Pigeons are attracted to spaces that provide them with shelter and a food source which is why they love gardens.

However, they quickly become a nuisance because so many of them like to gather in one place.

Large numbers of them often mean your driveway and vehicles are getting covered in pigeon droppings.

What’s more, while their cooing can be pleasant, you might have discovered that a large group of pigeons can be noisy, and the sound of their wings loud as they startle and fly off.

Even worse, gardeners may have found pigeons have caused damage to certain plants. While they are not a typical garden pest, they are more than capable of stripping your garden bare of young plants and fruit.

Luckily, there is a plant that pigeons seem to “hate” which gardeners can use to their advocated to deter these birds, claimed pest control expert Zack DeAngelis of Pest Pointers.

Zack claimed that garlic plants are something pigeons “absolutely hate” due to their poignant smell and taste. 

He said: “Since garlic has such a strong aroma and taste, it is deemed unbearable by a bird, and they will stay far away from it.”

Planting garlic bulbs around your garden, especially in high-traffic pigeon areas, like around trees or flowers that they tend to enjoy, will “keep them away from those plants and, away from your space altogether”.

Similarly, onion plants are something pigeons “absolutely hate” too as this vegetable produces an extremely intolerable smell for them that they will “surely stay away from”.

Zack instructed: “If you have a vegetable garden or vegetables that keep getting eaten by the birds, adding onion plants into your outdoor space will not only give you a great food source but will keep pigeons far, far away.”

Citronella, although fresh and lemony smelling, is another plant pigeons hate and can mask other scents that attract these pests and keep them away.

Citronella is formed from lemongrass plants. It is often sold in oil form, though each form it comes in is perfectly effective as a repellent.

To use in plant form, place lemongrass as a barrier around your garden. This natural repellent will also leave a fresh scent around your outdoor space.