by Pigeon Patrol | Dec 18, 2015 | Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, UltraSonic Bird Control
A pigeon.
When Brits began posting pictures of pink pigeons to social media, the mystery took flight.
Had the rare Columba mayeri, a pink pigeon unique to the small Indian Ocean island Mauritius that belongs to the same family as the dodo and narrowly avoided extinction itself in the 1990s, suddenly migrated to Britain?
Finally, it seems the riddle has been solved, and the conundrum was in fact much ado about nothing.
The baffling birds appear to be the work of one pigeon keeper in Bristol, who dyed the pigeons pink to protect them from predatorsaccording to the area’s local newspaper.
The Bristol Post cites cash-and-carry worker Sher Singh, 39, as the man responsible.
“I put the colour on because the Falcons will get confused,” he told the paper. “He will see the colours but won’t see the pink so well. I didn’t know if the colour for the pigeons was bad. I won’t colour them again . . . I’m sorry for colouring them, it was a mistake.”
Unfortunately, local experts in Ontario, where falcons have been thriving recently, say the man’s logic is flawed on most counts.
The pink dye would not ward off predators, and it may ostracize the birds among their fellow pigeons, according to Marion Nash, 54, vice-president of The Canadian Peregrine Foundation.
“I don’t see how that could possibly work, it’s nonsense,” she said. “Falcons eat all different kinds of coloured birds. They eat red cardinals, so why would they ignore pink birds?”
Nash doesn’t think the dye would necessarily hurt the birds because the feathers are similar to human hair and will moult quickly.
Her organization has even employed a similar practice, albeit for different reasons. The Peregrine Foundation will dye young falcons’ tail feathers to distinguish and protect them when they are learning to fly.
Where it could have an effect is in the pigeons’ relationship with its own kind.
“Pigeons will avoid others if they see them acting strange or sick,” she said. “They’ll wonder what’s wrong and might attack or avoid them.
“It could make the birds more of a target than before, from fellow pigeons or other animals. It could possibly stand out more because of the pink dye and be more of a disadvantage than an advantage.”
By using dye, the Bristol bird lover might have made it more likely his pigeons will die.
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 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 15, 2015 | Bird Netting, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
PATTERSON (CBS13) – Pat Rocca has a pigeon problem. The birds have left her walkway stained, feathers stuck to the house and droppings everywhere.
“I thought well this is a horror.’” Pat said. “It’s very sticky and gooey, just terrible.”
She hired Albert Filmore Pigeon Cleanup, who services Stanislaus County, and paid him $680 to clean up the mess and prevent pigeons from coming back to roost or nest on her house.
The contract she signed promised return visits “two times a week for the next 8 weeks.”
But, five months went by and Pat said Albert only came out twice.
“He didn’t finish the job.’
Pat said the pigeons came back, and Albert has been a no show to appointments – blaming family issues. And she said Albert would not return her calls.
“We have had very similar complaints,” said Gary Almond with the Better Business Bureau.
He said his office has been unable to find Albert Filmore.
Almond said a company still has a responsibility to finish the work, even if personal issues arise.
“I’d offer a refund or offer someone else to complete the service,” he said.
So, how do you keep pigeons away?
To find out, we brought in Pest Management expert Jim Steed.
“The trick is to employ the right measures in the right spots,” Jim said.
Depending on the house, he’ll use different bird spikes or even shock tracks to keep the birds from landing.
Bird repellent glue is a popular method, and Jim says it works best when combined with other methods. But because it is sticky, dirt will eventually stick to it – making it ineffective.
If the pigeons are nesting, Steed says netting should be put up.
He says professional removal and clean up services can cost anywhere from $600 to $3,000.
“If you leave 10 percent of the area [unprotected], they’re still here.” Jim said.
As for Pat, we reached out to Albert Filmore. He told us he’s had “a lot of issues” but agreed to give her “whatever she thinks I owe her.”
In the end, Albert returned $400 of the $680 Pat paid him.
She said she’ll be hiring someone else to finish the job.
“I know this will only get worse,” Pat said, pointing to signs of pigeons around her home.
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 13, 2015 | Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News
DO not feed the pigeons — that is the advice being offered by councillors and transport chiefs trying to bring Prestwich’s pest problem under control.
Last year, The Guide reported that pigeons were nesting under two tram bridges near Prestwich Metrolink Station.
The problem was so bad, councillors said, that anyone passing under the bridge was “running the gauntlet” and having to dodge mess from pigeons above them.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), which runs the Metrolink network, put up mesh to deter the pigeons, but the resilient birds have simply moved behind it.
Now, a TfGM spokesman said: “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.”
Sedgley representative Cllr Alan Quinn added: “Metrolink do take these matters seriously.
“In this case, they put the mesh up and installed spikes to put pigeons off.
“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.”
Holyrood representative, Cllr Tim Pickstone, placed the onus on TfGM.
He said: “Metrolink need to ensure the nets they put up are maintained as pigeons can get trapped.
“They need to keep on top of the problem.”
However, one Prestwich shopkeeper, who asked not to be named, took an opposing view.
He said: “I really don’t see what the fuss is all about.
“Pigeons are a part of urban life. They are there as a reminder that we, as a population, throw out enough food to keep them thriving.
“So we either accept that pigeons are here to stay or look at the way we consume food.”
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)
