by Pigeon Patrol | Nov 21, 2014 | Bird Netting
The pigeon has side-mounted eyes, unlike humans and owls which have forward facing eyes. As pigeons have monocular vision rather than binocular vision they bob their heads for depth of perception. The pigeon’s eyes function much better with stationary images and therefore as the pigeon takes a step forward the head is temporarily left behind. The next step jerks the head forward again and so on. This allows the bird to correctly orient itself.
Visual presentation of a pigeon bobbing it’s head
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)
by Pigeon Patrol | Nov 21, 2014 | Bird Netting
Gamblers are real bird-brains in the way they are tempted to take risks, scientists have found.
Research has shown that both human gamblers and pigeons are 35% more likely to take greater risks when there is a chance of a big win.
Dr Elliot Ludvig, from the University of Warwick’s Department of Psychology, said: “Birds are distantly related to humans, yet we still share the same basic psychology that drives risk-taking. This may be due to a shared common ancestry or similar evolutionary pressures.
“When people gamble, they often rely on past experiences with risk and rewards to make decisions. What we found in this study is that pigeons used these past experiences in very similar ways to guide their future gambling decisions. Any big wins we’ve had in the past are memorable and stand-out when we are making our decision to gamble again.”
Human volunteers and pigeons were tested with four options: two that led to high-value rewards and two that led to low-value rewards.
While humans were rewarded with points, the pigeons were rewarded with food.
For each high or low reward level, one safe option resulted in a guaranteed fixed reward, and one risky option yielded a 50/50 chance of a better or worse outcome.
Both birds and humans alike were found to be 35% more likely to take a gamble on the high-value rewards.
The study, published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, was conducted in collaboration with the University of Alberta, Canada, and part-funded by the Alberta Gambling Research Institute.
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)
by Pigeon Patrol | Nov 18, 2014 | Bird Netting
1. Large population of pigeons is a health hazard.
Our huge feral pigeon population is a health hazard and creates many problems in the city. Pigeon droppings dirty public spaces, do costly damage to buildings, and can spread life-threatening diseases, especially to the elderly and immune-deficient. Their nesting materials block drains and harbor parasites like bird mites. Pigeon food makes a mess and attracts rats.
2. Feeding pigeons promotes overbreeding.
Pigeon feeding produces overbreeding. Pigeons normally breed two or three times a year, producing two eggs per brood. Overfed city pigeons can breed up to eight times a year.
Sometimes having a tender heart towards pigeons may have destructive consequences
3. Pigeons are harmed when fed.
When you feed pigeons, you are not doing them a favor. They lose their natural ability to scavenge and survive on their own. Pigeon over population leads to overcrowded, unsanitary conditions and produces sick and injured birds. A smaller flock is healthier and does less damage.
4. It attracts other pests
People who feed pigeons often end up feeding more than they bargained for. If food is too plentiful, pigeons may not always eat everything that is left out for them. The remaining food may attract rats and mice.
Lovely, though pigeons have become an increasing environmental and health concern in recent years
5. It affects other birds
Feeding feral pigeons can deprive other birds of food and might scare them from your garden. Smaller birds such as thrushes and finches are often frightened off when numbers of much larger pigeons arrive. Feral pigeons can also carry viruses that can be spread to other birds causing death.
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)
by Pigeon Patrol | Nov 18, 2014 | Bird Netting, Pigeons in the News
Woody Allen famously dubbed them “rats with wings,” and we all more or less agree: when it comes to pigeons, everyone’s a hater. They’re filthy disease carriers! Parasites of the urban environment! Dumber than chickens!
Not so, says award-winning Toronto-based filmmaker Scott Harper, and he’s setting the record straight in his documentary The Secret Life of Pigeons, airing Thursday November 20 on CBC’s The Nature of Things.
“They can recognize an individual by their face alone,” says Harper, revealing just one of the surprising pigeon truths revealed in his film. The birds are actually highly intelligent, and can differentiate between the nice old lady bringing a bag of corn to share and the mean old witch ready to beat them off with a stick, just by examining their facial features.
Pigeons also have a very long and surprisingly amicable history with humans. Domesticated as far back as ancient Egypt, pigeons have served man as a mode of communication, a tasty snack, a form of entertainment and even as a medium for studying brain chemistry.
Carrier pigeons saved thousands of lives during WWI, and were as close to a walkie talkie as guys like Genghis Khan were going to get.
Pigeon races were once a popular pass time, and though they don’t draw a crowd like they once did, the Queen and Prince Charles continue to keep racing pigeons, and there are still races held as nearby as Bradford, Ontario.
Then there is the world of the pigeon fancier — individuals who breed pigeons for show. Yes, it’s a thing that exists, and we suggest you Google it (to see many photos of grown men — including Mike Tyson — holding their beloved pigeons).
And because pigeons form and then lose memory in a manner remarkably similar to humans, scientists use the birds in Alzheimer’s research and testing.
But perhaps the most surprising fact revealed about these ubiquitous birds is that they continue to exist at all.
“It’s amazing how these birds have survived in a place where they are really not wanted,” says Harper. The story of the urban pigeon actually turns out to be a rather heartbreaking one. Because they are domesticated animals that have found themselves homeless, they don’t feed on anything natural, and so must surviving on little more than refuse and what the odd pigeon lover leaves for them. In fact, says Harper, when someone who regularly feeds the neighbourhood pigeons stop doing so, that whole flock will likely die. “They made feeding pigeons in London’s Trafalgar Square illegal,” says Harper, “and now there are no pigeons in Trafalgar Square.”
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)
by Pigeon Patrol | Nov 6, 2014 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes
Pigeons of the city are feral bird of an invasive species. The biggest problem are pigeon droppings which are not only unsightly but pose a health hazard to the general public. There are more than 60 transmissible diseases from pigeon to humans.
Some examples include:
Histoplasmosis is a respiratory disease that may be fatal. It results from a fungus growing in dried bird droppings. Candidiasis is a yeast or fungus infection spread by pigeons. The disease affects the skin, the mouth, the respiratory system, the intestines and the urogenital tract, especially the vagina. It is a growing problem for women, causing itching, pain and discharge. Cryptococcosis is caused by yeast found in the intestinal tract of pigeons and starlings. The illness often begins as a pulmonary disease and may later affect the central nervous system. Since attics, cupolas, ledges, schools, offices, warehouses, mills, barns, park buildings, signs, etc. are typical roosting and nesting sites, the fungus is apt to found in these areas.
St. Louis Encephalitis, an inflammation of the nervous system, usually causes drowsiness, headache and fever. It may even result in paralysis, coma or death. St. Louis encephalitis occurs in all age groups, but is especially fatal to persons over age 60. The disease is spread by mosquitoes which have fed on infected house sparrow, pigeons and house finches carrying the Group B virus responsible for St. Louis encephalitis.
Salmonellosis often occurs as “food poisoning” and can be traced to pigeons, starlings and sparrows. The disease bacteria are found in bird droppings; dust from droppings can be sucked through ventilators and air conditioners, contaminating food and cooking surfaces in restaurants, homes and food processing plants.
E.coli. Cattle carry E. coli 0157:H7. When birds peck on cow manure, the E. coli go right through the birds and the bird droppings can land on or in a food or water supply.
A flock of pigeons
Besides being direct carriers of disease, nuisance birds are frequently associated with over 50 kindsof ectoparasites, which can work their way throughout structures to infest and bite humans. About two-thirds of these pests may be detrimental to the general health and well-being of humans and domestic animals. The rest are considered nuisance or incidental pests. A few examples of ectoparasites include:
Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) may consume up to five times their own weight in blood drawn from hosts which include humans and some domestic animals. In any extreme condition, victims may become weak and anemic. Pigeons, starlings and house sparrows are known to carry bed bugs.
Chicken mites (Dermanyssus gallinae) are known carriers of encephalitis and may also cause fowl mite dermatitis and acariasis. While they subsist on blood drawn from a variety of birds, they may also attack humans. They have been found on pigeons, starlings and house sparrows.
Yellow mealworms (Tenebrio molitor), perhaps the most common beetle parasites of people in the United States, live in pigeon nests. It is found in grain or grain products, often winding up in breakfast cereals, and may cause intestinal canthariasis and hymenolespiasis.
West Nile Virus while West Nile is technically not transmitted to humans from birds, humans can get infected by the bite of a mosquito who has bitten an infected bird.
Pigeon pox
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)
by Pigeon Patrol | Nov 6, 2014 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News
PROBLEMATIC pigeons will no longer be able to nest under the railway bridge on Chepstow Road.
Network Rail put up the nets after councillors raised concerns about safety, adding the birds were so foul they made worshippers reluctant to go to a nearby mosque.
Maindee residents had hoped for a solution for years and say they are delighted action has finally been taken.
Worshippers at the Shahporan Bangladeshi Jam’e Mosque had to walk underneath the bridge to get to prayers, but many felt the pigeon mess made it difficult to be clean before entering the mosque, a requirement in Islam.
Others said the pigeon prevalence was dangerous as people had slipped over on the droppings.
Councillor Christine Jenkins said her husband noticed workmen installing the netting last week. “I want to say ‘Thank you’ to Network Rail”, she said. “It has been installed since we put it in the paper and it’s a good result. We have waited a long time to have netting put under the bridge. It’s nice to know Network Rail is listening to the public. It’s going to have a good effect on the community – they have been fighting for years for it.”
One worshipper, Abbas Meah, 75, who has lived in Maindee since 1962, said the pigeons had been a serious problem. “People must walk through pigeon mess on both sides of the bridge,” he said prior to the nets being installed. “People can’t pray like this.”
Majid Rahman, councillor for Victoria ward, said the walls had been “grubby with pigeon mess. It’s a health and safety issue. Someone badly hurt their hand as a result of droppings on a metal grate.”
Cllrs Rahman and Jenkins delivered a leaflet to Maindee residents last week saying the nets had been installed “to protect you from pigeon droppings” after talks with the council’s street scene department, Network Rail and Maindee Action Group.
A Network Rail spokesman said previously: “Network Rail has a responsibility to taxpayers to ensure that it spends its limited public funds wisely.
“When looking at the problem and nuisance we know pigeons cause, we look at the scale of the problem and undertake a risk assessment to make an informed judgement.”
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)
