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Bird Removal and Control
Birds are usually classified as a pest species when they roost on buildings or in public areas. The most common complaints include the following:
- Pigeons roosting on or in building
- Pigeons leaving droppings everywhere
- Canada Goose droppings everywhere
- Woodpeckers destroying wood home
- Chimney Swifts living in chimney
For these reasons, many people wish to have bird exclusion barriers installed or even have the birds removed.
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Several different birds may pose a nuisance for several different reasons. Woodpeckers can be a problem when they decide to drum on and peck holes in a wooden house. Chimney Swifts can live down a chimney, and their
young make a heck of a racket. Canada Geese can form very large flocks, and leave behind a ton of droppings on a property. Any type of bird could get stuck inside a building. However, I will address the most common
pest bird that we deal with in the wildlife control industry: the pigeon.
PIGEON BIOLOGY:
The common pigeon, also called the feral pigeon, (Columba livia), is about 12 inches and length and weighs about a pound. Although pigeons can exhibit a variety of colors, most are of the blue-gray variety.
Males are more colorful than females. Pairs mate for life, and share in the nest building and parenting duties. They may lay a clutch of eggs at any time of the year. The young hatch 19 days later, and are cared for
until they can make it on their own.
PIGEON BEHAVIOR:
Pigeons often roost on building architecture - ledges, sills, beams, signs, etc. They also often live inside attics, AC units, ductwork, etc. They walk while bobbing their heads fore and aft, a behavior that caused me
to dub them "nodding chickens" when I was a four-year-old lad.
NUISANCE CONCERNS:
Pigeons might be delightful, if not for the mess they make. When they roost in an area, they leave behind feathers and nesting material, fleas and mites, and of course, most of all, they leave a lot of droppings. Many
urban areas are covered with pigeon poop. They defecate a lot, and can cover an area with piles of droppings. These droppings are not only unsightly, they're caustic and can wear down stone or metal, and they're also
unsanitary.
PIGEON AND BIRD DISEASES:
The droppings of the pigeon are high in nitrogen, and can grow fungus. People can inhale the fungal spores and contract the lung disease histoplasmosis. For this reason, it's not a good idea to let pigeon droppings
accumulate. When pigeons live in attics or ductwork, the problem is more likely to occur.
HOW DO I GET RID OF BIRDS?
It's not really feasible to live trap and relocate pigeons. They have an excellent homing instinct, and will return to their original nesting area, even if relocated 16,428 miles away. Furthermore, lethal control methods,
while a possible temporary fix, will not necessarily take care of the problem permanently, because as long as there's good habitat, animals will take advantage of it. Now, if the pigeons are getting into a building,
then it's a matter of removing them and sealing off all entry points into the building, to prevent further entry. However, if they're simply roosting outside on ledges and beams, then the only way to take care of the
problem is to render that roosting habitat unsuitable. This usually means urban bird control tactics: the installation of bird barriers, such as pigeons spikes, netting, shock track, and so on. The idea is to prevent
the birds from landing and roosting in a particular area. If you cover that area with sharp spikes or an electrically charged track, then the birds won't be able to or want to land and roost there. Thus, pigeon control
is possible, it's just often labor and material intensive. It can also be expensive. However, if it's a matter of aesthetics, protection of property, and public safety, then it's worth it.
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