Tag Archives: pigeon problems

Pigeons

The Great Pigeon Predicament

Leave a comment

We have had a pigeon problem for the last two years now, and it’s only getting worse.  It started off with just one or two that would occasionally land on the roof and hang out; eventually we noticed a small nest tucked into the side of the chimney.  As the months went on we started to hear the small chirps of baby birds and in time saw the small birds leave the nest, but of course they came back in the end.  The cycle continued, we would see new birds roosting, then we would notice either a new nest, or an addition to the original, and then baby birds would start to come out. It was an endless loop we couldn’t get out of.

Last year we started to try to get rid of the pigeons.  We set up spikes along the slope of our roof, we would spray water at the pigeons that were simply roosting, and anything else we could think of.  No matter what we did it seemed like they always came back with twice the number of birds as there were before.  Our pigeon problem was escalating to the point of complete chaos!  In the mornings you would hear them chirping and squawking, and their poop was covering EVERYTHING!! I was slowly losing my mind.

This year, we took a different approach to our pigeon problem, we checked the nests for any eggs or baby birds AND THEN WE KNOCKED THEM DOWN! Every single nest we could find went into the dumpster and out to the curb.  Then, knowing they would inevitably come back, we installed mesh netting along all of the niches and nooks that a nest could be built.  We were very proud of our work, but I’ll be damned if the birds didn’t come back anyway.  Instead of nesting, they stood and pecked at the netting and roosted on the netting and still, pooped, EVERYWHERE. Every single day I was spraying pigeon crap off of my deck and siding and roof until I just couldn’t take it anymore.  I called in a professional and he’s setting up a huge pigeon trap on my roof.  It might not be the cheapest solution, but it is the most guaranteed solution of any I’ve seen or tried.  At this point, I would try anything short of black magic to take care of my pigeon problem.

Pigeons

Get Rid of Pigeons

Leave a comment

“Get rid of the pigeon!  It’s in your kitchen.  You gotta get rid of the pigeon somehow.”

Dennis and Tom were stuck together doing a history project about President Truman, and, even though they didn’t really know each other, they had decided to hang out at Dennis’ house for the afternoon, get a pizza and get the project done.  Dennis’ parents both worked full-time, and he was an only child, so they’d have the place to themselves for several hours.  Tom got permission from his foster parents, and they walked to Dennis’ apartment after school.

Tom was kind of a quiet kid, and there were a lot of unkind rumors going around about him at school.  He never confirmed or denied any of the rumors, and Dennis suspected he started some of them himself.  So, Dennis had no idea that Tom’s father had died when he was three, and his mother was an abusive alcoholic, so Tom had been taken from his mother’s care and placed into a foster home.  His foster parents were nothing like the stereotype.  They were nice to him, let him have his privacy while encouraging his passion for reading and building model airplanes.

Dennis had both his parents, who, in his opinion, gave him too much space.  They left for work an hour before he walked to school, they usually came home three hours after he’d returned, and they went away on weekend trips a lot.  They told him how proud they were of him, and how self-reliant he was, but sometimes, he really wished they were there a lot more.

When the two boys walked into the apartment, they heard a crash in the kitchen.  Dennis dropped his bag and ran in there, followed by a more timid Tom.  Both boys saw the pigeon sitting on the edge of the kitchen sink.  It had knocked over a dirty breakfast bowl, which had crashed on the floor.

As they quickly retreated into the main room, Tom was adamant that they had to get rid of the pigeon.  “They carry all kinds of diseases,” he told Dennis, “And, they’re just . . . gross.”

Dennis secretly agreed, but he felt he needed to show off a little, first.  He started grabbing stuff from the main room, and, bragging that he could hit the pigeon with anything, he started throwing things at the bird.  A dustpan flew into the kitchen and clattered onto the floor, followed by a couch pillow and one of his mom’s stupid cat knick-knacks.  The pigeon flew up into the air, and banged into the window in a frantic effort to get out.  Finally, Tom took pity on the bird and stopped Dennis from throwing his textbook at it.  He quietly walked into the kitchen, opened the window, and said, “The best way to get rid of a pigeon is to let it out.”

Dennis frowned at his boring history project partner, and picked up the phone.  “Pepperoni okay?” he asked.

Pigeons

Pigeon Problems

Leave a comment

Ugh, it’s hard enough building our first house without having to deal with pigeon problems!  We thought we were doing great, especially for a first home.  We’d saved and saved until we could purchase the property we wanted, we bought the house plans we loved, took out a construction loan and hired a general contractor.  The idea was the general contractor would take care of construction until we could take over.  We’d hang the dry-wall, take care of the finish plumbing and electrical, we’d do the finish carpentry, floors and painting.  We wanted to do a lot of the work ourselves – it would save us money and we’d enjoy the home so much more knowing our blood, sweat and tears went into it.  Of course, we had no idea how much blood, sweat and tears we’d end up shedding, but through it all, we believed it would be worth it.

We still worked at our full-time jobs, so we worked on the house every evening and every minute of every weekend and holiday.  One evening we showed up and noticed bird droppings on the living room sub-floor.  I cleaned it up, and we got to work on the drywall.  But it happened again the next night and the next night, and I found droppings all over the house.

I was sure we had pigeon problems.

Finally, early Saturday morning, we arrived and went looking for the pigeons before working on the drywall again.  Sure enough, we found pigeons building nests in the air-conditioning vent and also the attic.  My husband had done some research and discovered that pigeons can harbor over 40 types of parasites and transmit up to 60 types of infectious diseases through their droppings.  We had a much more serious pigeon problem than we’d first suspected.

I was so frustrated, because we had such limited time to work on the house, and now we’d have to spend time suiting up for biohazard cleanup, just to have pigeons build more nests in our new home!  It was disgusting, and I was sure that if we didn’t handle the pigeon problem right, they would come back, even after the home was built, and crap all over our hard work and dreams.

So, this is where the tears came in.  We’d already put in the blood and sweat, thanks to an improperly held nail gun and countless hours of work.  Building our first home was already stressful, and now we had to deal with pigeons moving in before we even got a chance to sleep there one night.  It was more than I could bear and my husband, too manly to cry, was on the edge, too.

Fortunately, our general contractor just happened to stop by right then to see how we were progressing.  We showed him the disgusting mess, and he said he saw this kind of thing all the time.  He gave us the number of a professional wildlife removal service that specializes in removing birds out of buildings, cleaning and sanitizing the area and would help us keep them out of the home.  We made the call and went back to work, feeling like it was going to be all right after all.