by Pigeon Patrol | Dec 16, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes
Tram commuters say that a pigeon ‘infestation’ is causing problems at Prestwich tram stop.
The birds have nested at the Metrolink station and surrounding area for several years, but fresh concerns have arisen that their droppings are a health risk and damaging buildings.
Transport bosses installed pigeon netting at Prestwich in 2011 and say that cleaners still sweep the station daily, but passengers and local councillors have called for more action against the ‘rats with wings’.
Tram traveller Billy McCulloch complained to Metrolink for a third time about the issue this week. He asked: “Have reported pigeon infestation three times now at Prestwich, do you know if anything is being done?”
Mr McCulloch also flagged up the problem on Twitter on May 6 and on April 30. Fellow traveller Keith Marks tweeted: “Not sure how but pigeons are now nesting behind the anti-pigeon wire at Prestwich”.
Pigeons at Prestwich Metrolink station
Metrolink say they are not aware of any ‘infestation’ but have asked people not to feed the birds.
Councillor Tim Pickstone, who represents the area and blogged about the problem last year, told the M.E.N: “Both the bridges under the Metrolink at Prestwich are busy thoroughfares and pigeons are causing significant nuisance for both pedestrians and cyclists.
“It is important the Metrolink keep on top of the netting. In recent months, we’ve seen situations where birds have been trapped due to poorly maintained netting, now they’re even nesting behind it!”
Councillor Alan Quinn added: “When I’ve raised the problem of pigeons with Metrolink, they’ve acted quickly. For example they’ve put nets and spikes on most of the bridges in Prestwich that the trams use.
“The problem is made worse by the fact that people keep feeding the pigeons. Food is left regularly in Heaton Park and in areas of Prestwich.
“You’d wouldn’t put food out for rats and pigeons do carry disease that can affect humans, so why people feed these ‘rats with wings’ is beyond me. The droppings left are a health risk and can damage buildings.”
A TfGM spokesperson said: “The Metrolink operator employs contractors to not only control rodents and pests at stops but also to carry out a daily brush and mopping of stop and bridge areas.
“They also install pigeon deterrent measures from time to time in certain locations and Prestwich is one such area. However, we are not aware of any infestation problem.
“To help us maintain clean and pleasant facilities, we would ask customers not to feed any pigeons and avoid eating or discarding convenience foods on stop platforms.”
The M.E.N reported as early as 2011 how pigeons were causing a nuisance on the Bury Metrolink line, with prevention measures installed at several stations.
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 | Dec 14, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes
A mini-documentary posted on the news site Vox wastes no time addressing the leading criticism of one of the most urban and synanthropic animals, the pigeon. People often complain that the animal shits too much (each bird produces an estimated 25 pounds a year), and that this shit, which accumulates and hardens along the exterior of buildings, or in the dusk of neglected attics, or on sections of a sidewalk that are beneath stretches of telephone cables beloved, for some reason or another, by a loft, is nothing but a paradise for diseases that are as ugly as the shit they thrive in. It gets worse.
There was even a moment near the middle of the 20th century when pigeon shit was confused with the sound of our universe’s birth, the cosmic microwave background. Wikipedia:
The [scientists] were certain that the radiation they detected on a wavelength of 7.35 centimeters did not come from the Earth, the Sun, or our galaxy. After thoroughly checking their equipment, removing some pigeons nesting in the antenna and cleaning out the accumulated droppings, the noise of remained.
And so the story of how we discovered the relic radiation that provided strong evidence for the big bang theory, our deepest understanding of our origins, cannot be told without pigeon shit.
But the prominence of pigeons is not new. As this mini-documentary points out, they figure in the opening chapter of the founding text of modern biology, Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. These birds helped millions of people see that the earth is really, really old, and that life is not static but constantly changing with changes in the natural environment or, as in the case of the pigeons in Darwin’s book, changes in the tastes of humans.
Also, and this is not mentioned in the Vox doc, pigeons shed light on the roots of religion. It was revealed in an experiment conducted by the American behaviorist B.F. Skinner. What happened was this: Skinner put a pigeon in a box rigged with buttons and a feed delivery system. Even a pigeon can’t resist pushing buttons. And the food functioned as a reward for the captive bird. But Skinner rewarded the bird at random. Pecking this button or that offered no ordered result. The food just just fell into the box without rhyme or reason. And what happened? Well, if the food dropped while the pigeon happened to have its neck turned to the left, the poor thing assumed that turning its neck to left had done the trick. The pigeon would turn its neck again in that way, and by luck food fell into the box again. That was it. The bird believed in the church of turning the neck to the left. Skinner called it “superstitious behavior.”
And there is also the matter of pigeon feet, but I have already written about that. My point is we should show more respect and sympathy to this bird. It has been good to us.
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 | Dec 10, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes
TORONTO – Feeding pigeons may soon be outlawed in the City of Toronto.
Licensing chairman Cesar Palacio got the licensing committee to vote Monday to have staff look at the possibility of prohibiting the feeding of pigeons in public spaces in the city.
“There are public places, for example Yonge-Dundas Square or piazzas in my ward, where very often it is becoming a nuisance because of feeding,” the Ward 17 (Davenport) councillor said. “What I’m asking is if there is a way to work together with those that feel very passionate about it but also to maintain the cleanliness of it.”
Right now, anyone could feed pigeons in most of the city’s public spaces — though the parks bylaw does ban the feeding of any birds in Toronto parks.
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti warned a push for pigeon rules in the past had been ruled out of order but Palacio said city staff confirmed the request for a report was fine.
“The pigeon lobby is vicious, vicious,” joked Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker.
The pigeon-feeding crackdown request came as the licensing committee was debating a report on options for mitigating human-wildlife conflict in the city. Councillors also endorsed having staff explore the feasibility of a bylaw that would ban feeding wild animals on private property and to look at starting to provide operating funding to the Toronto Wildlife Centre in the 2016 budget.
In the lead-up to the vote, councillors lamented various aspects of the city’s wildlife.
Mammoliti came out firmly against rats and mice while De Baeremaeker admitted he loves birds and saluted the brainpower of the city’s raccoon population.
“The raccoons are very smart,” De Baeremaeker told the committee.
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 | Dec 9, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services
Pigeon birth control might be imported to deal with the out-of-control bird population in a seaside suburb on Auckland’s north shore.
Reports of the birds scaring local school children as well as concerns around hygiene have prompted the call to control the burgeoning population.
Hibiscus and Bays Local Board chairwoman Julia Parfitt said pigeon contraceptive is not licensed for use in New Zealand.
But the board is investigating and it could be introduced within the next six months, although it is not cheap, Parfitt said.
“We don’t want to go to this expense but we have a problem…Unfortunately the ratepayers will be expected to pick up the bill.
“We would prefer people just stopped feeding them.”
Parfitt said the board has been assured by council officers the pigeons would spread out and find their own food.
A local woman from Rothesay Bay who began feeding the pigeons in the Browns Bay Village Green last year said a contraceptive-laced seed would be a humane way to control the population.
She said she raised birth control as a possible solution with Auckland Council four years ago but nothing was done.
The council is trying to “starve out” the birds, she said, as the pigeons only flock to people because they are desperate for food.
“When the birds are well-fed and contented they sit quietly under the trees.”
Signs asking people not to feed the pigeons were installed in the village green in March but have since disappeared.
The local board has ordered replacements.
To add to the issue, schools have also noticed the pigeon population growing.
Northcross Intermediate acting principal Kim Sloane said the birds are coming into classrooms.
“They don’t voluntarily go out, they have to be chased out and they fly into windows. Children and staff are scared of them, there’s just so many of them.”
Students take their rubbish home and are instructed not to feed the birds.
Sloane said there are safety concerns around the pigeons swooping down on people.
When one flew at her she fell backwards onto a rubbish bin.
Issues with the birds were raised in April, after which, Parfitt was contacted by cafes and restaurantsstruggling to cope with the pigeons.
“It’s ruining their lives because the birds don’t know boundaries,” she said.
Another issue raised by Parfitt in April was the hygiene problems caused by feathers and excrement in the village green where community events are held.
The village green is in the heart of Browns Bay, Parfitt said.
“A village green is provided as a green space for the community, it wasn’t provided as a bird feeding station.”
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 | Dec 7, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes
SQUAWKING seagulls have proved to be an unlikely success in safeguarding shoppers at a historic North-East market from pigeon droppings.
In recent weeks, visitors to Darlington’s Covered Market may have noticed the sound of seagulls cawing while doing their daily shopping.
The noises, which come from a number of speakers hidden in the market, are part of a bird-scaring system designed to disperse pigeons who nest in the canopy.
The system has several programmes, from seagulls to birds of prey, and uses a natural distress call to ward off the problematic pigeons, whose droppings have become an issue for traders and visitors to the market.
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Senior markets officer, Albert Nowicki, said: “We’re trying to disperse the pigeons from places where they cause a health and safety issue in a humane way.
“It’s good to see that out scare crow acoustic system is starting to eradicate the problem, but I would like to encourage people to think before feeding the pigeons near food and retail establishments.”
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 | Dec 6, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News
Ulster Rugby chiefs are using one of nature’s top predators to get rid of pigeons threatening the pitch at their Kingspan Stadium.
Shadow, a 12-year-old harris hawk, is “scaring” off the flying pests to stop them eating grass seed laid to improve the ground as well as nesting in the rafters and making a mess.
The bird of prey has been flying around the Ravenhill facility for several days letting local pigeons this is not the spot to settle down.
Neil Brittain, communications manager at Ulster Rugby, said the hawk is a “pretty effective” way of keeping the pigeons at bay.
He added: “It flies about and scares the pigeons basically. It doesn’t kill them or eat them it just lets them know it’s about and that seems to be enough to stop them nesting in the rafters. As well as the obvious mess if they were nesting in the stadium, there’s grass seed that’s just been laid for the pitch to be in great condition in time for the season.
MORE: Runners and hikers warned to steer clear of Mournes trail in wake of buzzard attacks
“As you can imagine, the pigeons are loving all this grass seed, so we had to do something to warn them off so they don’t eat it all. It’s completely humane.”
The female hawk is owned by Stephen Devlin, whose firm Gull Clear, keep pigeons out of public buildings including shopping centres and schools.
He says Shadow just chases the pigeons away.
He added: “You fly the bird around the place once or twice a week and the pigeons think there’s a bird of prey feeding in here, or nesting in here so they’re not too keen on coming back.”
Harris hawks are known for their intelligence meaning they are easier to train and therefore popular for use in falconry.
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)
Tram commuters say that a pigeon ‘infestation’ is causing problems at Prestwich tram stop.
