by Pigeon Patrol | Oct 14, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
A British grandfather died from a freak allergy to pigeons after he let a pal keep them in his back yard.
Peter Willoughby, who didn’t even like the birds, selflessly allowed his friend to build a pigeon loft in his Hampshire yard some 25 years ago, reports the Southern Daily Echo.
But the dad-of-three didn’t realize that the favor would eventually end up killing him.
Willoughby’s health deteriorated over the years, and it then emerged that he was suffering from scarring on the lungs.
The condition, commonly known in the bird racing community as “pigeon fancier’s lungs,” came from an allergy due to his regular contact with the creatures.
Willoughby suffered from a condition known as ‘pigeon fancier’s lungs,’ as his allergy to the birds caused scarring on the lungs.
An inquest into his death heard that the 72-year-old struggled to breathe in his later years, and that he died in Southampton General Hospital in 2014.
Coroner Grahame Short recorded his death as coming from end-stage lung disease and a form of pneumonia triggered by the allergy to pigeons.
“For a number of years Mr Willoughby was working in an environment where he was exposed and in his home he was also exposed to feathers and excreta when he was close to the pigeon loft in his back garden,” Short ruled.
“I think it was a combination of those two factors,” he added.
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 | Oct 11, 2015 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, UltraSonic Bird Control
A SPECIALIST team has slaughtered potentially deadly pigeons to decontaminate Millom council offices after an infestation was exposed.
However, upstairs council offices and a kitchen are to remain closed for now after a health and safety inspection highlighted other issues including no disabled access.
A dangerous tile has also been removed from the Millom Town Council building, in St George’s Road, and Cumbria County Council said further repairs will take place once the cull has finished.
The offices have been in lockdown since January 23 when feral pigeons, which could carry deadly diseases including salmonella, psittacosis and ornithosis, were discovered in the loft.
County councillor and town councillor for Millom Brian Crawford said: “Serious concerns have been raised about the condition of the building. We are not using the offices at all at the moment.
“We’ve been left in limbo a bit as we had to use the Pensioner’s Hall last week for our town council meeting and some council staff are having to work from home.”
County council officials said it could take several days for pest controllers to finish the cull and for corpses and leftover faeces to be removed.
The town council is now on the hunt for new temporary office space and potentially permanent new premises over fears repair work may prove too costly.
Cllr Crawford said: “We will have to look at the future of the whole building in light of the other issues which have been raised as we can’t keep operating in there while the stair lift is broken because there’s no disabled access.
“It’s been suggested that it could be cheaper for the building to be knocked down and rebuilt than the cost of the repairs. I think what the council wants is for a community group to take on the work in conjunction with the town council and for it to be funded through grants.
“I know Millom residents won’t be happy if this happens because it is an iconic building in the town. Another option is to completely refurbish the inside of building.”
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 | Oct 10, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
Feed the birds, tuppence a bag” croons the Little Old Bird Woman on the steps of St Paul’s in Mary Poppins. But the winged critters aren’t so popular with everyone; Ken Livingstone tried to eradicate them from Trafalgar Square in 2001 by banning the sale of pigeon food and hiring a hawk to maintain the pecking order. If he’d succeeded in wiping them out completely, what would London be like today? We take a look at pigeons’ place in the London ecosystem.
The only creature to feast on pigeons in London is the peregrine falcon, a bird of prey that nests on the ledges of tall buildings (as this replicates their more natural environment of cliff faces), according to Matthew Evans, Professor of Ecology at Queen Mary University. The most famous pair of peregrine falcons in London nest in the chimney of the Tate Modern on Southbank, although others are known to roam the skies around Parliament and other spots.
Peregrines are adept at catching their prey when it is mid-flight (meals on wheels wings, if you will), and London pigeons are simply a more domesticated version of the rock dove, the falcons’ only source of food in other environments. Evans believes it’s unlikely that an absence of pigeons would cause them to turn to another food source, such as rodents. Instead, they are likely either to die out through lack of food, or leave London and set up home in another location where their favourite meal is readily available.
In turn, this would reduce the number of greater-binocularised humans who flock to Southbank every summer in an attempt to feed their eyes on the falcons. Presumably they would be displaced to another ecosystem more accommodating to their bird-spotting needs — the Welsh coast, perhaps — freeing up more of the London space for other humans to flourish.
Looking at the food chain in the other direction, the main source of food for pigeons is human rubbish: crisps, biscuits, the odd M&S sarnie. Whatever they can get their mangled claws on, really. According to Evans, the only reason that pigeons really exist in London is due to the sheer amount of food readily available for them. So, without pigeons, this clean-up service would cease to exist, meaning we’d probably be knee-deep in half-eaten kebabs before we knew it. But excess food would soon be picked up by rats and foxes (and gulls, closer to the river), meaning we’d probably see an increase in the populations of these species.
So no pigeons in London would mean no peregrine falcons, but more rats and foxes. Think of that next time you shoo a hobbling pigeon out of your path. It’s him, or a rat. And of course, fewer pigeons mean less pigeon droppings, so London buildings and statues could be free of the “lucky”* fluid, and less subject to erosion. We could also release our most sacred buildings from the protective sheath of pigeon spikes (full effectiveness demonstrated below).
*We got pooed on by a pigeon once. So distracted were we in trying to remove the muck from our new jacket that we tripped over a kerb and ended up face down in mud. Lucky our *rse.
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 | Oct 8, 2015 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, UltraSonic Bird Control
HARRISBURG >> Guns were a hot topic Wednesday in the Pennsylvania Senate, which voted to back a ban on pigeon shoots and in favor of a bill to give groups like the National Rifle Association legal standing to sue municipalities over local gun laws.
Senators favored outlawing pigeon shoots by a 3-1 margin and sent the measure back to the House for consideration.
The shoots, which involve launching the birds from spring-loaded boxes to be shot at close range, were derided by some senators who called it inhumane and a throwback to “another age.” Violators of the proposed law would face a summary charge of cruelty to animals.
Sen. Richard Alloway II, R-Chambersburg, an avid outdoorsman and an A-rated NRA lifetime member, voted with the majority.
“I have a deep admiration for our traditions and that includes a respect for the game we pursue, as we participate in these pastimes,” Alloway said. “This is in no way a slippery slope toward eliminating legitimate hunting opportunities, but rather a personal decision I have made regarding this individual activity. To me, hunting is about sport, and there is no sport in violating the fair-chase laws that we hold in such high esteem in the Commonwealth.”
“There is no appropriate way to do a pigeon shoot,” said Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, leader of the Democratic minority.
Sen. John Eichelberger, R-Hollidaysburg, voted not to outlaw the shoots. The Senate earlier voted down his proposed amendment to make trapping or poisoning pigeons a summary offense.
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Sen. Mike Brubaker, R-Lancaster, proposed a compromise amendment placing the shoots under the supervision of the Pennsylvania Game Commission but it was rejected by 33-15 vote.
Alloway also voted with the majority to allow “membership organizations” to stand in for any Pennsylvania member who is “adversely affected” by local gun-control ordinances.
The measure was portrayed by proponents as a simple clarification of existing laws. The amendment to a separate bill was approved by a 2-1 margin and sent to the House for additional action.
“We’re not doing anything drastic here, this is just good common sense,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson.
“At least 50 individual municipalities have enacted their own firearms ordinances that are more prohibitive than those set by the Commonwealth, and therefore in violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution,” Alloway said. “The unfortunate reality is that a person — who is abiding by state law, but is in breach of a municipal ordinance — has no way to recover damages they have incurred as a result of their legal battle, a legal battle they should not have had to fight in the first place.”
Eichelberger, who represents western Franklin County, also voted in favor of the measure.
Opponents, particularly senators from the Philadelphia area, which is plagued by gun violence, said the proposal gives special license to the NRA to push its agenda in Pennsylvania courts at the expense of local taxpayers.
“This is a mess!” said Sen. Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia.
Wednesday was supposed to have been the last session day before a new Legislature is elected on Nov. 4, but both houses added a day to their calendars. The Senate reconvenes Thursday and the House on Monday.
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 | Oct 7, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, UltraSonic Bird Control
In the span of a few weeks, Erica Richards has been transformed from a vibrant 23-year-old woman who loved nature to a person battling for her life.
In early January, the Fredericton woman contracted a potentially fatal condition called cryptococcal meningitis, a fungal disease carried in the feces of pigeons.
The debilitating illness attacks the spine and brain, causing severe swelling. It left her confined to a hospital bed in a state of delirium for weeks.
But the most devastating side effect is that Ms. Richards is now blind.
“Be aware of this disease. It could kill a child in a heartbeat,” Ms. Richards said in an interview from her hospital bed.
“It could kill a senior in a heartbeat without you even having to worry about the symptoms. It comes on that fast. If you don’t realize the symptoms, it could kill you, too.”
Her emotional warning comes on the heels of city council’s approval earlier this month of a recommendation that it toughen its animal control bylaw to allow for fines for feeding pigeons. Once the amendment is drafted and declared law, it will give the city’s bylaw enforcement officers the power to ticket and fine offenders.
Ms. Richards said she decided to go public about her illness after learning about a recent newspaper story about a problem with pigeon poop in the city.
“Please don’t feed the pigeons,” she said. “Try to shoo them away if you see them. … It (the disease) is horrible. The pain that you get from this disease is crippling.
“The after-effects are with you for life and you just can’t stop thinking about it. I just want other people to know and try to stay away from pigeons.”
Oddly enough, Ms. Richards said she has no recollection of ever being anywhere near pigeons.
“I am still wondering to this day where I got it,” she said. “I could have stepped in it and brought it into the home. I just don’t know.”
Ms. Richards said the symptoms started with a migraine headache that wouldn’t go away. She was admitted to hospital on Feb. 10 after many days of intense head pain. Shortly after, she went into a coma-like state.
“When I woke up I thought I had a mask over my eyes, but I was wrong. I was blind. I was recently told that I will be blind for the rest of my life. This is a tough thing for a 23-year-old to go through. … My world crumbled around me.”
Ms. Richards said the odds of surviving the disease are 50-50.
“However, I managed to make it through,” she said, battling tears. “I don’t know how but I am still here, and I am glad because I get to warn everyone else of this.”
Cristin Muecke, the Health Department’s regional medical officer, confirmed the disease is often associated with pigeon droppings. She said the illness can’t be spread person to person and is more common with someone who has immune problems.
Ms. Richards, however, said she has never had a problem with her immune system and that’s what’s so puzzling about contracting the affliction.
“I do not want anyone else to suffer this agonizing disease and I ask anyone who is feeding pigeons to stop,” she said. “It’s not just a matter of keeping your neighbourhood clean … it’s a matter of keeping people healthy.”
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 | Oct 6, 2015 | Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
TORONTO, ON–(Marketwired – October 21, 2014) – The Scarborough Civic Centre, unique for its juxtaposition of two triangular shaped, multiple split level towers, which surround an open central area in the interior, was designed by architect Raymond Moriyama and officially opened in 1973 by Queen Elizabeth. Today, the five-story east tower holds municipal offices for Toronto’s East District, while the four-story west tower now houses offices of the Toronto District School Board.
Sadly, like most buildings where glass is showcased, the Centre has experienced a very high level of bird collisions with its windows. When a new library wing addition with a myriad of glass surfaces was planned at the Centre, an effort was led to solve the problem by Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker. Councillor De Baeremaeker first had the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) Canada conduct a BirdSafe® risk assessment of the building to help identify the most lethal facades for bird-window collisions. City funding was then allotted to support a retrofit solution that conformed with Bird Friendly Development Guidelines outlined in Toronto’s Green Development Standard (2007); city-wide legislation that Councillor De Baeremaeker was also instrumental in introducing.
The application of Feather Friendly Technologies® window film by Convenience Group Inc. to nearby Consilium Place and now to the Scarborough Civic Centre is resulting in a substantial reduction of bird collisions at both complexes. Light gray dots applied with the desirable 2″x 2″ spacing to the exterior surface of glass is the configuration which has proven to be effective.
Architectural design contributors to the project were Jane Burgess and Ashley Stewart of Stevens Burgess Architects Ltd. (SBA), an award winning multi-disciplinary architectural firm providing value-added expertise in conservation, interior sustainable design and urban design. The project was managed by Colonial Building Restoration.
Convenience Group Inc. has provided Window Film Solutions to a wide range of commercial and residential customers in the Greater Toronto Area for over 40 years. As a master distributor, and authorized dealer of 3M window film, Convenience Group is able to offer leading-edge products, highly experienced consulting, superior design and expert installation. The company specializes in working with interior designers and architects who use Decorative Film and Architectural Finishes as part of their designs. For more information about Feather Friendly® Bird Collision Deterrent Technology visit www.featherfriendly.com Convenience Group can also provide true multi-location project management across Canada through their national dealer network Window Film Canada www.windowfilmcanada.ca. Visit CGI at www.conveniencegroup.com or contact 1-888-835-5885.
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)
