Often referred to as flying rats, pigeons are found everywhere in cities across the globe. While small children may love feeding them, most adults find them to be rather disgusting creatures. The pigeons seen in most American city parks are distant relatives of the European homing pigeons brought to the States for domestication. Some must have escaped and bred in the wild, thus creating a new breed of American feral pigeons characterized by a blue-grey color and darker, iridescent head and neck feathers. Their wings and neck also have black, brown, or white markings. The feral pigeons like to nest far off the ground on window sills, building ledges, and air conditioning units. Their level front and hind toes make it easy for them to perch on these flat surfaces, as well as on pipes.
Why Pigeons are Pests
Pigeons can cause a lot of damage to the places where they nest. City dwellers have probably seen quite a few park statues covered in pigeon droppings. While ascetically unpleasing, the droppings also contain uric acid that can cause structural damage. If the droppings are not cleaned off immediately, they can become highly corrosive and eat through even the strongest metals. Acid rain is not the only culprit when it comes to damaged city monuments.
Pigeons also pose serious health risks. Along with uric acid, pigeon droppings contain bacteria and fungus that can lead to serious diseases in humans such as meningitis, salmonella, and encephalitis. When an entire flock of pigeons defecates in the same place, the area can become slick with their excrement and cause people to slip – a liability for factory workers that is unfortunately not uncommon. When a flock’s nesting materials get into machinery, they can cause the machines to malfunction and break, which can also lead to safety problems.
How to Control a Nuisance Pigeon Population
The best way to prevent pigeons from roosting on your building is to put up a bird net. These nearly invisible nets come in a variety of mesh sizes and keep birds from reaching choice nesting areas without being an eyesore.
Another ascetically pleasing pigeon deterrent is an electrical wire or track. These come in a variety of colors and can be placed on any type of surface. When the pigeon lands on the wire or track, they receive a pulse that is similar to static electricity – enough to give them a little scare without harming them.
In the same vein as an electrical wire or track, bird spikes can be set up on ledges where pigeons have begun to perch. These little spikes are not sharp enough to hurt the pigeons, but ensure that there is not enough space for them to land.