by Pigeon Patrol | Aug 29, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
CHENNAI: It may not be the worst idea to carry an umbrella, if you’re at the airport, wearing your Sunday best. After all, you wouldn’t want it soiled with pigeon droppings right before you board an enclosed plane with 180 or so others. Even after trying to get their ‘pigeon hole’ problem sorted out, Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials are stumped at how these birds keep finding their way into th
e high-rise terminals. A Jet Airways ticketing staff even laughed about how pigeons were always on night-duty and were the first to ‘meet’ them when they enter the terminal at 3.30 am every morning.
Recently, a group of pigeons were seen enjoying the bliss of the terminal near the passenger waiting area, on the soft carpets paid for by AAI. “It was quite funny actually. Some of the sweepers tried to shoo them away, but they just hopped off and continued to preen themselves on the carpet. Maybe they wanted air-conditioning,” said Reena Makhija, who posted a photo of the pigeons on a social networking site. “Personally, I’m not complaining. It was great fun for the kids to watch the pigeons up close,” she added
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After several complaints about how pigeons were dropping their ‘uric acid’ pellets on unsuspecting passengers, AAI decided to deploy nets to cover the openings in the roof — but these were found to cause a different problem. “They are dirtying our floors and carpets as well. But by closing the skylights with nets, the lighting became a problem, so we are working out a solution for the trusses,” said an official. The ceiling was cleaned a month ago and several partial nests were cleared. But this has not impeded the entry and exit of the pigeons.
AAI had even consulted an expert about this issue last year, but we’re unable to find a viable solution. Ornithologist N Sankar pointed out that the openings in the ceiling and the high beams provided a perfect place for birds like pigeons to nest. “In an airport, there are firecrackers on the tarmac nearby used to scare birds away from the planes, so this will seem like a safe place to them,” he reasoned. He added that getting them to vacate after they had nested was a difficult task.
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 | Aug 28, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes, UltraSonic Bird Control
In a scene reminiscent of a terrifying Alfred Hitchcock movie, a hospital in Drogheda has had to spend almost €20,000 on specialist netting to protect its workers from flocks of angry birds.
Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital bought the equipment last year to shield maintenance workers from feathered assailants in the vicinity of rooms containing vital hospital equipment, located on the roof of the public hospital.
A total of €18,435 was spent on three specialist roof nets to protect staff from the threat of nuisance birds, according to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
The hospital is situated close to Drogheda Port and around five miles from the Irish Sea.
The netting was required to protect staff from flocks of seagulls while carrying out maintenance work on ventilation systems and other machinery.
In addition, a pest control company was employed to remove a number of bird nests from the roof in July and August last year.
Nets
The cost of the specialist nets is part of a €35,152 spend on pest control by the hospital during the past five years.
“A decision was taken to purchase roof netting by Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in order to address bird activity and nesting in the vicinity of the hospital,” said a spokesperson for the Health Service Executive.
@The roof netting has been put in place to provide safe access for maintenance staff to the hospital’s plant rooms located on the hospital roof. “The plant rooms house hospital systems such as the main ventilation systems for operating theatres and intensive care areas.”
The spokesperson added that the netting has “proven successful in providing safe access to the staff to carry out their work in the plant rooms”.
The three roof nets cost over €6,000 each.
However, the hospital is examining additional methods of bird control to protect its staff from their feathered foes.
A proposal to install an ultrasonic bird repellent is currently being considered by management. In July the spread of seagulls was raised in the Seanad where Senator Ned O’Sullivan said they had “lost the run of themselves”.
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 | Aug 26, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, UltraSonic Bird Control
A campaign to rid a town centre of its pigeon problem has launched to help improve the area for visitors and businesses.
People are being urged not to feed the birds in and around Harrow Town centre as part of a project launched today.
The Harrow Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID) launched the campaign as part of its ongoing work to increase footfall to St Anns and Station Roads.
Louise Baxter operations manager for the Harrow BID said: “The day has been all about education of the public, explaining what we are trying to do and how we can improve the area.
“One of the biggest issues for businesses in the town centre, and the people who visit it, is the pigeons.
“A lot of the feedback we get tells us that people are put off from visiting because of the flocks of birds flying around and making a mess.
“We really want to make Harrow a vibrant place and a destination for people. And sorting this problem is a big part of our plan.”
Also at the launch was James Bradbury from BH Environment pest control with his Harris Hawk Max, demonstrating how his company goes about removing pigeons from town areas.
Jay Patel, who runs the Chocolate Room and is on the board of Harrow BID said: “This is a huge issue for all the businesses here.
“To me they are rats with wings and they make the area look scruffy which means people don’t want to come to the town centre.
“We want everyone to work together to make Harrow a more inviting place.”
Fellow trader Deivid Silva, of the Silver Rivet clothes shop said: “Some mornings we have had to clean the front step to our shop because of the bird mess.
“I understand if you want to feed birds in a park, but the town centre is not an appropriate place. They spread disease and are a general health hazard.”
The Harrow BID campaign is being supported by Harrow Borough Council which has also warned people that putting food on the ground constitutes littering and they could face an on the sport fine of £75.
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 | Aug 23, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
Foot deformities are ubiquitous in urban pigeons – why? As you’ll know if you’ve spent any time watching the pigeons of towns and cities, something like one in every ten (or more) has missing or partial toes, or swollen toes, or other pedal deformities of some sort. And then there are really extreme individuals – the ones that are missing feet altogether.
Poor footless urban pigeon, encountered close to Kew train station. The right foot is completely absent; the left one had at least one toe, curled round such that the bird was walking on the toe’s lateral side. Photo by Darren Naish.
I’m talking here about the domestic form of Columba livia, the so-called Rock pigeon or Rock dove. And, while I’ve only noticed deformed pigeons here in the UK, it certainly isn’t a UK-only thing, as continental European and North American [UPDATE: and South American] people will confirm.
The bird in the photos here was able to fly around and feed itself, and it might be broadly described as ‘healthy’. However, note that it’s in pretty poor condition. The feathers on its head and neck looked terrible and its rectrices (the big tail feathers) were frayed and shabby. I reckon this is partly due to an inability to groom and scratch itself: obviously, birds use their feet to reach parts that they can’t get to with the bill.
The impact of this is more than cosmetic, since birds with a poorly maintained or unrepaired plumage are disadvantaged in flight relative to tidier individuals, and less able to keep themselves warm and waterproofed. And a bird that isn’t able to groom parts of its plumage is also at risk of being unable to keep on top of parasites like ticks and feather mites (see the ‘pigeon’s eye view’ Tet Zoo article linked to below). And, as has been demonstrated through various experiments, birds with shabby-looking plumage are less attractive as mates (Clayton 1990), so a bad-looking pigeon is likely to be a non-breeding pigeon. It’s also worth noting that (like many animals), pigeons preferentially use one foot more than the other as goes the way they land and perch and sit and so on (Fisher 1957), so individuals that lose or damage their preferred foot might end up being doubly disadvantaged (imagine being right-handed, and then having to rely only on your left hand for evermore). I don’t know how concerned people are about the emotional well-being of animals like urban pigeons (or how far they’re prepared to go in admitting that non-human animals have feelings and states of mind), but I think we can be fairly confident that the most severely deformed of these birds are – at least at times – miserable, unhappy and frustrated.
Several ideas have been put forward to explain the many foot problems seen in urban pigeons. Some probably lose toes after getting them tangled in litter or anti-pigeon netting, or after they’ve injuries received from anti-pigeon spikes installed on signs and ledges. Fine wire, string, cotton thread and even human hair can all cause problems for birds when caught on or around digits, and some people say that interaction with fine thread and string and so on is the primary cause of pigeon foot damage. It’s also sometimes suggested that the deformities result from infections received after standing on excrement, and also that the birds become damaged through interaction with chemicals used on roofs and building stone. But the ‘chemical injury’ idea is unlikely to be correct, since (A) exactly what sort of chemicals are we talking about here, and why have they been used on buildings in the first place?, and (B) a chemical would basically have to be a powerful acid or alkaline agent (hydrochloric acid, or a very strong bleach) before it might damage a bird’s feet. For completeness, note that hereditary deformities like those reported for some captive populations of other pigeon species (Flach & Cooper 1991) might also explain some of the abnormalities observed in urban pigeons.
Other hazards that might affect an urban pigeon. At left: voracious park-dwelling pelicans! (photo: PA). At right: deceased Wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) following encounter with motor vehicle; note ‘terror-moulted’ lack of rectrices. Photo by Darren Naish.
Pigeons are not, of course, the only birds that end up with damaged feet. You might recall the foot-lacking Rock pipit Anthus petrosus I featured here recently…
I’ve been photographing pigeons a lot lately, but pigeons of a different species from C. livia. More about that another time. For previous Tet Zoo articles relevant to some of the subjects covered here, see…
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 | Aug 19, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, UltraSonic Bird Control
Some employees at GM’s Delta plant sent us pictures of dead pigeons and their feathers scattered around the facility.They want to know what is killing the birds and what could be left behind.
6 News Nick Perreault talked with General Motors about the issue.
General Motors spokesperson Erin Davis confirmed a facilities manager did find a dead pigeon on the grounds and adds Rose Pest Solution has been brough
t in to address the problem.
Again a facilities manager found one pigeon not hundreds, but employees disagree.
6 News was told by a former Rose Pest employee there have been hundreds of pigeons in the past few years that collect around ceiling fans near the paint part of the plant.
The company would leave out material for the pigeons in hopes of preventing them from returning.
Though that former employee said that material is not intended to the kill the birds, but says General Motors has been a client for years addressing this problem.
Aside from the obvious health concerns to employees, being around feces and potential dead birds, Erin Davis says this could cause a delay in work.
If mechanical equipment is cover in bird feces, they’d have to wash down all their equipment and wait some time before they can resume working.
Rose Pest Solutions and General Motors along with environmental engineers are handling the issue and hope this doesn’t spread any more.
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 | Aug 18, 2015 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, UltraSonic Bird Control
The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System has a problem. The myriad mirrors that reflect the sun’s searing rays onto towers that generate electricity also create a death ray that fries anything in its path, namely poor innocent birds flying through the desert. But don’t worry. They’re working on it.
Following a rather alarming Associated Press report about the fried bird problem, I reached out to BrightSource Energy, the company that operates the Ivanpah solar plant, to find out exactly how they were going to stop killing so many birds. According to the AP, the plant’s death ray zaps one bird every two seconds. The AP also reports that BrightSource is spending $US1.8 on a mitigation fund that could be used to spay and neuter cats. Because maybe fewer cats mean fewer cat-related bird deaths which somehow offsets the solar death ray bird deaths? Whatever.
They have other (read: better) ideas, too! NRG E
nergy, the majority owner of the Ivanpah project, is working with local wildlife organisations and investigating a number of avian deterrent efforts, including the same kinds of systems that airports use to keep birds away. Some of the options under consideration include anti-perching devices, waste and water containment systems to keep birds from looking for food near by, replacing conventional lighting with anti-bird LEDs, and sonic deterrent methods. The company’s communications director Jeff Holland explained the progress of these efforts in an email:
As to the efforts currently underway, the waste and water containment is actively being done daily and the heliostat repositioning is complete. The sonic deterrent has been purchased and is in the process of being tested on site. The lighting on the towers are now being turned off at night and bids to replace the current ground level lighting with LED were returned this week and will be purchased and installed.
To its credit, NRG appears to be taking the wildlife problem pretty seriously. Holland told me that his company has spend “$25 million for our desert tortoise program, and in developing a high quality, scientifically valid, and robust avian plan.” And let’s not forget that solar energy is a very good thing and this facility is producing quite a lot of it. Bummer about the dead birds, though.
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)
