by Pigeon Patrol | Jan 20, 2021 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Law, Bird Netting, Bird Spikes, Columbidae
Pigeon Patrol is A Professional Bird Control Company Based In Vancouver thanks for tuning into our blog!
Many people don’t think about hiring a company to take care of bird problems, but with the help of bird control companies, variety of businesses can reap the rewards. Birds can be nice to look at, but over time, they can become a nuisance and potentially even affect the success of your business appearance. Here are five benefits of hiring a bird control service:
Why You Should Hire A Professional Bird Control Company
Humane Bird Control
You might be wondering if hiring a bird control service brings harm to the birds, but it certainly does not have to. A new technology called electronic bird repellent uses sonic and ultrasonic frequencies to deter birds without causing them any harm. The birds will simply hear these frequencies in the form of predatory calls or bird distress signals, and they will instinctively avoid the area. Plus, the frequencies used are out of the range of what humans can hear, so you do not have to worry about the deterrent itself being a nuisance! We also have the option of capturing the birds in a cage (with food and water) and bring them into the wild for them to live a new life
Cleaner Appearance
With a bird control service in place, you do not have to worry about bird droppings piling up on your company mailbox or awning (or even falling on an unsuspecting person’s head!). These droppings can drastically affect the aesthetic appeal of your building, which can turn customers off from doing business with you. Particularly if your building has any historical value, that value can become diminished by the abundance of droppings. We will clean your property with the right equipment
Less Health Risks
Birds carry all kinds of diseases, including salmonella, E. coli, and meningitis, and many of those diseases can be transferred to humans through the birds’ droppings. Humans do not have to come into contact with the droppings to contract these illnesses; the pathogens can be inhaled if a human is even in close vicinity to the droppings. It is best to not even take the risk of sickening any of your employees or customers when affordable bird control is an option. source
Preventing Damage
If you choose to not hire a professional bird control service, you will save some money in the short-term, but it could cost you in the long-term as the acid in bird droppings starts to erode any stonework or metal on your building. Of course, if you clean the droppings regularly, you likely will not have issues, but cleaning the droppings requires dedication, time, and money on a regular basis. With a bird control service, you can have preventative measures put in place once and never worry about it again.
Peace of Mind
In addition to eliminating the unsightly droppings, physical damage, and health issues that birds can cause, hiring a bird control service can also make your building simply more pleasant to be around. No longer will you have to worry about any unpleasant smells or distracting noises when you want to open a window or eat your lunch outside. The only thing you might miss is the birds chirping in the morning, but there’s an app for that!
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. source
Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon / Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosting / Vancouver Pigeon Patrol / Bird Control / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons/ What to do about pigeons/ most common types of sparrows , Damages Caused by Sparrows, How To Keep Raccoons Away, de-fence, Pigeon Nesting and Breeding Patterns and Behavior What Do I Do With a Bird Trapped in My Wall? Professional Bird Control Company
by Pigeon Patrol | Jan 14, 2021 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Bird Spikes, Pigeon Control, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services
It starts as a slight scratching. You suspect mice or rats at first until you hear the faint tweeting that means only one thing: A bird has become trapped behind your wall. Unfortunately, getting the bird out is a lot harder for you than it was for it to get in. Accept that it will probably mean cutting a hole in your wall. You also need to figure out where the bird got in and cover the hole with a metal screen to prevent it from happening again.
Lure It Out
Luring a bird out of a wall sounds logical. The bird got itself in, therefore it should be able to get itself out. This can work in some cases, but usually the bird becomes trapped between two walls and doesn’t have enough room to fly. If it sounds like the bird is moving up and down in the walls and you know where it entered, you can try luring it out. Place a bright light near the entrance to the wall since birds often fly toward light. Open any windows in the room and close it off to other areas of your house. Playing recorded birdsong near the entrance can help assure the bird that it is safe to come out; otherwise keep it very quiet in that room. Placing birdseed near the hole won’t work because birds have a poor sense of smell. If the bird is not out within a few hours, it probably can’t get out on its own.
Cut It Out
If you have the right tools and some construction experience, you can try to free the bird yourself by cutting a large hole in the wall above the bird. Cut shallowly into the drywall to avoid cutting into the electrical wires. Make the cut neat to make patching the wall easier. Once the piece of the wall is removed, the bird may fly out suddenly. Open any windows and doors to the outside to allow it to escape. If it doesn’t fly out, reach in with a gloved hand and carefully pick it up. Don’t release it until you are outside.
Call In an Expert
The safest, simplest method of dealing with a trapped bird is to call in a professional wildlife control expert. Look in the phone book under “pest control” or “animal removal services” to find one. Although they will charge a fee, they will get the animal out with the least amount of damage to your wall and home. In some cases, the cost of paying for animal control is less than paying a contractor to repair the damage done to your home.
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. source
Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon / Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosting / Vancouver Pigeon Patrol / Bird Control / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons/ What to do about pigeons/ most common types of sparrows , Damages Caused by Sparrows, How To Keep Raccoons Away, de-fence, Pigeon Nesting and Breeding Patterns and Behavior What Do I Do With a Bird Trapped in My Wall?
by Pigeon Patrol | Dec 27, 2020 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Spikes, Columbidae, Doves, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News
Facts About the Pigeon
- Pigeons are incredibly complex and intelligent animals. They are one of only a small number of species to pass the ‘mirror test’ – a test of self recognition. They can also recognise each letter of the human alphabet, differentiate between photographs, and even distinguish different humans within a photograph.
- Some pigeons can pass the mirror test after training in the prerequisite behaviors. In 1981, American psychologist B. F. Skinner found that pigeons are capable of passing a highly modified mirror test after extensive training. In the experiment, a pigeon was trained to look in a mirror to find a response key behind it, which the pigeon then turned to peck to obtain food. Thus, the pigeon learned to use a mirror to find critical elements of its environment. Next, the pigeon was trained to peck at dots placed on its feathers; food was, again, the consequence of touching the dot. The latter training was accomplished in the absence of the mirror. The final test was placing a small bib on the pigeon—enough to cover a dot placed on its lower belly. A control period without the mirror present yielded no pecking at the dot. When the mirror was revealed, the pigeon became active, looked in the mirror and then tried to peck on the dot under the bib. However, untrained pigeons have never passed the mirror test.
- Pigeons are renowned for their outstanding navigational abilities. They use a range of skills, such as using the sun as a guide and an internal ‘magnetic compass’. A study at Oxford University found that they will also use landmarks as signposts and will travel along man-made roads and motorways, even changing direction at junctions.
- Pigeons are highly sociable animals. They will often be seen in flocks of 20-30 birds.
- Pigeons mate for life, and tend to raise two chicks at the same time.
- Both female and male pigeons share responsibility of caring for and raising young. Both sexes take turn incubating the eggs and both feed the chicks ‘pigeon milk’ – a special secretion from the lining of the crop which both sexes produce.
- Pigeons have excellent hearing abilities. They can detect sounds at far lower frequencies than humans are able to, and can thus hear distant storms and volcanoes.
- Despite the social perception as dirty and disease-ridden, pigeons are actually very clean animals and there is very little evidence to suggest that they are significant transmitters of disease.
- Pigeons and humans have lived in close proximity for thousands of years. The first recordings of this date back to Mesopotamis, modern Iraq, in 3000bc.
- Although pigeon droppings are seen by some as a problem in modern society, a few centuries ago pigeon guano was seen as extremely valuable. It was viewed as the best available fertiliser and armed guards would even stand by dovecotes (pigeon houses) to stop others taking the droppings.
- Pigeons can fly at altitudes up to and beyond 6000 feet, and at an average speed of 77.6 mph. The fastest recorded speed is 92.5 mph.
- Pigeons are fed by many members of different religions including Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs for spiritual reasons. Some older Sikhs will ceremoniously feed them in honour of Guru Gobind Singh, a high priest who was renowned as a friend to pigeons.
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
Pigeon / Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosting / Vancouver Pigeon Patrol / Bird Control / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons/ What to do about pigeons/ most common types of sparrows , Damages Caused by Sparrows, How To Keep Raccoons Away, de-fence, Facts About the Pigeon
by Pigeon Patrol | Dec 27, 2020 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, history of pigeons, Pigeons
What Are Dovecotes?
Dovecotes, Commonly known as:
Pigeon houses, columbaria, culver houses, pigeon cotes, dove houses
A dovecote or dovecot, doocot or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest.
Widcombe Manor Farm Dovecote
Dovecotes were a common sight throughout Britain and across mainland Europe between the 16th and 19th centuries, but today few remain and of those that do, many are now in ruins. Dovecotes are specially constructed pigeon houses where pigeons were kept for a variety of purposes, but in the main as a source of food. Other uses for the domesticated pigeon were as quarry for falconry and as a target for shooting matches that were common in the 19th century and in which as many as 120 birds were shot for sport in each match. Dovecotes can be constructed of virtually any material (although early dovecotes were constructed exclusively of stone) and can be free-standing structures or provided as part of an existing structure or as a ‘lean-to’ addition.
Ancient Dovecote at Embleton
The earliest dovecotes may have been introduced to Britain by the Romans based on the fact that pigeon rearing was common in Italy with dovecotes being provided close to villas and farmsteads for the purpose of food. Over half a century ago C.D. Chalmers suggested that a number of unexplained foundations on Roman sites in Britain were the remains of ancient dovecotes, but his views have never been corroborated. Due to the lack of any firm evidence that dovecotes were introduced into Britain by the Romans it is likely that it was the Normans that first introduced the dovecote and as a result domesticated the rock dove from which the feral pigeon of today is descended.
One of the earliest British examples is believed to be a 12th century dovecote that was uncovered during archaeological works in Raunds, Northamptonshire. This early dovecote is circular and commonly known as a ‘rubblestone dovecote’. A number of these early rubblestone dovecotes, dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries, have been uncovered throughout southern England in recent years and with quite a significant geographical spread ranging from Devon in the south-west through to Lincolnshire in the east. These early dovecotes were built mainly to service the culinary needs of monasteries, castles and manors but were the sole preserve of the wealthy and almost certainly beyond the means of the poor. In Medieval and Norman times the building of a dovecote was a feudal right restricted to lords of the manor, abbots and barons with these privileges eventually extending down to the humble parish priest. Today very few of these structures remain intact.
Much Marcle Dovecote
It was in the 16th century that dovecotes became popular in Britain with a huge variety of different designs and types being constructed. Ancient dovecotes are believed to be round in shape but later in the 17th century square, rectangular and octagonal dovecotes were built, some with incredibly intricate designs. Further designs and types include ‘lectern’ dovecotes, ‘in and out’ dovecotes, ‘polygon’ dovecotes and even caves have been adapted for the keeping of domesticated pigeons. Lectern dovecotes are shaped like a reading desk, hence their common name, and normally consisted of a 4-sided building with a single pitched roof with raised parapet walls on 3 sides. In and out dovecotes, sometimes known as Irish dovecotes, consisted of tiers of breeding cubicles together with perching ledges that were built into the exterior wall of a house or building. Polygon dovecotes (polygon, in this context, meaning a building with more than 5 sides) are more often than not octagonal structures ranging dramatically in size and often housing large numbers of birds. Caves, both coastal and inland, have been used to house domestic pigeons but their use is less common than the conventional dovecote.
Breeding Cubicles,
Shobdon Court Dovecote
The interior of a dovecote is usually a large open space with the breeding cubicles or ledges being offered in rows around the internal walls. Pigeons would enter the dovecote in a variety of ways, depending on the size, shape and type of structure, with the most common entry/exit point (known as the flight entrance) being provided beneath a cupola on the roof of the structure. The birds would be encouraged to roost and breed within the structure and as pigeons are quite prolific breeders, bringing up to 8 young into the world each year, competition for breeding cubicles would be high.
As the main purpose of a dovecote was to provide food, and as the pigeon squab (or chick) was seen as a delicacy, squabs would be ‘farmed’ when they achieved a certain age and size (normally 4 weeks of age). In the 16th century eating pigeon meat became much more popular with ‘pigeon pie’ becoming a delicacy and often described as ‘food fit for kings’ – this rather dispels the myth that pigeons are disease carriers! As a result of this popularisation, pigeon meat not only graced the tables of the monarchy and the rich, it became a standard food for the masses and it was commonly said that every family should eat squab at least once a week. Some squab ‘farms’ were believed to house anything from 10,000 to 30,000 birds to satisfy this demand.
Cross-section of
Classic Dovecote
In order to access breeding cubicles and remove squabs an ingenious system had to be designed based on the inaccessibility of nests and the sheer height and size of some of the larger dovecotes. For smaller dovecotes a free-standing ladder was used for access but for larger structures a ‘potence’ was used, although more commonly for round rather than square or rectangular dovecotes. The potence consisted of a large vertical wooden pole situated in the centre of the interior and which was pivoted both at the base and at the top, allowing the pole to rotate 360°. Several lateral arms were joined to the vertical post at right angles to which ladders were attached. As the main pole was rotated the lateral arms and ladders also rotated around the interior allowing access to all the breeding cubicles.
Dovecote at Godminster
Although the provision of food was the main purpose of the dovecote, there was one interesting and highly valued by-product that had a dual purpose – pigeon guano! Pigeon guano was, and still is, considered to be one of the finest fertilisers in the world and was a highly prized commodity as a result. In the Middle East (where eating pigeon flesh was forbidden) dovecotes were built simply to provide manure for growing fruit and this practice continued for centuries. In France, Italy and Spain guano was used extensively on hemp crops and for the fertilisation of vineyards and in England it was considered to be an extremely potent manure. It was often said that pigeon guano was worth 10 loads of other sorts (manure).
Dovecote at Weetwood Hall
In the 16th century pigeon guano was sought after for a different reason – it was found to contain saltpetre, which was used for the manufacture of gunpowder. This secret was brought across from Germany and sold for a payment of £300, which would have been a huge sum in those days. This dramatically changed the role of the dovecote in light of the fact that guano was potentially valued more highly than the birds themselves and to protect this resource armed guards were often placed outside dovecotes to stop thieves stealing the guano. Production of saltpetre from pigeon guano ended in the late 18th century when it was found to be naturally occurring in South America.
Dovecote at Kings Pyon
Although the commercial use of dovecotes died out in the 19th century with many magnificent examples being allowed to fall into disrepair due to neglect, they have experienced something of a re-birth in the 21st century with dovecotes being used for the control of the feral pigeon, a direct descendent of the domesticated dovecote bird. Dovecotes and pigeon lofts are now commonly used for the control of the feral pigeon in towns and cities all over the world, with the notable exception of the USA.
The principle of using a dovecote (or pigeon loft) as a pigeon control option was pioneered by the Pigeon Control Advisory Service International (PiCAS International) and can be loosely described as a form of birth control. Pigeons are encouraged into a dovecote by the provision of a dedicated public feeding area, sited immediately beside the dovecote, where the public will be asked to feed the birds at the same time as being asked to cease feeding elsewhere. Pigeons will then take up residence in the dovecote (based on the close proximity of a good reliable food source) and once breeding starts all eggs are removed, as laid, and replaced with dummy eggs. Where a pigeon loft is used for the purpose of control rather than a dovecote the facility would be sited on the roof of a building or even within the roof of a building, rather than at ground level. Pigeons would be encouraged into the loft by the provision of food and once breeding starts eggs would be removed and replaced in the same way as with a dovecote facility.
Bailiffscourt Dovecote
This humane, effective and cost effective method of control is rapidly replacing the extreme use of lethal control, commonly used to control pigeon populations in the 21st century. Schemes using dovecotes, or artificial breeding facilities as they are now commonly known, have achieved staggering results where provided as a control option, often reducing pigeon flock size by as much as 50% and in some cases by as much as 95%. Pigeons will readily use a dovecote facility for the purposes of breeding and providing that some basic rules are followed this method of control, based on a concept that is more than 1000 years old, will provide any property owner or local government body with a cheap, popular and highly effective means of controlling feral pigeon populations. Source
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
Pigeon / Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosting / Vancouver Pigeon Patrol / Bird Control / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons/ What to do about pigeons/ most common types of sparrows , Damages Caused by Sparrows, How To Keep Raccoons Away, de-fence, What Are Dovecotes?
About Pigeon Patrol: