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)
by Pigeon Patrol | Dec 5, 2015 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
OVERVIEW
The ‘Bird Slope’ bird repellent is an anti-perching product that has been designed to be provided on any flat surface where birds are creating a nuisance by perching or roosting. The Bird Slope bird repellent is an extremely basic product that simply creates a slope upon which birds cannot perch and would normally be installed on a flat (or angled) surface where a 90° angle exists behind – a good example would be an ‘I’ beam (or RSJ). This product is manufactured and distributed by a company in the United States called Bird-B-Gone.
The Bird Slope bird repellent is constructed from lightweight durable UV protected plastic and comes ready to use but can be cut to size where required with a hacksaw or a pair of snips. The Bird Slope bird repellent is provided in a standard grey colour but can be painted to blend in with the structure or building upon which it is installed. The Bird Slope bird repellent is available in one size only and is 5.5” high protecting an area 5.5” wide. An ‘extender’ is available which increases both height and width by a further 5″. With the extender installed the Bird Slope bird repellent will protect an area 10″ wide. The Bird Slope bird repellent and the optional extender are only available in 2 foot sections with the extender increasing the scope of the product so that it will protect a wider surface but with a resultant increase in height which may restrict its application. An ‘end cap’ is available for both the Bird Slope bird repellent and the extender. The end cap is installed at both ends of a single run of the product to stop birds getting in behind the product where they cannot be detected. The Bird Slope bird repellent is not suitable for installation with a silicone adhesive and the manufacturer recommends an ‘outdoor construction adhesive’ for the purpose. The manufacturer also recommends that the product should cover the whole of the surface to be protected, not just the perimeter or ‘leading edge’.
One of the main applications for the Bird Slope bird repellent is for use under railway or river bridges where pigeons and starlings are often found roosting and breeding on ‘I’ beams and other infrastructure. These areas normally have difficult or restricted access and therefore a maintenance-free product like the Bird Slope bird repellent is ideal. On bridges constructed with a steel framework the Bird Slope bird repellent would be installed on the lower flange of an ‘I’ beam creating a 45° angle upon which birds cannot gain a foothold. As a bird attempts to land on the Bird Slope bird repellent it will simply slide off as soon as its feet come into contact with the smooth plastic surface. The main criteria for a successful application of the Bird Slope bird repellent is that a vertical surface exists behind the horizontal surface to be protected (creating a 90° angle) and as a result a majority of areas under a bridge, or canopy, can be adequately protected with the product. Another application for the Bird Slope bird repellent is for use on historic buildings that are Grade Listed and where restrictions are imposed in relation to what can or cannot be done in respect of the fabric of the building. In many cases non-invasive and reversible anti-perching devices such as the Bird Slope bird repellent and the anti-roosting spike are the only options allowed when protecting this type of building. Any type of anti-perching device that requires installation by drilling or bolting is normally deemed inappropriate by local government Listed Buildings Officers, particularly in the case of Grade 1 Listed Buildings.
One of the major benefits of the Bird Slope bird repellent is that it is non-invasive to install and is completely reversible should access to the area or surface be required for the purpose of maintenance. The product is also simple to install negating the need to instruct a specialist contractor and lending itself to a DIY installation. Large areas can be quickly protected with the Bird Slope bird repellent based on the simplicity of the product and the fact that it can be glued in place rather than requiring a system of complex fixings. The Bird Slope bird repellent is also a completely humane product that will not harm birds but just physically prevent them from gaining access to sensitive areas.
DEFRA’s view:
The Bird Slope bird repellent is not discussed on the DEFRA website.
Price range:
There does not appear to be a distributor for the Bird Slope bird repellent in the UK at this time. We are awaiting confirmation from the manufacturer of current retail costs for the Bird Slope bird repellent and this section will be updated as soon as that information is available.
User reviews:
To date we have been unable to find any user reviews for the Bird Slope bird repellent but we will update this section as and when user reviews are made available to us. If you are able to provide a user review for the Bird Slope bird repellent please contact the Pigeon Control Resource Centre.
Comments from the Manufacturer/Distributor:
At present we have been unable to obtain the manufacturer’s comments.
Editorial comments:
The Bird Slope bird repellent is a product that has limited applications but which has the potential to be a highly effective anti-perching device. Its limitations are restricted to use where a 90° angle exists and generally in areas where aesthetics are less of an issue. The Bird Slope bird repellent can be painted to reduce visibility but the product is still physically large, particularly with the optional extender installed, and is more visible than many other anti-perching products. The Bird Slope bird repellent is ideal for use under canopies and bridges and once surfaces have been prepared the product is quick and easy to install. The industry standard method of excluding birds from the underside of a bridge or canopy is to use nylon bird netting. Bird netting can be extremely expensive and invasive to install requiring regular access for the purposes of maintenance. In most cases a product like the Bird Slope bird repellent is an excellent alternative that requires no maintenance and does not degrade nor have a limited life-span as nylon netting has. As access is normally the most expensive element of any bird exclusion operation, particularly when proofing areas at height, a product that will stand the test of time and which requires no maintenance should always be the first choice.
The Bird Slope bird repellent is a good option for historic or Grade Listed buildings due to the fact that it is non-invasive to install and if painted with a textured masonry paint will blend in with the architecture around it. The product lends itself to a DIY installation and can be installed quickly and easily on almost any property or structure. The Bird Slope bird repellent is limited to applications where the surface to be protected is less than 10” wide and therefore may not be suitable for some period properties where windowsills and architectural features such as ledges often exceed 10” in depth. It must also be understood that if the extender is used to increase coverage to the maximum depth the product will be considerably more visible.
The creation of a slope on a flat surface is not a new idea. In many cases a commercially available product such as the Bird Slope bird repellent can be replicated using any number of different materials to create a slope. A simple plywood slope can be created in minutes using scrap wood and installed using silicone for a quick and easy installation. If using a material such as plywood, which lacks the smooth surface offered by the Bird Slope bird repellent, the slope may need to be provided at a more acute angle in order to be effective. Alternatively a smoother material can be sourced. The benefit of a DIY slope is that it can be ‘made to measure’ rather than having to cut a ready-made product to fit the area concerned. Once painted with an appropriately coloured paint the slope will be virtually invisible from the ground.
Also commonly known as:
The slope, bird slide, slippery slope, pigeon slope
Relevance to pigeon control:
The ‘Bird Slope’ bird repellent is a pigeon-specific anti-perching product
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 4, 2015 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
AUGUSTA | As bids were being opened this week in the next phase of renovations to older parts of Augusta Independent School, officials were also being made aware of a support problem with the school clock tower.
And there is an issue with pigeons which had found a portal into the tower, leaving unsavory debris deposits, official said.
“There is screening in the tower to prevent birds from getting in but apparently there was a small opening on the clock that they used to get in,” said AIS Superintendent Lisa McCane. “There are literally buckets and buckets of bird feces that have to be properly removed.”
The cost of removal and other essential tower repairs will cut into the budget for the project, possibly delaying the replacement of interior doors on the oldest part of the school.
“The doors were the highest cost on the bid, because so many of them are different sizes,” she said. “We have a contingency amount built into the budget for the project so, depending on the cost, we should still be able to complete the entire project and the tower.”
Combined, the two phase project, which saw an old smoke stack demolished last week and roofs, windows, doors, lighting and tuck pointing yet to be done, is expected to cost around $1 million.
In order to finance both phases of the project, the AIS Board passed a resolution on June 17, relating to and providing for the issuance of $1.055 million principal amount, which may be increased 10 percent, of the school building revenue bonds, she said.
Trace Creek Construction was the successful bidder June 17, for future renovations, McCane said.
Trace Creek Construction provided the lowest cost bid at $357,000 including a $30,000 credit for extending the window delivery and installation schedule, she said.
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 3, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes
Birds don’t seem all that smart. Despite being expert in the air, flying better than anything humanity has ever constructed, they still collide with a stunning number of cars and planes. Past studies have even revealed that a whopping 340 million birds have fatal run-ins with windshields annually. And yet, pigeons seem to never hit a single telephone pole, cable, flag posts, or anything else a cityscape can throw at them. How can this be? A new study of mid-flight behavior has the answer.
A lot of research has gone into selling the idea that birds aren’t as dumb as we think they are. They can count, think rationally, and even understand speech sound mechanics. And did we mention that they fly better than anything humans ever constructed? So why is it that birds keep smacking right into our cars and planes? You’d think they’d of learned their lesson by now. Unfortunately, according to experts, that just won’t happen.
Why Agile Birds Still Hit Cars and Planes
As nocturnal animals, bats have special neurons in their brains that enable safe flight, according to a new study.
Neurons in Bat Brains Enable Safe Flight
Published in the Proceeding of the US National Academy of Science (PNAS), a new study details how pigeons instinctively know when to switch between safe or efficient flight.
What do I mean by that? Researchers David Williams and Andre Biewener, at Harvard University, were able to get some exceptional footage of pigeons dodging random obstacles after they trained four of urban life’s infamous flying rats to fly back and forth across a flight corridor. After the pigeons made this trek an everyday thing, the researcher introduced obstacles into their paths.
What they found was that pigeons take one of two approaches to avoid slamming their delicate wings into tight spaces.
They can choose the safest approach, which is to fold their wings completely against their bodies – temporarily losing altitude in the process; or they could chose to do a so-called “wing pause” where they simply don’t lower their wings from over their head mid-flight. This second approach is also more energy efficient, as it allows the pigeon to immediately resume flapping once the obstacle is cleared.
It was thought that perhaps which way the birds chose was simply be based on the timing of their flaps, but after running several experiments with wider or smaller gaps between or around obstacles, Williams and Biewener found that pigeons are actually actively making the decision.
“The choice between these two postures seems mediated by an element of caution or uncertainly,” they wrote in the study. “The efficient flight strategy (wing pause) is chosen where gaps are wider and there is less chance of a collision occurring.”
Otherwise, when there is too much risk of breaking a wing, the pigeons seem to be willing to take extra effort, explaining why few-to-no collisions are ever seen.
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 2, 2015 | Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
If pigeons were half as smart as some people think, they’d be choosier about where they do their business.
And when people who aren’t much smarter than birds drop feed for them in the wrong places, everything under their perch is sure to be slathered with repulsive droppings.
Pigeons are thought to be pretty sharp. We googled “are pigeons smart?” and learned they can recognize all 26 letters in the alphabet and tell between a Van Gogh or Chagall painting, feats that are beyond many people.
They also have an unerring beak for an easy meal and flock by the hundreds to areas where well-intended dummies spread food for them, like the Finch GO station, at Yonge St. and Bishop Ave.
Robyn Collier sent us a note saying that someone is feeding pigeons around two covered bike racks at the GO station, also a terminal for VIVA buses.
“The two structures, which are meant to protect bicycles from the weather, are badly designed and provide a perfect place for pigeons to rest,” he said.
“The result is completely disgusting, with bicycles and racks covered with pigeon waste. But the real problem is the person that keeps leaving bread crumbs and cereal for the birds.
“This is visually repugnant, unhealthy and a dilemma for those who need to store their bikes while traveling on transit.”
Collier’s note included photos of bikes coated with droppings, and of bird seed and pieces of stale bread scattered near the bike racks.
We went there and found lots of bird seed, cereal and bread scattered around the bike racks, as though someone is trying to draw the birds to the covered area, so they’ll foul everything under it.
Some of the bikes look abandoned, and no wonder. Nobody would want to ride a bike that is coated in grey poop. But until GO gets serious about chasing off the bird feeder, the pigeons won’t flock off.
STATUS: Anne Marie Aikins, who deals with media for Metrolinx, which is responsible for GO, emailed to say it will be cleaned up immediately and any abandoned bikes will be removed. “Our cleaning contractor will monitor the situation. As part of our spring cleaning, it will be our first stop to do a really thorough cleanup. We will also install ‘Don’t Feed the Pigeons’ signs. And finally, our Transit Safety officers will conduct special patrols and monitoring in the hopes of preventing this.”
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)
Ulster Rugby chiefs are using one of nature’s top predators to get rid of pigeons threatening the pitch at their Kingspan Stadium.
