Scotland woman gets spikes for pigeon problem
If they think your place is comfortable, pigeons will call it home. And bring their buddies.
Pigeons could be the most fearless creatures around. They practically walk right up to you on the street and leave a little something special behind to remind you they were there. An Edinburgh, Scotland woman’s home, that she shares with her two small children, was overwhelmed with pigeons. Nearly 200 of them found respite on her block, and they were waking her and her kids up at night. From the Edinburgh News:
The pigeons, which have covered windows and balconies with droppings, have been roosting en mass on the roof of the block in Hyvot Green, with some residents afraid to venture outside and others struggling to sleep at night because of the constant noise.
Luckily for the woman, a very generous local pest control company donated hundreds of dollars worth of plastic spikes like the ones below.
Bird-X's polycarbonate bird spikes sit anywhere that birds do.
Bird-X‘s polycarbonate spikes are one of the most effective ways to halt the pigeon population. Putting spikes up makes roosting impossible; it’s a humane way of telling the birds to stay off your stuff. These can be placed literally anywhere that pigeons like to hang out. Chicago’s “L” track stations use these on all of their outdoor beams, signs and ledges which has cut down the number of birds bothering commuters probably by the thousands.
Chicago's CTA "L" stations are big proponents of polycarbonate spikes.
The best thing about spikes is that you can put them up once and be done with pigeons, or any other roosting birds, for good. It doesn’t get any more low maintenance than this! Bird-X also offers stainless steel spikes and three different kinds of bird netting – standard, heavy duty, and premium.
And if you check out the website, we currently have a great deal on all of our spikes. They are 15% off!
Questions? Ready to order? Call us up at 800-860-0473 to talk to one of our experts!
St. Louis University using owl decoy
The crows aren't going anywhere at St. Louis University this year. And cars all over campus are suffering.
The St. Louis University student newspaper, The University News, recently published a piece on the unusual number of crows on campus this year. Terry Palmisano, a maintenance worker for 31 years at the university, said that this was the first year that the crows actually became a problem. And they are definitely leaving their mark on campus.
“The cars in the back of the [Marchetti parking] lot are loaded with bird feces, Palmisano recently told the studnet paper. “…At night, there are hundreds, and it is freaky when they are flying all over the place.”
A biologist at the university understands why the crows are so prevalent this year.
According to Thomas Valone, a behavioral ecologist in the Department of Biology, crows often gather in urban areas for winter roosts because of big trees, open areas, unnatural lighting and food waste. Urban areas are also five to 10 degrees warmer than rural areas because of the heat island effect, which traps the sun’s into urban areas and creates a warmer environment for the crows.
To fend off the crows and the damage they leave behind, the university purchased two life-sized Great Horned Owl decoys with four-and-a-half-foot wingspans. The Great Horned Owl is a natural predator to the crows. Bird-X‘s Prowler Owl fits this billing to a tee.
This visual bird scare is so effective because owls, especially Great Horn Owls, are a natural predator to ravens and crows.
The Great Horned Owl is so feared amongst birds because it captures and eats almost anything that moves. Birds instinctively avoid the Prowler Owl as they would a Great Horned Owl. And set-up for the Prowler Owl is beyond simple; it mounts practically anywhere and it is constantly moving in the wind making it more dynamic.
St. Louis University will be receiving their owl decoys by the end of the week. They have also considered sound devices, which would work wonderfully along with the Prowler Owl. Affecting multiple senses is the most effective way to eliminate pest birds.
Terror-Eyes are well worth it
5/5 Star Amazon Review
I was sceptible [sic] – but this immediately kept the geese and most seagulls off my dock- yeah I can walk on it again without my dog eating “bird snacks”. Well worth it and much better than nasty chemicals. AAA+++
By J. Knight from Virginia
Repel Geese From your Property
By Elana Moriarty
(Previously Published)
Winter is on its way. Along with colder temperatures, this season also brings an overwhelming number of migrating Canada Geese. As a passerby these birds can be innocuous or even charming. However, when it is your land that the geese have claimed as their winter vacation getaway, they suddenly stop seeming so harmless. Not only are geese irritating—they can be dangerous as well. Part of the difficulty with solving the issue of goose infestations is that once a cycle of migration nests on your property, the new generation of geese have already been ingrained to return with each season. When a layperson attempts to deal with a goose infestation on his or her own, without any knowledge of goose behavior, it becomes clear where the saying “a wild goose chase” originates.
Just like the saying hints at, chasing a goose is futile. The key is to be proactive rather than reactive. To be clear, the origin of your problem is not the geese. The problem is that your property is attractive to geese. Take away the geese that are on your land right now and another flock will take its place. This is why solutions like the use of a border collie trained in chasing the geese away only last as long as the border collie.
Likewise, while you might be tempted to do something unsafe and ridiculous like shooting the geese that land on your property this is unnecessary and unhelpful. In addition to the fact that you will possibly be breaking laws and endangering your neighbors by taking this sort of action, you will also find that it has a very minimal, if any, effect on your goose infestation in the long-term. Instead, you will find that you’ve gained a new pest in addition to your goose problem: people protesting outside your property. Temporary solutions will only prolong your frustration. These types of situations trap you in a never-ending cycle and force you to keep shelling out cash. Products that focus on the environment that you provide rather than the geese who respond favorable to it will be much more effective for a lasting solution.
One thing to keep in mind is that the sooner your take action, the easier it will be to get a quick result. Ideally, you should prep your land before the geese arrive so that they know to travel elsewhere before laying down roots and starting the nesting process. If a full-fledged infestation is already in progress, start strategizing and execute your strategies as soon as possible. The longer the geese stay on your property, the more comfortable they will get. Once a goose realizes what a nice home he has found on your land, it will be much harder to convince him that there are better homes elsewhere.
If you have already let your goose problem go on for a long time it is not too late to solve it.
Environmental and Health Hazards of Goose Infestation
When geese come to your land they bring their appetite with them. They eat everything in their path. When they come in large numbers, as they often do, they can completely strip the land of plant growth. In one report published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service , the population of Canada Geese at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge started at 350 in 1989 and jumped to 5,000 by 2007. This population required approximately one half-pound of food per adult goose each day. The geese at said refuge ravaged the tender roots of aquatic plants, over-browsed the ground vegetation and contributed to a 40% loss at the refuge’s cornfields this past year. This problem was made worse when compounded with the fact that this ravenous eating leads to copious waste.
In the case of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, bird fecal waste leached into the water and degraded the water quality. Build up on the local driveways and parking areas of the visitor center was actually deemed a safety hazard due to the possibility of a slip-and-fall accident. Still, the most disturbing aspect of the waste from geese is that a plethora of avian diseases are passable to humans and fecal matter is rife with the possibility for transmission. While you may not have a population of geese as large as the wildlife refuge, you probably also do not have the resources that it is able to provide the existing geese. It is clear from this example that geese will populate an area until its resources are used up.
Solutions to Goose Infestation:
The first step to dealing with an infestation of geese is to get as much information on the population as possible. When do they arrive? What direction do they come from? Where are they settling? What are the environmental factors that make your land appealing to the geese? It will be easier to strategize ways to combat the problem if you have a full understanding of what the problem consists of. Start with a clean slate and get rid of all evidence: nests, fledglings, droppings, dead birds, and the residual scent – adult birds will return to protect their young, or to a familiar, “marked” scent. Also remove food spillage, garbage, nesting material and other items that make eating and nest-building easy.
You must consider that, like you, birds are multi-sensory. Just like you can put up with an irritation if an environment is appealing overall, geese will also stick around if you only approach the problem from one direction. Be prepared to take a synergistic approach that challenges all the senses:
Sight: Sight aversions are designed to look like predators. While some sight scare aversions are virtually useless due to the fact that geese become accustomed to their presence, others have been modified for maximum effectiveness. Rather than the traditional statue of an owl, try a balloon with mylar eyes. These are designed so that the eyes appear to follow any goose within a given area. Rather than sitting on the ground, they can be hung in trees so that they blow in the wind and move as a real predator would. For even more impact, they can be moved periodically to keep the geese from getting used to them. Also, holographic tape can be useful as the geese will feel ill-at-ease as the reflection changes with the light. Sight scare tactics are an economical and easy approach to dealing with bird troubles. They are very effective especially if you have a smaller property.
Smell: Geese utilize something called the trigeminal system which is similar to our sense of smell. A constituent of concord grapes has been found to be so unappealing to Canada geese that it actually seems to overwhelm them to the point that they are driven away from the treated environment. Despite its dramatic effect on bird infestation it has been used by the food and drug industry for over 40 years to flavor candy, sodas, gums, and drugs, is listed by the US FDA as “Generally Recognized As Safe” (GRAS), and is classified by the US EPA as “reduced risk”.
Touch: For specific areas that you would like to protect, netting can be used to block an area off from geese.
Taste: Products that utilize the same part of concord grapes that were mentioned in the
“smell” section also act upon the sense of taste. Geese will not want to graze on your property when the overwhelming sensation of these products hits them.
Sound: There are goose-specific sound devices that project the sound of distress calls into an area. While many companies carry sonic bird control devices they are not all created equal. In fact, all but one of these sonic devices uses distress calls that were recorded in a laboratory environment. As a result, the calls obtained by the researchers are not the same calls a flock would use to signify real, immediate danger in the wilderness and are, therefore, less effective. Bird-X manufactures and distributes the first and only sonic goose repeller with varied recordings obtained from the wild has been developed by Dr. Philip Whitford after 23 years of research in Canada goose behavior and vocal communications. This includes the very rare “alarm call” which is elicited for only the most dire emergencies.
These devices are especially useful if you have a large property or farm which is otherwise difficult to monitor. One unit covers 5-7 acres of land and adding another unit extends the coverage to 15-21 acres. After a couple scares geese will remember you’re your area is considered unsafe and find another, safer environment for when they are molting and nesting—times when they are most vulnerable.
What’s Wrong with Poisoning Pigeons?
There have been quite a few baffling incidents in which birds “mysteriously” fall from the sky in metropolitan areas. After crookedly plummeting from the sky, the birds would lie on the ground, flap erratically and then cease from further movement. A closer glance at the hectic sight would reveal groups of disoriented birds convulsing as if traumatized prior to an inevitable death. Given the circumstances of these environments, it is not unusual to presume that these birds have been victims of senseless poisoning.
Pigeon poisoning is an ineffective, irrational, and inhumane method of bird removal.
People waste time and money on pest exterminators. Poisoning birds is useless in the long run. A common misconception is that after a few pigeons digest the poison and die, the others will “learn” to stay away. Pigeons are not the exactly the smartest creatures. Quite frankly, the poisoning method serves as no communication to the bird flock. For all they know, the death of their flockmate could have been incidental. As long as the space is desirable—meaning that it provides food, shelter, and a foundation for breeding—the birds will continue to inhabit the area. If a sufficient amount birds from a given flock die from poisoning, more space is created. The extra space is like an open invitation for more birds to inhabit the area, making it just as populated—if not more—as it was before hard-earned money was thrown into the pockets of the pest extermination company.
The poison can also affect involuntary bystanders. Witnesses to this cacophony may suffer from erroneous panic or blatant disgust for the “culprits.” The haphazard use of poisoning can easily attack the nervous system of other animals. Even humans can have adverse side effects, as in the horrific case of the Casey family in 2000.
I am no radical animal rights activist; I am simply a human who is capable of expressing logical compassion towards another organism. Poisoning pigeons is a redundant, sadistic crime. No organism deserves to suffer from a slow, painful death.
Before you resort to poisoning pigeons out of sheer desperation and helplessness, consider safer alternatives. Bird-X, Inc. has established a name for itself in the humane animal control industry since 1964. All Bird-X products are effective deterrents alone, but if stubborn cases require additional attention, a combination of Bird-X products (including Bird Spikes) will work synergistically to create a truly undesirable roosting environment.