New bird laws fail to take flight

New bird laws fail to take flight

shutterstock_236759257A FEW Ellenbrook residents in a flap over their neighbour’s homing pigeons have no relief in sight.
City of Swan council has not supported developing new local laws in response to complaints about the impact of pigeons in residential areas.
In August, the City opted to investigate its pigeon keeping laws because Ellenbrook residents neighbouring a pigeon breeder had raised concerns.
The Advocate spoke to one resident who complained about his neighbour’s homing pigeons defecating on his roof, solar panels and vehicle each day.
He said he had grown tired of his solar panels losing power due to bird droppings and had even had his car re-sprayed.
Most complaints to the City of Swan about pigeon keeping related to one property in Ellenbrook.
Pigeon Racing Federation of WA advises that with good practice it is possible to keep up to 150 pigeons without significant impact on neighbours.
The federation estimates there are approximately 16 keepers in the Swan area, 15 of which are in built-up residential areas.
Other metropolitan local governments — including Subiaco, Wanneroo and Joondalup — have developed local pigeon laws.
A report from City of Swan staff recommended council accepted pigeon keeping has an occasional impact on neighbours and was part of the broad range of cultural activities enjoyed by residents.
Council declined to develop pigeon laws on the basis that the aggregate impact was small.

 

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)

KU ordering special equipment to rid parking garages of pigeon poop, other grime

KU ordering special equipment to rid parking garages of pigeon poop, other grime

busterminalselangorpigeons1311Gary Samuelson knows Kansas University Parking has a lot of larger issues these days, but he’s tired of walking through pigeon poop in the Mississippi Street garage.

“There’s a pigeon problem,” Samuelson, who works at Watson Library, said Tuesday during KU Parking’s fall open forum. “If I was a visitor to KU and parked in the garage, and that was your first sight to get to the Union … blech.”

KU is working on a solution — although it’s not as simple as just power washing the garage.

KU Parking is in the process of special-ordering a system that would allow it to power-wash the garage, capture the runoff, filter it, and reuse the water, associate parking director Danny Kaiser said.

The City of Lawrence prohibits putting cleaning runoff into the storm sewer, where the garage drains, Kaiser said.

Besides the pigeon poop, other substances that dirty the garage — such as oil, sand, silt and winter road salt — “are very polluting,” Kaiser said. “We want to capture that.”

The new system is to be operating by the end of the semester, KU hopes.

Kaiser said it would include a power-washer with a clean water tank, equipment to redirect water runoff from the storm sewer into a holding tank, and equipment to filter sediments out of the water for reuse.

He said the system would be portable so KU could use it in other garages as well.

The Mississippi Street garage is not the only one with a pigeon problem, Kaiser said, but poop tends to pile up near doorways there, which makes it more of an obstacle.

KU’s street-sweeping machine is too tall to fit into the garage, Kaiser said.

In an attempt to make the garage less attractive to pigeons in the first place, KU Parking Director Donna Hultine said they have installed devices to prevent them from perching on ledges. They have not been completely dissuaded, however.

“Now I notice pigeons sitting on the cars,” she said.

Until the new cleaning system comes in, Samuelson wondered if someone could tackle the worst spots with a mop and bucket.

“We can make an effort to get something done in there,” Hultine said.

About 20 people attended the annual fall parking open forum, held in the Kansas Union, and voiced various questions and frustrations. Hultine described it as an opportunity for KU Parking to hear those concerns as well as ideas for solutions.

 

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)

Hundreds sign petition in Deal calling for action by Dover District Council on pigeons and waste

Hundreds sign petition in Deal calling for action by Dover District Council on pigeons and waste

pigeonsA petition to protect homes in Deal from an “infestation” of pigeons has gained more than 200 signatures.

It has been set up by Sean Gabb, of Middle Street, Deal, as he claims the town, and particularly the High Street, has become infested with pigeons and their waste.

He said: “We have done everything possible within the law to deter pigeons. It isn’t working. The financial cost for property owners is huge, as they’re spending money on painting their houses.

Dr Sean Gabb hands the petition to Deal’s deputy mayor Wayne Elliott and town clerk Lorna Crow“It’s polluting the town, as you walk around you can sometimes smell the pigeons or see piles of pigeon dung.”
He claims the number of pigeons in the town has increased in the past five years and their waste is damaging historic buildings and private homes in the area, as well as St George’s Church. Dr Gabb, 50, is now calling on the district council to create a by-law which would make it an offence for people to feed pigeons, as he believes this is encouraging the population.

He would also like the council to urge shopkeepers and cafe owners in the High Street to tell customers not to feed them.

The petition also calls on the council to use its existing powers to make property owners clean up overgrown gardens, or derelict buildings which have become nesting places for the birds.

The petition was handed to deputy mayor Cllr Wayne
Elliott on Tuesday, who presented it to Dover District Council’s Cllr Trevor Bartlett, portfolio holder for property access and property management.

This comes after Peter Jull, chairman of Deal and Walmer Chamber of Trade, raised the issue with the district council in July.

He said traders had been forced to spend thousands of pounds on spikes to deter pigeons from their businesses and clean up the mess.

Speaking at the time, he said: “The nuisance of these feral animals is costing thousands of pounds for business owners who are continually paying to clean, repair and protect their buildings from damage by pigeons.”

The petition will now be discussed at the district council.

 

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)

One kilometre of spikes to keep pigeons off filthy Leicester railway bridge

One kilometre of spikes to keep pigeons off filthy Leicester railway bridge

Nearly £10,000 is being spent cleaning up a dingy, pigeon-infested railway bridge in Leicester.

The city council wants to clear the birds out of the bridge over All Saints Road as part of its Waterside regeneration scheme.

Councillors have said the bridge, as it is, make the area feel unsafe, because it is poorly lit.

Councillor Patrick Kitterick said: “The one area that does hold it back is the All Saints Bridge.

“It just doesn’t feel safe when you go down there at the moment.

“The bridge over All Saints Road is like permanent midnight.

“It is also a pigeon sanctuary with the unpleasantness that brings.”

 

Messy

David Beale, the council’s senior development manager for Waterside, said work was imminent to sort out the grotspot.

He said: “This is a key gateway into the Waterside regeneration area, so we want to ensure it creates a good impression and encourages further private investment in the area.

“Because this bridge used to carry trains, there are more than 20 steel beams spanning it underneath.

“Each of these beams has two ledges, which makes a lot of roosting space for pigeons.

“We’ve appointed a contractor to clear up the pigeon mess and glue spikes along these beams – it will be more than kilometre of spikes in total.

“The contract value is around £9,000 and will also include cleaning the walls under the bridge, which are white glazed brick. This will lighten up the area considerably.

“We’ll also talk to our lighting team to see if we can improve lighting under the bridge.”

One person who works near the bridge said: “It’s totally grim but then again it is a railway bridge and you’ll never make it a thing of beauty.

“I reckon it is home to every pigeon in Leicester. It’s streaked with muck and I try to avoid walking through under there because there’s not much chance of avoiding a showering.”

 

 

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)

Jesus in Jeans’ is now bird-free

Jesus in Jeans’ is now bird-free

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27-10-15_(4) SUS-151028-101003001

The famous statue of ‘Jesus in Jeans’ on the front of St Philip’s Catholic Church, Uckfield is now pigeon-free, thanks to a halo of ‘flames.’

The £355,000 seven-foot statue, by Lewes-based sculptor Marcus Cornish, resulted in controversy and interest from across the globe when it was revealed in 2009. It was unveiled by The Pope’s ambassador to this country, the papal nuncio Archbishop Faustino Sainz Munoz, and the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton blessed it.

But birds soon found the statue a comfortable place to roost so the area below was soon plastered with bird droppings. The droppings are acidic and can damage painted, stone or wooden surfaces as well as making public areas slippery and unhygenic.
The church’s maintenance committee, helped by priest Father Stephen Hardaker, found a firm which could help. Cleankill Environmental Services from South London, which has expertise in controlling pest birds, was called in to assess the problem and came up with a solution.

Director Jon Whitehead, explained: “The sculpture has a hollow back which created a perfect home for around 20 pigeons. They would nest inside and rest on the halo creating an unsightly and unhygienic mess.”

So the firm used a special product called Bird Free Gel which they fixed to the statue at certain points, including the halo. The gel appears as flames to the birds so they are discouraged from landing.

The church’s maintenance head Alan Duncan said: “We are all so pleased that the problem has been solved. We were at a loss as to what to do next. At one point we put anti-bird spikes on various resting places, painting them gold to match the halo. Unfortunately, the pigeons were ‘most comfortable’ with the additions!

“The service we had from Cleankill was excellent and very professional, including many after-care visits.”
Cornish’s sculpture was funded by money left by Winifred Gregory, 87, a member of the congregation who passed away in 2008. Christ wears jeans and a shirt billowing in the wind while his hair and beard are neatly and fashionably trimmed. Marcus Cornish said: “The sculpture is simple and direct and I hope it sums up the feeling that Christ is always with us and that we are not to be afraid. The clothing is loosely contemporary in order to connect Christ to his people now as much as to his past.”
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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)