It's a big deal here because the birds eat seeds in the farms. Farmers use ROCKETS to scare them away!
My brother had a mess of bird poop on the porch railings until he decorated for Christmas. It turns out that the flashes from fluttering garlands scare the birds away from the tree above.
I'm really torn on it. I don't like pigeon spikes, but I'm told they don't hurt the birds- they just make them not land there. Bird poo is a major problem. I think you're in Arizona too, yes? So, you're probably familiar with our propensity to create outdoor spaces. When I was in school, most of us ate at tables outside- there was a huge outdoor dining area in every school I went to. The mess students left behind was especially attractive to birds, but they'd also come hang out under the awnings and poop everywhere... given that it was a dining area, not really a sanitary thing. So, they added pigeon spikes. It mostly solved the issue. The birds would come in, grab what they wanted, and go roost on nearby trees instead.
I've seen a lot of inventive ways to keep birds off specific areas in my neighborhood. One neighbor got a fake owl and moved it around every day. It did not work. The same neighbor got fake snakes and placed them around their pool deck. That also did not work. Another neighbor got a bunch of those old AOL CDs and hung them from a tree. It did not work.
I watched a documentary that showed the rockets with crops. The birds move, but always come back to the same crop when it's safe.
We're always going to be in a battle with nature for as long as we encroach upon it. There will be times we have to push back, for the sake of health, safety, and finances (saving crops), and I accept that. However, I also think it should be done in the least invasive way- removing things that attract pests is the primary, but it's not always an option. I don't like spikes, but if the birds have someplace else to go, I'm ok with that as a last resort.
Not Sure 