Family can’t use their garden due to pigeons covering it in poo

by Pigeon Patrol | Jul 8, 2014 | Bird Deterrent Products, Pigeons in the News

A WOMAN from West Green says she can no longer use her back garden because of the deluge of droppings that constantly rain down from pigeons roosting in a tree behind it.

Donna Lucas, 33, has had problems with the troublesome tree for six years – particularly the bothersome birds that punctuate “every five centimetres” of her garden with their mess.

Ms Lucas and her neighbours on Westfield Road have been trying for years to get the council to properly maintain the tree, which stands on land the authority owns behind her garden, blocks out light and “looks tatty”.

For three years Ms Lucas has been asking the council to prevent the pigeons from roosting in the oak, which last year the authority protected with a tree preservation order.

But it wasn’t until last Tuesday that any action was taken.

“The council have just hung some silver foil strands from the tree in the hope it will put the birds off from roosting there and that’s it,” she said of the measures the council has taken to stop the pigeons.

“We can’t use our garden. We don’t use it. Last year we spent quite a bit of money on it; putting in a new patio. It’s trashed.

“We only use the garden to go to and from the shed.”

In addition to the pigeon problem Ms Lucas explained that tree branches often fall into her garden, one of which “almost hit a neighbour’s grandchild”, and that people fly-tip in the area.

She said: “It’s a deluge of pigeon poo. My garden furniture is ruined. I half painted the shed last year and gave up.

“You can’t sit out there for fear of being hit.”

And the silver foil preventative measures put in the tree have failed – as the tree is as popular as ever with the birds.

Ms Lucas said: “There are lots of them up there. What the council has done looks like Christmas decorations. It’s a joke.

“The two guys who knocked on Tuesday from the council’s contractor were laughing. They were embarrassed.

“They said they didn’t want anyone to see them putting it up. And they were embarrassed that the council hadn’t contacted me to tell me what they were doing.”

A council spokesman explained that the strips of foil are designed to act as a “bird repellent”.

He added: “This is the only solution open to the council because we can’t harm a legally protected tree.

“We pruned the tree by 25 per cent in 2012 and, because it is protected by a tree preservation order (TPO) we will be unable to prune it again until the winter of 2016.

“We considered using a bird repellent gel on the tree but were unable to do this, again due to the TPO, because it would damage the tree.

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)

Birdman will fly free

by Pigeon Patrol | Jun 12, 2014 | Bird Deterrent Products, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News

John Wilkinson, who was jailed for six weeks for breaching an ASBO restricting his habit of feeding pigeons, is expected to be released before the weekend after serving half his sentence.

The Visitor campaigned to ‘Free the Morecambe Birdman’ believing his punishment did not fit the crime.

We also said sending a man to prison for feeding birds was an unnecessary waste of taxpayers’ money and unlikely to make a difference to his long-term behaviour.

We also called for active and meaningful support for those in Morecambe who have suffered years of misery as a direct result of his bird feeding activities.

Neighbours have complained for years about the noise, nuisance and smell caused by Wilkinson’s habit of feeding pigeons at his home on Cavendish Road in the West End of Morecambe.

Our campaign was sparked after angry Visitor readers bombarded social media with messages calling for Wilkinson, who is being held in HM Preston prison, to be released.

Rita Patton, a friend of Wilkinson’s who started her own campaign on Facebook and organised a public bird feeding in Morecambe to show support, said: “I’m proud of The Visitor. You’ve done things in the right way.

“Apparently John is doing really well although he’s a little nervous by all the attention, because he’s seen all the press and TV coverage.

“I’m going to have a meeting with him and (charity) West End Impact when he gets out, to explain to him why we started the campaign.

“I hope he will go back to feeding the birds, but a little more responsibly.”

Mrs Patton has collected £100 in donations, which she will hand over to Wilkinson once he is freed.

Meanwhile David Morris MP has written to the Secretary of State for Justice, Chris Grayling, to ask if procedures were followed correctly in the case of Wilkinson.

“This is a really sad case,” said Mr Morris.

“I pass Mr. Wilkinson’s house regularly and I am sure it must be frustrating for neighbours to have so many pigeons flying past all of the time.”

Wilkinson was sent to jail after feeding pigeons approximately 40kg of bird seed each day, along with vast quantities of food such as pizzas, pasta, apples and processed ready-meals, which he was forbidden from doing under the terms of his ASBO.

He will be released under legal guidelines which allow people jailed for less than a year to be freed after serving just half their sentence.

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)

Tucson home overrun with pigeons

by Pigeon Patrol | Jun 12, 2014 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control

A home in Tucson is being cleaned out by animal control officials after they discovered the two residents living with more than 140 pigeons.

The officers said they found at least 15 to 20 nests inside the house, in addition to rodents, insects and the pigeons themselves.

Neighbors said the residents encouraged the birds to enter the home by feeding them and leaving the door open. One neighbor said there were broken windows that the birds flew in and out of.

The property is long-term mental health housing with multiple units. According to a police report, City Code Enforcement workers checked on the home on May 30, but the residents didn’t let them in. They came back five days later with a search warrant.

One neighbor described the owner of the property as a “slum lord.” A representative of the owner, who cooks for the residents, agreed to let officials inside.

In total, officials said there were 143 pigeons found in the home and more than 100 more living outside. Based on the findings, three more units will need work, which will uproot 6 more residents.

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)

City looking for solution to pigeon problem

by Pigeon Patrol | Jun 12, 2014 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Bird Deterrent Products, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News

As complaints about pigeons in Uptown Greenwood continue to roll in from business owners, the City of Greenwood is considering options for dealing with the problem.

Greenwood City Council heard options for dealing with the problem during their monthly work session last Monday. City manager Charlie Barrineau said the pigeons have been a problem for a number of years, but the problem has gotten worse since many of the buildings along Main Street in Uptown have undergone renovations. Many of the birds had nested in some of those buildings and have been forced to move. The birds have settled in the arcades in Uptown Greenwood.

Barrineau told council that he found a company which specializes in solving problems with birds, though Barrineau noted pigeons would always be a problem. Barrineau also said there was no guarantee that what is done will be of any long term help in solving the problem. City workers spend a significant amount of time cleaning up the droppings from the pigeons in Uptown, Barrineau said. Mayor Welborn Adams said he has received a number of calls about the issue.

The first option Barrineau presented to council was an owl statue. Owls are natural predators of pigeons. The statues would keep the pigeons at bay a week or two, Barrineau said, but they would figure out the owl is not moving and come right back. The other option was to place bird spikes along the ledges in the arcades and netting to prevent the birds from entering areas where they nest and cause the most damage. The netting is similar to what is used behind home plate at baseball fields to stop foul balls from flying into the stands.

The cost for all three arcades would be about $15,000 Barrineau said, and would still be no guarantee the problem would be solved. The cost do one of the arcades as a beta test would be about $6,500 and would allow council to see if the spikes and netting will work before laying out the remainder of the cash for the other two arcades. The funding for the project will come from existing hospitality tax funds.

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)

Pigeons and dog owners have it bad in Vienna, Austria

by Pigeon Patrol | Jun 12, 2014 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control

It can be pretty hard to be a pigeon anywhere in the world, but it turns out that the charming and iconic city of Vienna just got to be one of the worst locations for the pesky birds. Dog owners, however, are facing even bigger problems.

It seems authorities are trying to clean up the city and they have implemented a couple of new plans to do just that.

Pick up that poop or pay

First it was the dog owners. City authorities organized “Waste Watchers” (cute name, huh?) to keep an eagle eye on dog owners in the streets and parks. Any errant bit of poop then earned the appropriate dog owner a huge fine of up to 470 euros for their crime.

Pigeons attract rats, ergo get rid of pigeons

Now, the city is saying that people must cease and desist from feeding the pigeons. They say that when that elderly gent or lady sitting in the park chucks bread crumbs at the pigeons, they must cough up a 36 euro fine. Not as bad as dog poop I suppose, but still.

What officials are saying is that feeding the birds with bread is “not good for them” plus the left-overs (pigeons leave left-overs?) then apparently attract the rats.

Vienna city councilor Ulrike Sima pronounced that, “whoever feeds pigeons, feeds rats,” adding that feeding the pigeons is “misunderstood animal welfare” as by eating human food “they get sick and suffer.”

Referring to limited green space in the city, Sima also said this should not be “rendered unusable due to the pigeons.”

Pigeon prison camps

So that the birds do not “suffer” and the parks are not “rendered unusable,” city officials have other sinister plans afoot.

Experts in the field have come up with an idea for good old population-reduction. They want to set up a special nesting site for the birds, which will apparently attract them using what they term “pigeon psychology.”

This wonderful pigeon residential estate will house up to 400 of the pesky birds, which will be fed a much more appropriate diet. In return for this life of sheer luxury, their eggs will be removed from their nests and replaced with dummies, thus preventing them from breeding.

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)

Family can’t use their garden due to pigeons covering it in poo

A WOMAN from West Green says she can no longer use her back garden because of the deluge of droppings that constantly rain down from pigeons roosting in a tree behind it.

Birdman will fly free

Tucson home overrun with pigeons

City looking for solution to pigeon problem

Pigeons and dog owners have it bad in Vienna, Austria

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