Feb 23, 2012 – Happy Where They Are
QUESTION:
I service a potato processing plant where one of their shops has 2 pigeons roosting in it. From what the customer has said they have been there for over 2 years, but in the 4 months I have been working on site I have only ever seen the same 2 birds. Exclusion is as good as it will get and I can't seem to catch or bait these 2 pigeons. Any suggestions? I have prebaited with several different styles of feed, none of which has been effective. There are too many ledges and other resting spots to place spike strips or similar things.
ANSWER:
Well, dadgummit. You shot down nearly all of my usual suggestions, but that won't stop me from investigating them anyhow. What would surprise me would be if after 2 full years this location has not attracted more pigeons than just these two. Since you indicate there is an abundance of roosting / loafing locations within this shop it would be logical for other pigeons to enter as well. But, if it is really just this pair of birds then one final option you have not mentioned may be necessary, and that is to kill these birds, and shooting with an air rifle may be effective. It also may not be effective depending on the interior of this shop and what kinds of problems might occur from a stray pellet. But, years ago an expert from one of the major bird control products manufacturers made the comment that there will be times when that firmly entrenched bird or birds just will not leave their favorite sites no matter what you do, and killing them could be the last resort.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
I service a potato processing plant where one of their shops has 2 pigeons roosting in it. From what the customer has said they have been there for over 2 years, but in the 4 months I have been working on site I have only ever seen the same 2 birds. Exclusion is as good as it will get and I can't seem to catch or bait these 2 pigeons. Any suggestions? I have prebaited with several different styles of feed, none of which has been effective. There are too many ledges and other resting spots to place spike strips or similar things.
ANSWER:
Well, dadgummit. You shot down nearly all of my usual suggestions, but that won't stop me from investigating them anyhow. What would surprise me would be if after 2 full years this location has not attracted more pigeons than just these two. Since you indicate there is an abundance of roosting / loafing locations within this shop it would be logical for other pigeons to enter as well. But, if it is really just this pair of birds then one final option you have not mentioned may be necessary, and that is to kill these birds, and shooting with an air rifle may be effective. It also may not be effective depending on the interior of this shop and what kinds of problems might occur from a stray pellet. But, years ago an expert from one of the major bird control products manufacturers made the comment that there will be times when that firmly entrenched bird or birds just will not leave their favorite sites no matter what you do, and killing them could be the last resort.
You say that exclusion is not going to get any better. Is this because of the porous nature of the building or is it because of a lack of cooperation or effort on the part of the customer? If these birds have found a way to enter and exit every day for the last 2 years then obviously an opening or openings exist that are likely to allow more birds to enter in the future. Ideally what you strive for with bird management is to eliminate the problem without having to harm any birds, and this means some manner of exclusion. Either you eventually work to close off the entry points or you bit by bit install devices on the roosting ledges so that the birds never find any more places to land. This doesn't have to be done all on one day, but over a period of time perhaps it could be accomplished. Netting and spike strips would be permanent materials on the inside of a building.
Your prebaiting sounds like you may be using Avitrol, but of course even an effective bait like Avitrol is designed to move the birds, not to kill them, and moving the birds but leaving the opportunity to re-enter is not the long term solution. Trapping the birds also has its pitfalls. Catching them and releasing them anywhere in the vicinity is only going to allow them to return, and releasing them someplace other than "on site" may be illegal according to many states' wildlife laws.
For now the immediate resolution to this problem may be to shoot and kill these birds, but to work with the customer to exclude more birds for the future. The use of other kinds of "repelling" devices, such as physical objects that are designed to frighten the birds, could have some temporary effect, but pigeons generally figure out pretty quickly when something is not really harming them, and they begin to ignore it. If these birds have been here for 2+ years then this is their HOME, and they will not readily abandon it.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
