Pigeons are more than rats with wings. Birds of the family columbidae are also reasons not to eat at Taqueria Vallarta on 24th Street — or, more precisely, why nobody has eaten at Taqueria Vallarta since Sept. 8th, and why nobody may eat there until a Department of Public Health hearing tomorrow.
It appears a pair of diners were chowing down on their favorite Mission District Mexican food selections — the street-style tacos served until after 3 a.m. are particularly bomb, we hear — when they noticed something was afoot. Or rather, a-wing: there was a pigeon nest in the restaurant’s rafters, and pigeons flying in and out of the eatery via a hole in the roof, according to a complaint on file with DPH.
“There were pigeons flying in and out of the restaurant,” the unnamed resident said, according to the complaint. “The peigons [sic] were leaving peigon [sic] waste visibly around the restaurant.” (You can read the entire complaint here.)
That was on Sept. 6. On Sept. 8, a DPH inspector visited for a reinspection and ordered the restaurant immediately closed after finding six bags of trash in a storage closet and what was delicately described as a “cockroach infestation.” (You can read the inspector’s entire report here.)
This isn’t the first time Vallarta has had to close due to an excess in, shall we say, live animal culture: the eatery also had to close in 2006 thanks to a roach population.
All this will soon be taken care of, according to restaurant owner Juan Rosas Lopez, reached via telephone at the eatery on Tuesday.
“We’re closed to do renovations to the restuarant,” said Lopez, who, God bless him, talked to us after we exhausted our Spanish with repeated “periodico, noticias, noticias,” to one of his employees. “We’re fixing the walls, the bars, the counters,” Lopez said. “We’re doing something nice.”
But the pigeons? That’s a new one. “‘Pigeon problems’ abound in this city and all cities throughout the US and the world,” observed DPH spokeswoman Eileen Shields.
“What doesn’t abound are pigeons taking up residence inside restaurants. Very unusual occurrence, even for San Francisco.”
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Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
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Bridge repair costs have more than doubled because pigeon poo disguised rust.
Council officials struck a deal for the work on Conwy Road Bridge in 2016.
But the costs shot up by £844,000 to £1.53m after an inspection revealed rust on the structure was hidden by the birds’ droppings.
Conwy council chief executive Iwan Davies said it was not possible to identify the extent of the works but a councillor said it was “disappointing”.
Repairs for the two lane bridge, which takes traffic across the town’s estuary, were sent out to tender in 2016.
But a report by the council’s audit committee said the “considerable” extra work needed had not been found originally because of “access” problems.
“The additional works…significantly impacted the total cost of the works,” the report said.
Gele ward councillor Andrew Wood said: “I can’t believe we’ve not made more of an issue about this refurbishment, it’s plus £844,000.
“If the council tendered with all that information in the first place then it would have cost less. But we’re in a situation now where we have to carry on, so I’m disappointed.”
Mr Davies added: “It wasn’t an overspend as such, it was a re-calibration of what needed to be done.”
Chicago has had a long and storied battle against pesky pigeons on their transit systems.
Speaking to CBS Chicago, state Rep. Jaime Andrade was in mid-flow discussing the problem of pigeons pooping on the Chicago Transit Authority, when he was pooped on himself.
In the middle of the interview, he can be heard saying:
“Did I just get – I did, didn’t I?”
He then added:
“I’ll just have to go clean up.”
“That’s what happens to my constituents. They get s*** on all time.”
According to CBS Chicago, bird droppings have long been an issue for commuters at the Irving Park Blue Line station, which has reportedly been dubbed the “pigeon poop station.”
Andrade is reportedly trying to fix the problem, with one of his innovative ideas being to ask the CTA to install a hose line for power washing when it constructs new escalators at the stop. Either way, that’s a crappy situation.
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.
Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
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Elderly tenants of a Penticton apartment building may be at risk of contracting a fatal disease due to “large accumulations” of pigeon poop in the ceiling above a fourth-floor hallway, according a public health inspector.
The warning is contained in a July 19 letter from Interior Health to the manager of King’s Court at 66 Duncan Ave. West.
Signed by environmental health officer Stephanie Carver, the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Penticton Herald, outlines findings of a July 15 inspection of the 52-unit building.
“We observed large accumulations of pigeon guano in the ceiling tiles above the fourth floor east-west hallway. The accumulation of guano was dry, indicating accumulation has occurred over time,” Carver wrote.
“A substantial amount fell out when one ceiling tile was lifted up and it was evident the hallway ceiling tiles are full of guano and other roosting material. There were also visible signs of waste dripping down the sides of the ceiling into the hallway above residents’ doors.”
Carver goes on to note pigeon poop carries diseases such as cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis, candidiasis and encephalitis, “which can be fatal to the elderly population.”
“The amount of guano that was observed is quite significant and is considered a health hazard. Our biological concerns at this point are the many disease that are found in guano that can easily spread to the occupants as well as the amount of flies that are being attracted to the area,” she added.
Despite that warning, Interior Health gave the building owner 1-1/2 months to clean up the mess.
“The guano is not in the apartment living spaces and does not currently present an imminent health risk. It will require a fair bit of work to address the issues which have built up over time, so we have given the property owner until Sept. 3 to fix the problem,” Jennifer Jacobsen, interim manager for environmental management, said in a statement.
“If it is not addressed by that time, IH can and will take additional steps, including an order under the Public Health Act and potential violation tickets. From a public health perspective, this is a problem that does need to be fixed.”
A fourth-floor resident who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals told The Herald he’s been complaining about the problem for years to the building owner, Sandy Creek Properties, but to no avail.
“They just refuse to deal with anything,” he said.
But after finding a maggot in the hallway outside his door about a month ago, the man redoubled his efforts and contacted various outside agencies, including Interior Health, the Residential Tenancy Branch and the City of Penticton.
“I’m not worried about the live birds,” he said. “I’m worried about the dead birds — that’s where the maggot came from.”
During a visit Monday, a reporter could hear what sounded like pigeons cooing and scratching in the hallway ceiling just outside the man’s door.
Sandy Creek Properties administrator Trina Murray said the company is aware of the problem and the cleanup will begin soon.
“We’ve actually had that contract out for quite some time, and I believe (the work) is starting next week,” she said in a telephone interview Monday.
Murray said she’s been with the company for a year, but wasn’t aware of previous complaints about the issue. She was also unsure if tenants will be moved out during the cleanup.
“I know there will be a process. If they need to be moved, they will be moved,” said Murray.
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Pigeon droppings coating the sidewalks outside a Blue Line stop have proved to be more than just a nasty nuisance. The problem also led to a bunch of finger pointing to figure out a long-term solution.
The sidewalk outside the Irving Park Blue Line stop is coated in bird waste. CBS 2 Morning Insider Lauren Victory got some odd answers when she started asking questions about how to do more than just clean up the mess, but stop it from coming back.
“This Blue Line stop is affectionately known as the pigeon poop stop,” Derek Barthel said.
The nickname for his commute might sound comical, but Barthel has literal bones to pick with the birds that created the mess, which isn’t just limited to bird poop.
“You’ll see feathers, you’ll see bones, you’ll see pigeon bodies, you’ll see cracked eggs,” he said.
Beady eyes watch your moves like Mona Lisa; the cement below painted with pigeon excrement.
“It stinks to high heaven around here,” Barthel said.
The pigeons at the Irving Park underpass below the Kennedy Expressway drop waste right and left, forcing bus and train riders into a game of hopscotch.
Barthel said he’s even had some close calls “with getting hit in the face with a pigeon.”
“it’s not funny at all when you’ve got pets at home, and you’ve got to keep your shoes away from them, because they’ll lick them and get sick,” Barthel said. “It’s a public health issue. There’s pregnant women, there’s elderly, there’s sick, there’s children walking through day in and day out.”
That’s why Barthel wants more than just a clean-up.
“The problem first of all needs to be solved in the long-term,” he said.
Some have tried by installing bird spikes to keep the pigeons away from the underpass, but their solutions are in disrepair, as many of the strips have fallen off.
Perhaps jurisdiction complicates matters. The pigeons are hanging out on property half of which belongs to the CTA, the other half to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Hosing off the sidewalk falls to the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation, but cleaning the sidewalks won’t get rid of the pigeons making the mess. Not to mention, the south side of the underpass is in the 45th Ward, and the north side is in the 39th Ward.
“I’ve been on the phone with them (the 39th Ward) no fewer than three times,” Barthel said.
When CBS 2 reached out to 39th Ward Alderman Samantha Nugent’s office, a spokesperson brought up someone else to blame. He said feeding the pigeons only exacerbates the problem, and also noted it’s illegal to feed pigeons in Chicago.
Signs near the underpass reminding people of the $500 fines for feeding pigeons are dilapidated and faded, and in need of replacement.
Within less than a day of CBS 2 contacting the city, the sidewalk had been cleaned of pigeon poop.
However, it doesn’t seem like the long-term problem will be fixed for good anytime soon.
The Illinois Department of Transportation said bird barriers or shields would interfere with bridge safety inspections. Just like Nugent’s office, IDOT also wagged a finger at people who feed the pigeons.
Have a Pigeon Problem?
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 eight years in a row.
Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279, or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
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