What to Do After Catching a Pigeon in Your House
Being in control of another person's life induces mixed feelings. On the one hand, the feeling of sheer power and authority one feels when the life of another is in the palm of your hand may feel intoxicating to some people, while others may dread the huge responsibility that comes with that power. Sure, this comparison feels way out of proportion, considering our topic of discussion is the life of a mere pigeon, but from the caged pigeon's perspective, it's life rests (literally) in the palm of your hand.
So, what should you do with a pigeon after you catch it in your house?
Don't kill it. Just don't.
Human beings tend to be a little destructive; it's part of our nature, ingrained into our DNA to help us survive in this world. But just because your instincts scream for you to do something, doesn't mean it's always a good idea, which is where our greatest gift comes into play: our wisdom and reasoning. Killing pigeons isn't a good idea. And I'm not saying this because it's inhumane (even though that's a very valid reason), it's simply not practical. You could shoot it, poison it or trap it in a lethal cage, but 11 times out of 10 you're going to have to clean up a huge mess, which could have been easily avoidable.
Relocating isn't going to work
When it comes to humane methods of dealing with captured animals, it would seem to relocate is a wildlife expert's favorite option, but that's only because it's so effective at resolving the matter peacefully. However, with pigeons, it's an altogether different story. See, pigeons have some of the best homing instincts in the entire animal kingdom, meaning once they've "imprinted" on a certain environment as their home (your house in this case), they'll always be able to find their way back, even if they're released miles upon miles from your house. Tough luck.
Your real issue
The issue you need to worry about the most is not how to get the pigeon out of your house, but to figure out how it got in the first place. It's pretty rare for it to have flown in through an open door or window (which should be kept closed; burglars people, HELLO). The main cause is most probably a hole or opening in the walls of your house, roof or attic using which the pigeon must have gotten in. In that case, patching up this opening is your priority, since you don't want any more pigeon problems in the future.
But what about the pigeon still in the cage?
Set it free
Just take it outside, preferably a little distance from your home (to give yourself a head start), open the cage and let it fly away. Even if tries to return to your house, you've already made sure it can't get back in. So really, just set it free.
Also read our other bird tip:
Pigeon Shock Tracks - Do They Work?