Pigeons are the number one pest birds found in urban areas across the United States. They cost home and business owners tens of millions of dollars in damage to buildings every year! The painful realization doesn’t stop there, pigeons are known carriers to more than 60 diseases and various parasites too! This is a recipe for disaster. Many people once believed that you could simply relocate pigeons and the problem would be taken care of. It is now a known fact that pigeons will always find their way back home. While this is an admirable trait, it makes it difficult to remove them once they have taken up residence at a particular home. Pigeons have flocked by the millions to take up residence next to human beings for centuries. They exhibit no natural fear of humans and seem to know where there are people, there is food aplenty. Our homes and downtown buildings offer a safe refuge for them away from most natural predators. Pigeons were first brought to the U.S. in the 1600s and they were originally raised as a source of entertainment and food. Through time, their numbers grew, and pigeon farmers were no longer able to care for their flocks, so they began to let them loose. Their populations became feral and grew and grew. These days they have become a real nuisance for home and business owners around the U.S.
Damage from Pigeon Droppings
Pigeon droppings are highly acidic. If you are not diligent in regularly cleaning their droppings off of your deck, porch, roof, sheds, apartment balcony, or other surfaces they will stain and eventually begin to eat away at the underlying surface. Tar based structures are especially at risk, and their feces have been known to cut a home’s roof life in half. They have the ability to leave pounds of droppings behind in the places they reside, if you happen to have a pigeon problem in your attic, this can be particularly devastating and will cause thousands of dollars in damage in a short amount of time if they are not kicked out as soon as possible. The heavy end of season pigeon nests clog gutters, eaves and troughs which can make water pool on rooftops and cause even more damage to your rooftop! Because of the caustic nature of their feces, it will definitely cause damage to car paint as well if not cleaned right away. Not only do they cause damage to the buildings themselves, but their feces also attract various types of vermin such as mice, rats and flies.
Pigeon Diseases; Can Pigeons Make You Sick?
Pigeons are known carriers of Histoplasmosis, Cryptococcosis, Psittacosis, toxoplasmosis and more than 50 other known diseases! They also carry many known parasites such as biting lice, soft ticks, pigeon nest bug, bat bug (both related to bed bugs) pigeon louse fly and a host of other disgusting parasites.
Pigeon Inspections, Control, Removal & More in Austin, Round Rock, Leander, Pflugerville & Cedar Park, Texas
Please keep in mind that in all States, shooting birds is illegal. We do not recommend you try to take matters into your own hands when it comes to controlling pigeons around your home or business. Because pigeons will always find their way home, relocating them is hardly effective. Instead, you are going to want to discourage them from coming to your home by taking away the places they roost. A-Tex Pest Management can seal off entry/exit points to your attic if needed and apply custom methods to deter their presence around your home. We have various tactics we use, but each home is different. We will come to your home or business and perform a thorough inspection to determine the pigeon’s habits around your home and present you with a custom control plan. Give us a call if you have questions or need assistance in removing problem birds from your home or business.