Birds
Birds, though nice animals, can be among the worst of nuisance animal pests, especially for commercial property owners. Birds often choose to roost on signs, ledges, or rafters of commercial buildings. This might not be so bad, except for the fact that they make a horrible mess with their nesting material, and worse, droppings. Pigeon droppings in particular can really accumulate, and are not only unsightly, but a health risk to you, your employees and customers. To the right you will see some pigeons that I captured using standard pigeon traps, placed on the roof of a commercial property where they created a nuisance with their unsightly and disease-ridden droppings.
Pigeons have adapted well to urban environments. Most cities are full of flocks of these birds, just looking for handouts. They often associate humans with food, and are unafraid to flock closely to people. They are also unafraid to leave droppings everywhere (cars are obviously preferred spots), along with nesting material. The nesting material can clog vents and drain pipes, and cause potential fire hazards. The droppings and feathers can contaminate large quantities of livestock feed and food destined for human consumption. If that’s not enough, pigeons lack the common decency to rid themselves of parasite and disease before they enter our urban areas
These “flying rats” or “gutter birds” can carry or transmit: pigeon ornithosis, encephalitis, Newcastle disease, histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, toxoplasmosis, pseudo-tuberculosis, pigeon coccidiosis and salmonella food poisoning. Pigeon parasites include a number of bugs, fleas, ticks and mites.