A FEEDING ban at St Martin’s Churchyard has already been successful in reducing the numbers of pigeons and squirrels living there.
As the Advertiser revealed in December, the vast population of animals and “less-pleasant vermin” living around the church is causing a significant risk to the much-loved building, with architects warning there is a high potential for stonework to be damaged by large amounts of droppings. Signs were erected around the site that month calling for those walking through the yard to “Keep our wildlife wild and our children safe” and refrain from feeding animals there.
Churchwarden Peter Bunn said that while there is still a long way to go, the signs have so far proved effective.
“The number of pigeons you see sitting on the south roof waiting for food has definitely been reduced,” he said.
“It has got better. I would say that most people are respecting the signs. It’s not everyone and we have had some people we have had slight difficulties with.
“But I think most people understand our problem and we are on our way to solving it.”
As well as the potential damage to stonework, a further concern for church workers is that of squirrels finding their way inside and causing damage to the historic organ or, more seriously, chewing through electric wiring and starting a fire.
Householders in the area have also noticed an improvement.
Derek Benoliel of nearby St Martin’s Court said: “The situation is greatly improved.
“It’s not resolved but there definitely isn’t as many pigeons as there was. In the morning we used to see around 100 to 150 pigeons.
“The people that feed them do it with the best intentions in the world but they don’t know the danger.
“The number isn’t as low as it needs to be. They just make such a mess.”
He added: “We are still inundated with squirrels.
“It needs to be stopped completely. You definitely still see people doing it.
“I have nothing against pigeons as a bird but it’s the damage they cause.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Pigeons have plagued the parliament for years. When the building first opened, muck and feathers were blown through vents on to researchers’ desks and some birds even got into MSPs’ offices. Nets, wires and spikes were installed in a bid to keep the birds away.
Birds of prey were introduced in 2009 with a strict “no kill” policy. Last year, the Evening News revealed laser pens were also being used to frighten the birds away, prompting warnings by experts that birds could be blinded by such measures.
Today, pigeon experts said the parliament was wasting money by paying for any more action against the birds.
Monthly reports to Holyrood by contractors NBC Bird and Pest Solutions say they find an average of 14 birds present each time they arrive for their early-morning visits.
And the reports claim they successfully disperse about two-thirds each time.
But Emma Haskell, who until recently ran the Pigeon Control Advisory Service, said there was little chance of getting the numbers any lower.
She said: “These will undoubtedly be the same birds each time. They will return to base once the hawk has gone. You would need to fly the hawks 24/7 to deter the pigeons permanently.
“They are never going to be pigeon-free. That’s just unrealistic.
“Fourteen is a very small number of birds for an area the size of the parliament. Why are they spending any money on that number of pigeons? It’s a complete waste of money.”
Ms Haskell said the only time the pigeons would be absent from the building was when a hawk was flying and there was no reason to suppose scrapping such flights would lead to an increase in numbers.
Edinburgh Southern SNP MSP Jim Eadie said: “Given the size and importance of the building, it is appropriate there should be proper pest control measures in place.
“The public is entitled to expect that any expenditure is constantly reviewed and evaluated to ensure the taxpayer is receiving value for money.”
It is understood the parliament will consider cutting back hawk visits when the contract runs out in May next year.
A spokesman said: “While we are pleased measures have reduced the number of issues in recent times, we are aware the problem can never be fully eradicated. A decision on whether to continue with the existing approach will be taken early next year.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
AN OAP was left suffering from a deadly lung disease after a flock of pigeons set up home in an empty property above her.
Rosslyn Osinski, 67, had to be taken to hospital with pigeon fancier’s lung after 70 birds moved into the derelict home and excrement started to seep through her ceiling.
Her husband Michael, 68, feared for her life after she lost more than a stone and was hooked up to oxygen to keep her alive.
Rosslyn spent two weeks in hospital and had to undergo a six-month course of steroids.
Last night, Rosslyn demanded someone is held accountable, blasting: “This has been an absolute nightmare.”
Rosslyn first visited her GP in January last year with breathlessness, diarrhoea, vomiting and fatigue.
She went to Borders General Hospital where she was put on antibiotics and hooked up to oxygen.
Rosslyn said: “On Christmas Day, I just managed to get out of bed. I looked like skin and bone – I looked absolutely terrible.
“I spent a week in hospital on antibiotics and oxygen and then I was released.
“Within 24 hours, I had to call an ambulance. I couldn’t breathe. I went back to hospital, looked at myself in the mirror and I just started crying.
“I just thought to myself, ‘I’m going to die in here.’ I thought, ‘This must be what it’s like to die’.”
Michael said: “They did a CT scan and her lungs were white. If a doctor had not spotted it, she’d be dead.”
Rosslyn’s nightmare started after the Crown Hotel above her basement home in Coldstream, Berwick- shire, fell into disrepair and the birds moved in.
The couple are taking legal action against Scottish Borders Council, claiming they failed to make the building safe despite complaints. But the council’s insurers have denied liability.
Rosslyn’s basement home – which is underneath the hotel – was repeatedly flooded with “dirty, brown, filthy water” which had filtered through piles of pigeon excrement.
The couple were left with a £5000 bill to repair the damage.
Rosslyn, who had hoped to run a B&B from their home said: “I still have scar tissue in my lungs and so there’s no way I can cater for people.
“It’s ruined the little business we hoped to have.”
A spokesman for Scottish Borders Council said: “We have no comment to make at this stage as we feel it may prejudice the legal process.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
BEIRUT: After weeks of warning the Lebanese over rotten and contaminated meat, the health minister raised red flags Tuesday over something seemingly more innocuous: wheat.
“Lebanese are sharing wheat with rats and pigeons,” Health Minister Wael Abu Faour said Tuesday at the end of an inspection tour of grain silos at Beirut’s port.
“There is a fence, but it’s not sufficient,” Abu Faour told a news conference with the agriculture and economy ministers. “We found a number of rats and rodents, some of them dead.”
“The presence of a huge number of birds also allows the transmission of spores,” he said from the port. “There are also pigeons, some of them dead, around the silos.”
The health minister said two other issues that need to be addressed were the cargo containers and maintenance rooms that could lead to water leakage, causing mold to thrive.
Abu Faour also said the trucks transporting the grain “were not in good condition.”
He referred the case to judicial authorities.
Abu Faour acknowledged that grain silos in the port have recently been placed under new management, noting that an administration was set up only seven months ago, and a manager was appointed two months later.
The health minister said that he “did not hold any party responsible” for the filthy conditions given that the problems in Beirut’s port have been accumulating for years.
But the agriculture minister was quick to blame the poor conditions on the government’s “historic neglect of this port.”
Chehayeb also expressed concern over the facility’s working conditions, noting that 4,000 truck drivers do not have access to a single bathroom.
Port manager Moussa Khoury expressed his support for the health minister’s campaign, but noted that investigations were restricted to areas surrounding the silos and not inside the silos themselves.
Abu Faour and Chehayeb could not access the silos because they became trapped in an elevator for 15 minutes inside the facility.
Despite the poor conditions of the facility, the manager maintained his belief that the wheat abided by health standards, noting that the grains are received and withdrawn from the silos using approved equipment. Khoury also noted that the grains are sterilized before being transferred to the mill.
Tuesday’s move was the latest in a series of actions undertaken by Abu Faour as part of his wildly popular food safety campaign last month. Abu Faour and inspectors from the ministry have been inspecting food and transportation facilities around the country, highlighting safety violations publicly.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
A hawk – or hawks – once made the top of City Hall home. And, apparently, the birds of prey did yeoman’s work in keeping the pigeon population in check.
Those hawks, though, have found another place to rest their claws. No one knows why. Since then, the place has really gone to… the other birds.
With no predators around, the pigeon population proliferated. So did the amount of pigeon droppings that rain down from the ledges where they perch on the 12-story building.
The droppings have become such a problem that the city hired an animal control company to move the birds. The city has also paid to have the windows power washed three times. Some city staffers have relocated important meetings because of the unsightly office windows.
“It’s gross,” city spokeswoman Lori Crouch said. “You can’t have a meeting in your office when your windows are literally covered in poo.”
So far, the animal control and cleanings have cost $24,000, with another $6,700 job coming after the holidays, according to the city. The power washings, which likely will continue every week or two, cost $1,600 apiece.
City staffers see the humor in the ordeal. One joke involves a new nickname for the building. (Hint: It rhymes with City Hall.)
For a holiday gift exchange, Crouch received a “bird poop survival kit,” including Windex, a squeegee, wipes – and a bird ornament.
Another staffer got a bird feeder.
A company named ACME Animal Control has been trying to resolve the issue since August. But, in some respects, things have gotten worse.
ACME installed bird spikes around the top floors of the building where the pigeons roost to deter them from sticking around. While some have taken the hint, the rest have gathered on a panel just below the building’s roof.
“Every place we spiked pushed them up higher and higher,” said David Freeman, director of the city’s General Services Department.
“And as they started going higher, the poop problem started getting worse.”
Freeman described a “splatter effect.”
“It has a lot more intensity when it hits something,” he said.
The windows on the 10th and 11th floors on the north and east sides of the building take the worst of the waste.
After the holidays, the city will add another round of spikes and hope that does the trick, Freeman said. If not, it will look at other options.
“It’s been a cat-and-mouse game,” Freeman said. “We’re winning all these battles and eventually we’re going to end up winning the war.”
Of course, Freeman wouldn’t mind a little help. A hawk would be a welcome addition to the neighborhood.
“They certainly would not starve,” Freeman said. “There would be plenty of food to eat.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Thousands of pigeons have invaded a small town in Scotland – coating roofs, streets and pavements in droppings and feathers.
Frustrated residents in Alva, Clackmannanshire, have hit out at council officials for failing to take action to remove the birds after they claim they have been hit be a ‘plague of pigeons’.
It is thought the birds are looking for a place to roost after the demolition of a former pub, the Alva Glen Hotel, which had lain empty for years and where they had taken residency.
A small town in Scotland has been invaded by a swarm of pigeons, which have coated roofs and pavements with droppings and feathers
But it was recently knocked down after it was discovered that drug barons had been using it as a cannabis farm in 2009.
Residents have complained that persistent problems include pigeons taking to balconies and that roofs of buildings are being covered in feathers and droppings.
Frank Cairns, 45, a local publican who lives and works in Main Street where most of the birds have settled, said: ‘It’s an absolute nightmare. It’s like we’ve gone back to the Middle Ages with street hygiene.
‘It will harm trade, no doubt about that. It gives us a harder job to keep the place clean.’
His sister Katrina Cairns added: ‘We have had to clean the gutters three times to clean out the pigeon mess. It is all getting dragged in here.
‘School kids are walking along the street, walking it into shops, the school, their houses.
‘I know the council said they are sending a cleaner along the street, but the mess is still there. The disease it brings – they are not exactly clean animals.
It is thought the birds are trying to find somewhere to roost after their previous home – the Alva Glen Hotel – was recently demolished
The pigeons can be seen in their thousands as they sit on roofs of houses. Furious residents have complained the council has not done enough to remove the birds
‘It’s not great, you have to try to avoid it in the street.’
Graham Johnston owns a watch shop and has many of the pigeons roosting on his roof: ‘It is annoying. Someone must be feeding them or they’d be away by now.
‘There is droppings all along the pavement. It’s horrible. The mess gets brought into the shop from the pavement outside. There is nothing being done about it.’
James McDonald, 64, who lives opposite where the hotel used to be, added: ‘It’s not very nice, the mess in the street is horrible.’
George Horsburgh, former secretary of Alva Community Council, who is also part of the Alva Community Action Group, said: ‘This has infuriated many residents of Alva who are worst affected, in particular residents of the flattened dwellings in The Wynd.
‘The residents there have to put up with many of the pigeons roosting on their balconies overnight and part of the day, making them unusable to the residents, some of them have resorted to fitting strawberry netting across the front of their balconies to prevent the pigeons from gaining access.
‘One older lady constantly complains that they roost on her window ledges and wonders why no action has been taken.’
Residents have complained that persistent problems include pigeons taking to balconies and that roofs of buildings are being covered in feathers and droppings
The derelict former hotel was bought and flattened by construction firm Murdoch Smith last year after it was branded an eyesore, due to its state of disrepair and problems surrounding the maintenance of the building date as far back as 2006.
Local MP Gordon Banks agrees the pigeon issue is causing distress for many people, and believes the situation has been a long time coming.
He said: ‘There can be no doubt that there are hundreds of pigeons displaced from the old Alva Glen Hotel and such populations are an obvious result of buildings lying empty and falling into disrepair, so the problem has been a long time in the making.
‘Now that their roost has been destroyed these birds are in the open and can often be seen swarming in their hundreds in the area.
‘The council’s hope that they will naturally disperse does not seem to have much support and I hope there is some way that the council will rethink their position and investigate methods for dispersal.
‘This is a problem where buildings are allowed to fall into disrepair and impacts other areas of the county as well, so I look forward to the council being more proactive on empty buildings in the future.’
Another resident said: ‘As soon as they took the roof of the Alva Glen Hotel, the town was hit by a plague of pigeons flying around wondering where their home had gone. They had all been roosting in the attic.’
The birds had been roosting in the Alva Glen Hotel (pictured) before it was recently demolished after residents complained it was an ‘eyesore’
The small town of Alva in Clackmannanshire has been inundated with the pigeons and the local council has organised extra street cleaning
Clackmannanshire Council said it had been concerned about the potential for problems from pests from the site and, in advance of the demolition, had investigated options for culling the birds.
A spokeswoman for the council said: ‘Due to animal welfare legislation we were unable to net the buildings as it would have trapped the birds inside and due to the poor state of the building we were unable to gain access to poison the birds.
‘It was expected that the pigeon population of Alva would decrease as the air temperature dropped and the pigeons are forced to find new sheltered spots for roosting at night.
‘The persistence of birds during daytime is indicative of food being put out for the birds during the day.
‘The council has investigated a number of reports and spoken to those responsible.
‘To reduce the impact off the pigeon droppings on the pavements of Alva, the council has organised extra street cleansing and also arranged for high powered jet washing of the worst affected areas.
‘Council officers will continue to monitor the situation, and consider further action should the issue persist.’
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
BEIRUT: After weeks of warning the Lebanese over rotten and contaminated meat, the health minister raised red flags Tuesday over something seemingly more innocuous: wheat.
