Heritage Trust concern about St Paul’s Church fire risk

Heritage Trust concern about St Paul’s Church fire risk

pigeon patrolParts of a derelict Perth city centre church present a “very real fire risk”, a survey of the building has found.

Sections of St Paul’s Church cannot be entered for safety reasons and it contains an infestation of pigeons and serious dry rot.

The findings were made by Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust, which recommended anyone entering should check their tetanus status due to sharp timber, glass and metal edges caused by vandalism and decay.

The survey document also states the listed building has “no ground whatsoever” and has a partially collapsed ceiling.

A separate structural engineering assessment recently carried out for the council claims St Paul’s Church is currently in a “very poor condition” with “little if any maintenance”.

It states: “There is significant water penetration into the building through the main roof. Left unchecked this could lead to failure of key elements of the roof structure… and collapse of the roof.

“Material is at risk of falling on to the public areas – roads and pavements – surrounding the building. The guano and dead birds present a significant health hazard to anyone entering it.”

The findings came to light as The Courier learned Perth and Kinross Council is still considering a compulsory purchase of St Paul’s if the present owner, James Boyd, of Belfast-based Simple Global Marketing, does not press ahead with his plan for a café/ community heritage use.

The trust report says efforts will have to be made to address nesting pigeons inside the building after attempts to keep them out with chicken wire failed.

It states: “Galvanised chicken wire is to be fixed to the timber louvres in the belfry openings and to all other window openings where pigeons are gaining access.

“Once access has been restricted those pigeons still within the building are to be humanely dispatched.

“The dome plasterwork, and particularly the cornice, is historically important and very insecure so it must not be damaged with air-gun pellets.

“Roosting and nesting has been ongoing inside and within the fabric of the building for a long time and consequently several shooting visits or an extended trapping campaign will be needed.”

The report also states that serious dry rot has rendered some upper parts of the gallery “potentially unsafe” with principal structural beams said to be rotting and missing in some places.

It has also been revealed there have been “significant” falls of plaster from the dome.

Mr Boyd said: “We are discussing extensive urgent works with the council and Historic Scotland. These will be several months long.”

 

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.

Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)

Newcastle hotel plans to ‘electrify’ Tyne Bridge towers to shift rare kittiwake colony

Newcastle hotel plans to ‘electrify’ Tyne Bridge towers to shift rare kittiwake colony

pigeon patrolPlans which could shift a rare bird colony from the Tyne Bridge have ruffled feathers among nature lovers.

Gainford Hotels, which owns the Vermont Aparthotel and the Aveika bar beneath the bridge, has submitted plans to install anti-bird netting and an electrified surface in a bid to stop kittiwakes nesting on the Tyne Bridge tower and around the two venues.

The firm behind the application claim the move would ‘create a safer more hygienic area’ under the bridge for pedestrians – but a number of bird lovers have already started preparing their objections.

The kittiwake colony spread along the Tyne is the only inland nesting site for the birds in the country, and this week the RSPB reclassified the birds as among the most at risk in the UK.

James Littlewood, a director of the Natural History Society of Northumbria, has called for the public to object to the scheme.

He added: “The Tyne Kittiwakes are local celebrities, they attract people to the Quayside to watch them and we know one visitor requested a hotel room overlooking the birds so they could photograph them.

“They are loved by many people for the drama and wilderness they bring to the city each summer, kittiwakes around the UK are declining and so the successful Tyneside population is important.”

It is believed there are around 100 nesting pairs that use the bridge, with more birds nesting on the Baltic gallery, in Gateshead Quayside.

Mr Littlewood added: “Preventing Kittiwakes from nesting on a building does not solve the problem – they simply move onto a building nearby creating a problem for someone else.

“Indeed the reason that so many nest on the Tyne Bridge is because they were moved from other buildings without any thought as to where they would go.”

It is understood the hotel have power washed the tower to remove some of the muck from the structure though Newcastle City Council said no planning permission was required.

Documents submitted to the council by Gainsford Hotels said: “Following discussions with council representatives and specialists, it has been deemed necessary to reduce the amount of bird nesting activity on the south tower of the bridge.

“The purpose of this proposal is to create a safer and more hygienic area under the tower for pedestrians and businesses during the main nesting season of the kittiwakes.”

It is understood a variety of groups plan to object to the proposals.

Helen Quayle, the RSPB’s marine conservation officer for the North East, said: “We sympathise that the kittiwakes are noisy and can cause mess, but they are only here for a short time whist they breed, between March and August.

“The kittiwakes along the Tyne nest on man-made structures and over time as these have been demolished or access has been prevented (i.e. through netting) with the consequence of the birds have shifting from one building to another. This does not represent a long-term solution for people or the birds.

“Preventing access to kittiwake nest sites requires careful consideration to ensure that the method used is fit for purpose and thought is given to where displaced birds will settle.”

A Newcastle City Council spokesperson confirmed the application includes bird netting, angled sill plates and an electric shock systems, as well as a listed building application.

A statement said: “These applications are currently being assessed.

“Ownership of the Tyne Bridge Tower for these applications is in the council’s ownership.

“If any alterations have already been installed, these have been done so prior to the determination of the applications.”

Gainford Hotels has yet to provide a comment.

 

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.

Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)

North Las Vegas residents disgusted with pigeon infestation Marissa Kynaston

North Las Vegas residents disgusted with pigeon infestation Marissa Kynaston

pigeon patrolNorth Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) – People living in one North Las Vegas community say the amount of pigeons there have left their homes and streets in a disgusting mess.

One couple, JoLynn and Ray Templin, reached out to Action News because they didn’t know who to ask for help.

They’ve lived in the community near R.C. Farms for several years. Within the past few months, they said they’ve been experiencing an infestation of pigeons and black birds.

R.C. Farms has been sitting just miles from the Las Vegas strip for about 50 years.

It’s been praised for being a recycling visionary, but also criticized for being a nuisance to neighbors.

“I think it should be the pig farm doing something about it,” says JoLynn Templin.

After several calls and talking with city officials, Action News learned the pigeon problem is the homeowner’s responsibility.

Pigeons are considered pests and should be treated like any other pest.

There are pigeon control companies in the valley, but the Templin’s still feel like they were misled. ”

“That’s just wrong, there should have never been anybody building homes or any kind of property up here,” says JoLynn Templin.

Action News reached out to R.C. Farms for comment, and haven’t yet heard back.

 

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.

Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)

Slithery solution to pigeon problem?

Slithery solution to pigeon problem?

pigeon patrolA few years back when Gordon Snell became Mayor of Huntsville, and in his first week on the job, he looked through the paperwork on his desk and saw an estimate from a Toronto area Pest control Company to rid the Town Hall of nesting pigeons.

So the story goes Gord went to see Ted Hares then the Town Clerk to ask what the high price estimate was all about. After hearing the story, and finding out that he could charge up to $100.00 on his own, Gord walked down the street to Stedman’s and spent $12.00 on rubber snakes.

He took them back to the Town Hall and climbed up to the roof, placed the snakes in pigeon nesting areas and went back to work.

The pigeons migrated to another area of Town, and as far as I know, never came back.

Seems they don’t like snakes.

Would this work at the Summit Center?

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.

Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)

Salmonella risk identified in tank water

Salmonella risk identified in tank water

pigeon patrolResearchers have identified how a specific strain of salmonella is getting into Bermuda’s drinking water system, prompting environmental health officials to reiterate advice on how to avoid getting ill.

The research team, led by doctoral student Shervon De Leon, took faecal samples from 273 creatures on the Island and discovered that feral chickens and pigeons were the main carriers of salmonella mississippi.

They concluded that although chickens cannot access rooftops, they can pass on the disease-causing bacterium to other animals, such as pigeons and lizards, at shared feeding grounds, which can lead to the contamination of water tanks and the spread of salmonella mississippi to humans.

Elaine Watkinson, a senior public health analyst, told The Royal Gazette that householders should treat untreated or “raw” water like raw meat, adding: “You have to do something to your food, such as cooking raw meat or washing vegetables and fruit. Don’t assume the water is safe.”

Susan Hill Davidson, acting chief environmental health officer, added: “We have more detail. It’s an opportunity for us to again get the message across and maybe some people like to listen to the science and that might be the thing that might spur them [to treat their water].”

David Kendell, director of the Department of Health, said adult Bermudians who had lived here all their lives might have developed some immunity to bacteria in tank water but others were at risk, especially bottle-fed infants whose formula was made using untreated water, and those with compromised immune systems.

“People need to really look at it in terms of protecting the health of their children,” he said.

The joint study into the source of salmonella mississippi — which is the predominant strain of salmonella in Bermuda and on the Australian island of Tasmania, but in very few other countries — was prompted by an earlier Caribbean-led burden of illness report.

That report found from the testing of human stool samples that salmonella poisoning accounted for almost half of the gastroenteritis cases in Bermuda, with some 70 per cent of those salmonella cases involving salmonella mississippi.

Gastroenteritis is a public health concern on the Island, with an annual incidence of one episode per person per year.

Mr De Leon, a student at the University of the West Indies, said his team suspected birds would play a major part in the transmission of salmonella mississippi and the study bore that out.

“We looked at feral chickens, birds, frogs, rats, and we found a high prevalence in feral chickens and in pigeons and in some of the other birds,” he said.

“[In the case of chickens], they pass it on to other birds that share feeding grounds because they all poop where they eat. The other birds that can fly will get on to rooftops and then rainfall washes that poop into your water tank and then people drink that water. If it’s not treated, you have people getting sick from that water.”

Of the 63 feral chickens that were tested, salmonella was detected in 35 and samples from 14 tested positive for salmonella mississippi.

The researchers also tested tap and tank water samples from 102 randomly chosen households, most of which were untreated.

The samples were not tested for specific pathogens but for general “coliform bacteria” that would indicate the possible presence of harmful, disease-causing organisms in the water. Nearly all tap and tank samples — 88 and 89 per cent, respectively — contained coliforms.

A questionnaire on use and treatment of rooftop-collected water from those households discovered that 65.7 per cent did nothing to treat their water.

Almost 100 per cent used the water for cooking, 89 per cent used it for drinking and 100 per cent used it for cleaning dishes.

The researchers, who presented their findings at the third international One Health Congress in Amsterdam last year, concluded: “Most Bermudian residential water is contaminated by bacterial faecal indicator species.

“Depending on the indicator, between 67 per cent and 90 per cent of tap samples surpassed government safe drinking water standards and few households treat their water. Drinking water is likely a source of gastroenteritis.”

The team said its findings suggested “no improvement” to household water supplies since the last study ten years ago.

Ms Hill Davidson said householders could take simple steps to protect themselves and their families, including chlorinating tank water regularly, boiling water for a minimum of three to five minutes, or installing a UV treatment system. Brita and similar filters do not remove bacteria.

She said the aim was not to scare anyone as drinking water was a healthy lifestyle choice, but to make people aware that untreated tank water could cause illness.

“Our budget constraints mean that we can’t do as much as we might like from the public education point of view,” she said. “[But] repeating the message is something we have done annually and certainly over and over again.”

 

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.

Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)

Man Caught On Video Allegedly Stealing Pigeons Off NYC Street

Man Caught On Video Allegedly Stealing Pigeons Off NYC Street

pigeon patrolNEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A man was caught on video allegedly trapping pigeons and stealing them off the streets of New York City.

A Manhattan woman posted the video on her Facebook page earlier this week. The woman who posted the video told CBS2 that the man used a net to trap the birds and scooped them up.

The man is caught on video carrying something to his van in the East Village, but it was not immediately clear what he was carrying.

Trapping birds is illegal in New York City without a permit, but it was not immediately clear if the man on video had one.

The NYPD said they are aware of the video, but have not investigated the incident because no formal complaint has been filed.

 

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.

Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)