Pigeon Droppings Archives - Page 8 of 49 - Pigeon Patrol Canada

HOW TO GET RID OF PIGEONS ON THE ROOF

by Pigeon Patrol | Apr 26, 2023 | history of pigeons, MBCA, pet bird, Pigeon Control, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Predators

Pigeons like to land, roost, nest, and make a mess of your roof and they’re not easy to get rid of. Persistence, bird deterrents, and bird exclusion is the key.

Get rid of pigeons on the roof by removing food and water

Remove all food and water sources and never feed the pigeons! In addition, don’t let your neighbors feed the pigeons. The pigeons can eat at your neighbors and nest on your roof!

Pigeons mainly like to eat seeds and grains such as oats, wheat, corn, cereal, sorghum, rice, beans, barley, millet, peas, and sunflower. They also like to eat food scraps left behind by people, including bread crumbs and popcorn. Birdseed is their favorite because it contains a variety of seeds and grains.

When grains or seeds aren’t available pigeons will eat fruit, greens, and occasionally insects, earthworms, and snails. They especially like apples, grapes, berries, lettuce, spinach, and sprouted seeds.

Pigeons need a constant water source. If water isn’t readily available they will leave to find a more suitable place to live. They can find water in birdbaths, gutters, pools, decorative water fountains, puddles, ponds, streams, and even leaves after a rain storm.

Easy to use deterrents to get rid of pigeons on the roof

Aluminum foil, bird deterrent tape, shiny Mylar balloons, wind propelled shiny spinning objects, and plastic decoy scare owls are scary objects to pigeons. Place scary objects on the roof, under the eves, or on the patio. Pigeons don’t like or feel comfortable with scary objects next to their nesting area. They would rather live in a more peaceful environment. One thing to remember, when installing scary objects, is to move them around on a regular basis. Objects that stay in one position don’t scare pigeons.

Wind chimes may deter pigeons. You can give it a try. Pigeons have sensitive hearing and the noise from wind chimes can actually hurt their ears. Pigeons don’t particularly like to nest where loud noises come and go.

Sticky bird gel can also deter pigeons. Apply the sticky gel to your roof where the pigeons are landing and roosting. The gel will make the area uncomfortable for the pigeons to roost.

Metal bird spikes to get rid of pigeons on the roof

Metal anti bird perching spikes can be effective in the right circumstance. They can work pretty well depending on the location you put them. Install them on rooftop edges, ledges, chimneys, and anywhere you see the pigeons land, roost, or nest. Metal bird spikes are mostly maintenance free and can be a permanent solution to deter pigeons from your roof.

Metal anti-perching spikes are harder to install and are not aesthetically appealing.

Wire screens or mesh to get rid of pigeons on the roof

Exclusion is the best solution to pigeon problems in alcoves, around chimneys, under solar panels, on vents, and many other places on the roof. Exclusion with wire bird screen and mesh do offer a permanent solution to pigeon nesting problems.

Solar panels are generally raised 5-12 inches above shingled or tiled roofs, thus creating a void between the panel and the roof. Pigeons can easily go underneath the panel to nest, poop, and make a noticeable and destructive mess. Most, if not all, rooftops that have solar panels need to have pigeons excluded from getting under the solar panels.

Installing wire bird screens or mesh can be difficult and hazardous. It requires being on the roof with tools, a lot of bending over (which is physically demanding), cutting the wire to the proper dimensions, and stapling or screwing on the wire. It is not advised for a home or business owner to install wire screens or mesh because it isn’t safe. You can fall off the roof and get seriously injured or die. To use this method, please hire a professional bird control company.

Bird netting to get rid of pigeons on the roof

If your roof is large and flat, bird netting is an excellent method to use to keep pigeons off your roof. It physically blocks the birds from the roof. If the birds can’t get on the roof, they can’t roost or nest. Bird netting is an exclusion method primarily used for large commercial bird and pigeon control.

A professional bird control operator should install bird netting. If not installed correctly the pigeons can still land on the area and get trapped, as well as other birds. This is cruel. Please hire a professional bird control company for bird netting. It will cost money but it is the safest and most humane way to have bird netting installed.

Remove bird nesting materials and droppings

It is important to remove all pigeon nesting and feces prior to excluding pigeons. Nesting materials and droppings left on the roof will continue to cause damage.

If the roof has a pitch, using a power washer is generally the best way to get rid of pigeon waste. Put a tarp on the ground next to the roof to catch the debris as it is rinsed off the roof. It will be much easier to clean up the pigeon feces on the ground if it is contained on a tarp. Wear a mask to prevent inhaling fumes from pigeon feces and wet the feces down before rinsing off. Histoplasmosis is zoonotic disease that can be found in pigeon feces. Zoonotic diseases are caused by harmful germs like viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi that are spread between animals and people.

If the roof is flat, you will have to wet the roof down (to prevent spreading contaminants and disease through the air), then rake and sweep up the pigeon waste prior to rinsing. Again, wear a mask to prevent inhaling fumes from pigeon feces.

Please be careful or better yet, call a professional. Using a power washer on the roof can be slippery and dangerous. Inhaling noxious pigeon feces can cause disease – it is a biohazard.

Importance of discouraging pigeons from nesting on your roof

Pigeons spread disease. There are over 60 diseases birds and their droppings can carry. Some of the diseases from pigeon droppings include salmonella, toxoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, St Louis encephalitis, E.coli, and more. In addition, fungus can grow in pigeon droppings which can cause histoplasmosis. Histoplasmosis is a respiratory disease that may be fatal. Pigeons are also carriers of pests including fleas, mites, ticks, and lice as well as West Nile virus. All of these diseases can pose a serious threat to human health.

Property damage is a big concern with pigeon nesting and droppings. Nests can clog gutters, ventilation pipes, chimneys, and damage electrical equipment. Damaged electrical wires from pigeon nests can even lead to fires. Pigeon droppings are very acidic. The droppings can actually eat away at the roof structure and cause roof leakage.

Pigeon droppings are unsightly. Nobody likes to see or walk on pigeon droppings.

People can slip and fall where pigeon droppings accumulate. When pigeon feces are fresh or rained on it is slippery.

Call a professional

Installing wire bird spikes, wire screens, wire mesh, or bird netting is difficult and hazardous. People can, and do, fall off roofs. People who fall off roofs get seriously injured and even die. It is best to call a professional bird control company when using these methods. Companies that specialize in removing and excluding bird pests (like pigeons) have the know how and safety equipment to get rid of pigeons in a safe and efficient manner from rooftops, alcoves, solar panels, chimneys, window sills, and other areas.

Source

Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard

Decision-making in pigeon flocks: a democratic view of leadership

by Pigeon Patrol | Apr 18, 2023 | history of pigeons, MBCA, pet bird, Pigeon Control, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Predators

When travelling in groups, animals frequently have to make decisions on the direction of travel. These decisions can be based on consensus, when all individuals take part in the decision (i.e. democratic decision; social information), or leadership, when one member or a minority of members make the decision (i.e. despotic decision; personal information). Here we investigated whether decision-making on the navigation of small flocks is based on democratic or despotic decisions. Using individual and flock releases as the experimental approach, we compared the homing performances of homing pigeons that fly singly and in groups of three. Our findings show that although small groups were either governed (i.e. when individuals in the flock had age differences) or not (i.e. when individuals in the flock had the same age) by leaders, with concern to decision-making they were all ruled by democratic decisions. Moreover, the individual homing performances were not associated with leadership. Because true leaders did not assume right away the front position in the flock, we suggest that as in human groups, starting from a central position is more effective as it allows leaders to not only transmit their own information but also to average the tendencies of the other group members. Together, the results highlight the importance of democratic decisions in group decision-making.

Source

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

A retrospective molecular investigation of selected pigeon viruses between 2018-2021 in Turkey

by Pigeon Patrol | Mar 23, 2023 | Columbidae, Doves, history of pigeons, MBCA, pet bird, Pigeon Control, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services

A recent first detection of pigeon aviadenovirus-1 and pigeon circovirus co-infection associated with Young Pigeon Disease Syndrome (YPDS) in a pigeon flock in Turkey, prompted a study focused on documenting the distribution of Pigeon aviadenovirus (PiAdV-1 and PiAdV-2), Pigeon circovirus (PiCV), Columbid alphaherpesvirus 1 (pigeon herpesvirus (PiHV)) and Fowl aviadenovirus (FAdV) in the country. These viruses were selected as they are associated with severe disease in pigeons across the world. A total of 192 cloacal swabs were collected from young (<1 year old) pigeons from 16 different private pigeon flocks across Turkey, between 2018 and 2021 as part of routine diagnostic sampling. PiCV genetic material was the most frequently detected 4/16 (25%), PiAdV-1 and CoHV-1 DNA were both found in one flock each, while neither PiAdV-2 and FAdV were detected in any of the studied pigeon flocks. PiCV and PiHV genetic material were both detected in the same pigeon flock’s cloacal samples as a co-infection with the identification of PiHV being a first in Turkey.

Source

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

Pigeons turn into ‘zombie birds’ with twisted necks, trembling wings in UK. Know why and how

by Pigeon Patrol | Mar 16, 2023 | Bird Spike, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News

Pigeons in the United Kingdom have become a target of a terrible disease called the Pigeon Paramyxovirus (PPMV) or Newcastle’s Disease. It results in neurological symptoms, including trembling wings and a violently twisted neck. The affected pigeons become reluctant to move and can’t fly. They also have green feces. The disease is fatal.

A JSPCA Animal Shelter spokesperson reported that the shelter had increased the number of grounded pigeons in the last few weeks. Many affected birds had neurological symptoms, such as a twisted neck, circling, or inability to stand. The spokesperson added that these symptoms are signs of pigeon paramyxovirus that affects poultry, doves and pigeons and is invariably fatal.

PPMV is a notifiable disease in captive birds. It does not apply to wild birds. The affected birds die within a few days, and there is no treatment for the disease. PPMV is highly infectious and can spread through feces and other excretions of the affected birds. Surviving birds will shed the virus, becoming a risk to other birds. So, at JSPCA, the infected birds are humanely euthanised. Since the PPMV virus survives better in cold and wet months, the disease’s clusters are usually found at this ..

Is PPMV highly infectious?
PPMV is highly infectious, spreading through the affected bird’s feces and other secretions.

Source

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

Pigeon droppings health risk – should you worry?

by Pigeon Patrol | Mar 6, 2023 | Bird Spike, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons

An infection linked to pigeon droppings was a “contributing factor” in the death of a child at a Glasgow hospital, it has been confirmed.

The child was being treated at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital when he or she appears to have caught the infection – a fungus called cryptococcus.

The child has not been named. The fungus did not contribute to the death in December of a second patient infected with the same pathogen, say experts.

What is it?

Cryptococcus is a yeast-like fungus that lives in the environment.

It can be found in soil contaminated by pigeon droppings.

How can you catch it?

People can become infected if they breathe it in.

The child who died in December at the hospital in Glasgow had been exposed to the fungus.

Experts say the probable source has been traced to a room on the rooftop of the hospital. Pigeon droppings appeared in the room via a small break in the wall which was “invisible to the naked eye”, Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman confirmed.

The hospital says it has put infection control measures in place and no further cases have been reported.

How risky is it?

Most won’t get sick, but vulnerable people with already weakened immunity can get very ill with a chest infection or meningitis.

Expert Prof Hugh Pennington says it is very unusual to see cases in the UK.

“It is common in other parts of the world, particularly tropical parts, in the US and countries like that where they have more problems with this particular kind of fungus. But in the UK, very uncommon.

“There are cases in people who have problems with their immune systems. They’re the people who are at risk with this kind of bug.”

Cryptococcus infection cannot spread from person to person.

How dangerous is pigeon poo?

Breathing dust or water droplets containing contaminated bird droppings can lead to several diseases, including a flu-like illness called psittacosis.

Salmonella – a bacterial infection that can cause diarrhoea – may also be present in some bird droppings.

If you are cleaning up or come into contact with droppings, you should take precautions. Wash your hands and clean any exposed skin before eating, drinking or putting your hands near your mouth.

Likewise, if you are feeding or handling birds, wash your hands afterwards.

If you have a compromised immune system, including from HIV/AIDS or cancer, you should not clean up droppings.

Source

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

Are Pigeons Dangerous?

by Pigeon Patrol | Mar 6, 2023 | MBCA, pet bird, Pigeon Control, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Predators

In January 2019, a child died in a Scottish hospital after developing a fungal infection caused by exposure to pigeon droppings. An elderly patient also died in the same hospital of another condition that was exacerbated by exposure to pigeon droppings. It was determined that both patients were exposed to the contaminants via the ventilation system, which was found to contain pigeon droppings. These deaths brought to the forefront a question that many people who are living with pigeon infestations have: in addition to being disruptive, are pigeons actually dangerous? Here are the facts you need to know.

Pigeon droppings contain bacteria and fungi that can cause disease.

Exposure to pigeon droppings can lead to a number of different diseases. Some of the most common infections associated with pigeons are:

· E. coli: E. coli infections are usually the result of pigeon droppings being present in water or in food that is later consumed. This infection causes nausea, abdominal cramps, fever, and vomiting.

· Histoplasmosis: This is a dangerous fungal infection that affects the lungs, or rarely, other parts of the body. It causes flu-like symptoms, including fever, shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue, and loss of appetite. It can be fatal in severe cases.

· Cryptococcus: This is another fungal infection that affects the lungs and can spread to the brain. In its early stages, it can cause a cough, chest pain, fever, and shortness of breath. When it spreads to the lungs, it causes headaches, neck pain, changes in behavior, confusion, and sensitivity to light. It can also be fatal.

· Psittacosis: Psittacosis is a bacterial infection that causes fever, headaches, a rash, and can lead to pneumonia, if left untreated.

· Candidiasis: This fungal infection can affect multiple parts of the body, including the mouth, lungs, urogenital tract, and skin. This infection may require prolonged periods of antifungal medications to treat.

· Salmonellosis: Pigeon droppings may contain the bacteria salmonella, which can cause this infection. Typically, people are exposed to these bacteria when pigeon droppings come into contact with food or food preparation surfaces. This infection causes nausea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps.

Pigeons also carry other potential health risks.

It is not just the droppings of pigeons that are dangerous. Pigeons themselves can carry mites and fleas, which can then attach to your pets or enter your home, causing skin irritation and itchiness. They can also spread infections through bites that are dangerous to both people and pets.

Pigeons can also carry West Nile virus. Although people are unlikely to contract West Nile virus directly from pigeons, it is still important to avoid removing any dead pigeons from your property without the help of a professional for this reason.

People with weakened immune systems are most at risk.

The infections that pigeons are likely to transmit do not affect everyone at the same rate. Many healthy adults are able to fight off infections caused by exposure to bacteria and fungi from pigeon droppings. If they do become ill, then they are likely to have very mild infections.

However, although it is always possible for someone who is healthy to become very ill from these conditions, other people are more at risk. Infants and children are more likely to experience severe symptoms when they are exposed to a disease via pigeon droppings. People who are immuno-compromised, such as people with HIV or who are undergoing chemotherapy, also have a higher risk of developing severe symptoms and complications. Lastly, the elderly are prone to severe symptoms from pigeon-related diseases.

Even without exposure to a disease, some people may have allergy symptoms, including respiratory problems, rashes, and itchiness, as a result of a pigeon infestation near their home or business.

For safety reasons, only professionals should handle pigeon control.

If you have a pigeon infestation, it’s important to deal with the issue as soon as possible. However, trying to get rid of pigeons and clean up their droppings on your own is not safe. Pigeon control professionals are trained in safe management techniques and have the proper equipment required to clean up after a pigeon infestation safely.

One of the biggest risks of cleaning up pigeon droppings on your own is that you could release dust into the air that contains bacteria and fungi that cause infection. Not only would you be at risk from inhaling the bacteria and fungi yourself, but you could also inadvertently introduce the contaminants into the HVAC system in your home, allowing them to spread into your indoor air and putting your family at risk.

Source

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

« Older Entries

Next Entries »

HOW TO GET RID OF PIGEONS ON THE ROOF

Get rid of pigeons on the roof by removing food and water

Easy to use deterrents to get rid of pigeons on the roof

Metal bird spikes to get rid of pigeons on the roof

Wire screens or mesh to get rid of pigeons on the roof

Bird netting to get rid of pigeons on the roof

Remove bird nesting materials and droppings

Importance of discouraging pigeons from nesting on your roof

Call a professional

Decision-making in pigeon flocks: a democratic view of leadership

A retrospective molecular investigation of selected pigeon viruses between 2018-2021 in Turkey

Pigeons turn into ‘zombie birds’ with twisted necks, trembling wings in UK. Know why and how

Pigeon droppings health risk – should you worry?

What is it?

How can you catch it?

How risky is it?

How dangerous is pigeon poo?

Are Pigeons Dangerous?

Pigeon droppings contain bacteria and fungi that can cause disease.

Pigeons also carry other potential health risks.

People with weakened immune systems are most at risk.

For safety reasons, only professionals should handle pigeon control.

Recent Articles

Policies

Pigeon Patrol Products