by Pigeon Patrol | Aug 6, 2014 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeons in the News
Sometimes the tiniest things bring happiness.
This week my little pearls of happiness were a few blueberries from our garden. Seemingly trivial over which to get excited, several years without a single berry made this morning’s handful of plump blueberries a trophy to tout.
It started five years ago with 10 select bushes of 3-year-old organic plants. Location selected, prepared, and soil amendments properly incorporated, all directions were carefully followed for transplant. The first year the flowers are plucked, allowing the plant to develop a strong root system, so no berries.
Year 2, spring came and the worms from nearby infested tress decimated the leaves yet some berries did appear. However, they fell off before coming ripe due to weather conditions. So I focused on growth of the plants, again.
Unfortunately, the hired help for fall cleanup decided the bushes looked like weeds and pulled each one out with much tugging. Devastated, I rapidly replanted back in the same holes somehow hoping that would magically assist in recovery of what had been, just minutes earlier, strong and vigorous plants. Then a friend moved, she dug up her blueberries and gave them to me. Surely, I thought, with three times as many bushes, we have much better chances to yield a great bounty despite the replanting! Next spring there were hoards of green berries, and bird netting went onto the bushes just as I had seen done by my neighbors, but the birds simply went under it for the feast, not one berry was had by a human.
The next year’s attempt included a wood-frame cage with bird netting tied to the fencing and posts, the bottom draped to the ground with extra to spare. Those pesky devils found their way through the three-quarter-inch netting leaving only when lifting the net to free them. Persistent, I nearly declared war on the birds I adore and feed round, but I wanted a ripe blueberry!
Instead I got really serious with the netting. A heavy gauge half-inch netting that I tediously hand sewed together and meticulously formed over a strong metal framework tall enough to walk inside with a bottom held down by 4-by-4s there’s not a gap anywhere. It is a fortress with a plastic owl sentry warning birds of my intended wrath.
Finally, this morning’s yogurt was adorned with a handful of nickel-sized, deep blue, sweet blueberries, absolutely delightful. Those blue pearls have made my summer wonderful!
Blueberries, anti-oxidant rich pearls great for snacking, salads, desserts and breakfast, are now in season. You can get plenty without fighting the birds, netting, or Mother Nature as locally grown blueberries are at the farmers market for the next 5 to 6 weeks perfectly ripe and ready to eat.
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 4, 2014 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
The following questions were asked recently on the Wonderline:
Q: The Lincoln Avenue underpass has been recently painted by city employees. How much was budgeted for this project and what was actually spent, including the city employees’ labor? Also, the pigeons are still roosting in the underpass — how much was spent attempting to stop the pigeons from roosting where they have been for many years?
A: Mitch Doht, the city’s public works director, says “$165,000 was in this year’s budget for painting the underpass. Informal contractor estimates for the project were around $250,000. I don’t have final numbers on what the city spent because the project is not yet complete and because not all of the expenses have been invoiced, but my feeling is that we should be around $80,000, including all wages, equipment and materials. We only spent half of our budget, and not even one-third of what it would have cost for a contractor to do it. City government at its best, if you ask me. I’m really proud of our employees for the quality job they did and the money they saved taxpayers.”
As far as the pigeon issue, Doht had this informative and yet entertaining message, directed to the pigeons themselves:
“A personal message to all you freeloading pigeons in York. I realize you have been living in the same place for many years, following the same boring routine, into the underpass, out of the underpass, into the underpass, out of the underpass, etc., but today is a new day! Change is a good thing. Spread your wings and find a new place to live. Maybe Seward has an underpass? I realize that York’s city property tax levy is way lower than Seward’s, but you will be so much closer to Lincoln. Imagine the possibilities! By the way, consider this your eviction notice! I mistakenly left you a couple little spots at the underpass for you and your buddies to fight over, but alas, those too will soon be gone. Good luck and Godspeed!”
And he added, regarding the cost of pigeon proofing, that it “wasn’t much.”
Q: Every summer the City street department repairs and fills cracks in streets, however this year this job has not been done yet. Will this project be completed yet this summer or did the Lincoln Avenue underpass project take away the workers from other necessary street repair projects?
A: Doht responds, “They tell me that it has actually been many years since pavement crack sealing has been done in York. The city’s tar machine is a piece of crap and it wasn’t working for several years. So I borrowed a pavement router (Thanks Tom and Harv!), leased a tar machine, and we are back at it this year, and will be every year while I’m in charge.
“I totally agree that this type of work is necessary. A formal pavement preservation program is one of my goals for the street department. Well-timed, routine maintenance strategies can save us so much money over the life of a pavement.
“You are also correct, in that every project we do takes away from every other project on the list. Does that make sense? I’m not sure that people understand that we have a much longer list of needs than what will ever get done with our current resources. We do our best to prioritize projects and really try to make a difference. Thankfully, crack seal and underpass painting both made the cut this year. Crack sealing work has already started at several locations in town. Those areas will be finished in the next few weeks. A much larger pavement preservation project will happen this fall or next spring, depending upon how the new budget is finalized.”
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 | Jul 30, 2014 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News
Pigeons are turning pavements under a railway bridge into ‘no-go’ areas for pedestrians it has been claimed.
The amount of excrement the birds roosting under the structure at Kerse Lane in Falkirk are dropping is causing concern.
Now a local shop manager has called for action to deal with the mess.
David Pacitti, boss of the William Hill bookmakers at nearby Ladysmill, has paid the price for being in the wrong place at the wrong time as he has walked under the bridge used by trains in and out of Grahamston Station.
The 40-year-old from Ward Avenue in Redding has had two pairs of trousers ruined – and a bill to have a jacket drycleaned – after being ‘bombed’ three times in as many weeks.
He said: “When I walk into town from the shop on business, going under the bridge is the obvious option. But it’s disgusting. There is pigeon faeces all over the place and dead birds hanging in the netting above your head. The pavements on both sides of the road have not been cleaned for months and become a real eyesore. Anyone walking through this mess has to be facing a health hazard. It’s ridiculous and I think something has to be done.”
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 | Jul 21, 2014 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News
Hidden from public view for more than 50 years, the interior dome of the old Fayette County Courthouse is fading and starting to deteriorate.
The yellow paint on the walls is peeling. Pigeons have moved in.
On the ceiling of the dome are black dots — burned-out light bulbs that used to replicate stars.
The cost to restore the dome to what it looked like in 1900, when the courthouse first opened, is one of several issues that will be addressed in a new study.
This month, the Urban County Council approved a $110,000 contract with EOP architects for an initial structure assessment and a historical inventory of the four-story former courthouse on Main Street.
The building was closed in July 2012 after the discovery of lead dust, asbestos and other hazardous materials. The three museums that were housed in the building — the Lexington History Museum, a police museum and a pharmacy museum — were forced out.
“This is the first step to see what needs to be done,” said Jeff Fugate, president of the Lexington Downtown Development Authority, which is overseeing the old courthouse project. “I really hope this report will be a call to action.”
The report will be finished in late fall. It will serve as a road map for the next steps for one of the city’s oldest municipal buildings.
“We can’t move forward without knowing what we are dealing with,” Fugate said.
Foster Ockerman Jr. said he hopes the EOP assessment will generate more public input and investment in the structure that sits in the heart of downtown in a bustling entertainment district.
Ockerman has pushed to have the courthouse restored since 2001, when construction began on Lexington’s two newer courthouses.
“Why has it taken so long?” Ockerman asked about efforts to restore the building. “It’s just a function of the community bringing its focus to the old courthouse. We have had a lot going on. We have been concerned about CentrePointe, the Lyric Theatre and then Rupp Arena.”
Mayor Jim Gray temporarily suspended the Rupp Arena project in June.
Ockerman, a lawyer, said now that Rupp is off the table, he hopes the city and its citizens can focus on the courthouse.
Ockerman chairs the nonprofit Courthouse Square Foundation, which has been working with the city to find new uses for the building — Fayette County’s fifth courthouse and the third on that site.
With new developments on Main Street, including the nearby 21c Museum Hotel and CentrePointe, that area of downtown has become a focal point, Ockerman said.
To have a historic building sit dark for too long can drain energy from downtown and send the wrong message to visitors and investors, Fugate said.
“We put between two to three million dollars into Cheapside Park, millions of dollars have gone into restaurants in the area, $40 million in the 21c Museum and hundreds of millions into the CentrePointe development,” Fugate said. “For us to yawn and assume that the courthouse isn’t important or that the courthouse is too hard, does not encourage people to invest in Lexington.”
Lexington has a habit of tearing down its historic public buildings, Fugate said.
“We tore down the old post office, we tore down the old train station, we have torn down the old city hall,” Fugate said. “The only major historic public building left in Lexington is the old courthouse, and it sits on Main Street.”
Once EOP finishes its assessment, the city will have a better idea of what it will cost to fix some of the problems in the building.
A previous study estimated the cost at $18 million to $20 million to restore the courthouse to what it looked like before the 1960s, when it was modernized and its atrium was filled with HVAC systems, bathrooms and other mechanical structures.
Before that major renovation, the central atrium rose 111 feet from the ground level to the interior top of the dome. It had a two-story staircase and a dramatic, two-story courtroom.
Andrew Moore and Daniel Polk of EOP started their assessment last week. Moore said they are trying to determine exactly what’s in the building, what’s original and what was added. Polk said that even the most current architectural plans for the courthouse have rooms marked on them that are no longer there.
A complete restoration to what it looked like when it opened in 1900 might be too costly, Fugate said.
It’s the cost that worries Urban County Council member Julian Beard.
“$18 million is too much,” Beard said. Beard, who has been the council’s most vocal skeptic about the project, said he also questions whether the courthouse could be converted into retail or cafe space.
“It only has two parking spaces,” Beard said.
But how the space will be used might determine what work will be needed, Fugate said.
Ockerman said that it could still be used for museum space or possibly the Visitors and Convention Bureau, now called VisitLex.
“It’s the perfect place to start any sort of historic tour in Fayette County,” Ockerman said.
Other possibilities include retail, cafe and market space on the ground floor, public meeting space on the second floor and office space and storage on the third and fourth floors.
EOP is working with Philadelphia firm Preservation Design Partnership, which specializes in restoring and repurposing historic buildings. Part of the report will include possible uses for the building, said Moore, project manager for EOP.
The city has set aside a little more than $500,000 for the initial planning stages of the project.
The Lexington Downtown Development Authority is exploring a host of funding options depending on what the space will be used for. Those options could include historic and other tax credits, private investment, fundraising and public money.
“What the space will be used for will decide how we fund it,” Fugate 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 | Jul 21, 2014 | Bird Deterrent Products, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
While the Toronto Blue Jays were supposedly violating the unwritten rules of baseball in their 4-1 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday, a pair of rogue pigeons found their way on to the field at Rogers Centre despite the roof being closed and caused a temporary delay in the action.
The delay happened in the eighth inning, long after Colby Lewis left the field, which is very good news for the pigeons. They basically marched right up to the pitcher’s mound, and had they walked on the mound, it would have been a violation of one of baseball’s most famous unwritten rules.
Remember the Dallas Braden-Alex Rodriguez fiasco from a few years ago?
There was no repeat of that, but the pigeons did seem to overstay their welcome rather quickly, at least in the eyes of Rangers players. Pitcher Roman Mendez appeared poised to bombard them with the rosin bag, and then third baseman Adrian Beltre took charge and shooed them away much the same way he chases off teammate Elvis Andrus when he tries to touch his head.crowd didn’t really appreciate Beltre ending the impromptu entertainment, but at least the game was able to continue as the pigeons reluctantly relocated into foul territory on the first base line. They would remain in that general vicinity for most of the final inning, and thankfully neither of them met their maker like the unfortunate bird who once crossed Randy Johnson’s fastball.
See, Beltre was just taking the best interest of the pigeons to heart. You might even call him a hero to the pigeon community.
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)
