your trees bare but to open up the specific spots where doves have been nesting or roosting.
Chemical Repellents
Grape-scented spray repellents based on a compound called methyl anthranilate are available for bird deterrence. This is the same chemical that gives grape flavoring its taste. Birds find it intensely irritating, while it’s harmless to humans and mammals. These sprays are typically applied to surfaces where birds land or to crops they’re feeding on, and they need to be reapplied every one to two weeks.
For most homeowners dealing with doves on a patio or around a feeder, chemical repellents are overkill compared to simpler methods. They’re more practical for protecting fruit trees or garden crops where netting isn’t feasible. Look for commercial bird repellent sprays at garden centers rather than trying to mix your own.
Legal Protections to Know About
Mourning doves are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, one of the oldest environmental laws in the United States. This means it is illegal to kill, trap, or possess mourning doves, their feathers, nests, or eggs without a permit. You cannot remove or relocate a nest that contains eggs or young birds, even if it’s in an inconvenient spot on your property. Penalties can reach six months in jail and fines up to $15,000.
Hunting exceptions exist in many states during designated seasons with a proper license, but that’s not relevant to backyard pest control. All the deterrent methods above, including netting, spikes, visual scare devices, repellent sprays, and habitat modification, are legal because they discourage doves from settling in without harming them. The key rule is simple: deter, don’t destroy. If doves have already built a nest with eggs, wait until the nesting cycle is complete before taking action in that area.
Combining Methods for Best Results
Doves are persistent. They return to familiar feeding and nesting sites year after year, so a single tactic often just pushes them a few feet over. The most effective strategy layers three or four approaches together. Remove ground-level seed sources, cage or upgrade your feeders, install netting or spikes on their favorite perching spots, and add a couple of visual deterrents that you rotate regularly. Once doves learn that your property no longer offers easy food or comfortable resting places, they’ll shift to a neighbor’s yard that does.