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+1 (480) 726-2622
The Pigeon GuyThe Pigeon Guy
fred@thepigeonguy.com +1-480-726-2622
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Commercial Services
    • Consulting
    • Commercial Portfolio
  • Solar Panels
  • Info and Photos
    • Cleaning Info
    • Nesting Info
    • Perching Info
    • Trapping Info
    • Roofing Info
    • Clean Pictures
    • Clean Perching
    • Clean Nesting
    • Clean Roofing
    • Dirty Pictures
    • Dirty Cleaning
    • Dirty Nesting
    • Dirty Perching
    • Dirty Trapping
    • Dirty Roofing
  • FAQs
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Home » FAQs

FAQs

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

The price can range from $250.00 to $3,000.00 for residential, depending on; Will you be doing any work yourself? How much cleaning is necessary? How many nesting spots are there? How many birds are there? Which areas will benefit from perching treatment? Is trapping an option? What kind of results do you want and how soon?

HOW CAN I SAVE MONEY?

 Do not wait for the waste and pigeons to multiply. Do some of the work yourself, like cleaning. Ask your contractor if there are any discounts. Ask for referral bonuses. Offer the services of your company. Offer a high-exposure signage opportunity. Do little bits of work at a time and be very patient with the results.

WHAT DO I LOOK FOR IN A CONTRACTOR?

You must establish an ongoing relationship with the person who will be taking over your pigeon problems. Therefore, service, knowledge, and experience are extremely important. We recommend dealing with a licensed, bonded, and insured company who deals only with pigeons.

BUYERS BEWARE:

Qualify everyone by seeing if they can offer free treatment of future nests. Many contractors only guarantee the spots they treat. Do not accept the comment, “You never know where they’ll nest.” Compare apples for apples when comparing quotes. Beware someone who gives you a quote and does not get on your roof.

WHAT IF TILES GET BROKEN?

You should expect the contractor to at the least mend broken tiles using an industrial adhesive. Some will fix previously broken tiles. Check your contract.

WHO SHOULD I CONTRACT FIRST – THE PIGEON GUY OR A ROOFER?

In general, your roofer cannot even access tiles covered by waste. We can contact the roofing contractor and coordinate scheduling. We can schedule cleaning immediately before the roofing work, and our applications will be done shortly after completion of roofing work.

IF THERE WERE ONE THING I HAD TO SPEND MONEY ON, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Nesting, nesting, nesting. Cleaning, perching and trapping are only temporary solutions if there are still opportunities for reproducing.

WHAT KIND OF RESULTS WILL I GET FROM NESTING TREATMENTS ALONE?

Once the whole roof has proven nest-proofed, you will have to wait for one of two things. Either the flock finds a new home in the area, or each pair of pigeons gets pregnant and has to take their eggs elsewhere. This can take as little as one week or as much as 3 months. Perching and trapping seriously expedite these results.

WHAT KIND OF PRODUCT WORKS BEST?

There are many options for treatments and products, but the most important thing is installation. This site provides a great deal of information regarding proper methods to achieve great results.

WHAT PRODUCTS SHOULD I AVOID?

Spikes are very popular. Unfortunately, they are sometimes used for nesting. Pigeons use all types of spikes to anchor their nests. If you do not mind the grotesque prison-like appearance (home owners associations do), they do work on some perching applications. We have documented pigeons perching and nesting on all types of spikes applied in many ways. If you must use spikes, make sure you have a results guarantee for nesting and perching. Inexpensive gels other than Hot Foot are not as effective and should be avoided. This is a popular product for perching applications; it should not be counted on for nesting applications. This product is sticky by nature. Therefore, many things stick to it including twigs, waste and other nesting materials. Dust also adheres creating a muddy residue that severely stains tiles and stucco. In the summer this residue melts off houses creating a worse appearance and lasting much longer than the pigeon waste. As you can imagine this product does dry up after about 8 months inviting activity to return unless reapplied. Professional installation dramatically reduces the negative aesthetics associated with the use of this product.

WHAT ARE SOME DISEASES OR PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH PIGEON INFESTATION?

Pigeon waste is comprised of moisture and protein. These two components make an ideal breeding ground for bacterial, parasitic, fungal and viral diseases. It has also been known to attract ants, roaches and scorpions. According to the State of Arizona, there has never been a documented case of pigeon-related illness in the state.  Many symptoms people complain of could very well be misdiagnosed.

Pigeon Lung is a debilitating flu-like disease that is most often associated with pigeon fanciers who deal regularly with fecal waste. The challenge is when the dust from pigeon feces is inhaled.

The Pigeon Guy highly recommends that people dealing with large amounts of waste take every precaution possible to prevent physical contamination. Some ideas:

  1. Do not sweep the waste. Use water whenever possible.  The sweeping action breaks the solid waste into dust which can be inhaled into the lungs.
  2. Use rubber gloves and a mask when handling any waste or birds.
  3. Be extra sensitive to puncture wounds from spikes, sticks, wire or any cuts.  Clean these spots thoroughly. At the first sign of infection, see your family doctor.
  4. Use a disinfectant whenever possible to thoroughly clean soiled property.
  5. Use an anti-bacterial soap to thoroughly clean soiled body parts.

In addition to the physical concerns, there is property damage which can result from being exposed to the fecal and uric acid waste from pigeons.  The solid fecal waste causes severe blockage of water drainage on rooftops.  The waste clogs the runoff spots, which in turn causes the water to back up underneath tiles.  The water then seeps through the roofing materials and ends up saturating drywall ceilings and more.  In addition, the uric acid breaks down roofing cloth and asphalt shingles, compromising their barrier-like qualities. The uric acid deposited by pigeons is strong enough to take the paint off automobiles as well as stucco.

In general pigeons are large birds that re-populate quickly. As a result of their size and numbers, they generate massive amounts of waste.  This by-product is the reason for most people’s distress.  It is not uncommon to see fifty to one hundred pounds of waste on one residence.

There are over sixty bacterial diseases, viruses, funguses and parasites associated with pigeons.  The most problematic for humans would be Histoplasmosis and Cryptococcus.  In addition there are: Trichomonisasis, Encephalitis, Meningitis, Pasteurellosis, Blastomycosis, Sarcosporidiosias, Toxoplasmosis, Candidiasis, Lisreiosis, Vibriosis, Salmonella and Paratyphoid.  The National Institute of Health has reported a potentially blinding eye condition that probably results from the fungus. In some areas such as parts of Illinois, up to 80% of the population is reported to have been infected at some point.

What Doesn’t Work ?

Rice / Alka Seltzer – Pigeons will not explode in mid-air (reference here). Rice needs to be boiled like pasta to expand. Alka Seltzer gases are easily released (reference here).

Dead Pigeons / Blood – Pigeons are survivors.  Dead carcasses actually create anchor spots for them to anchor their nests against.

Thrown Objects / Hosing – Pigeons are not dumb, they are dirty. Pigeons will learn the pattern of your attacks and avoid you. Be careful of breaking your windows and clogging your water runoff also forcing large amounts of water in places not intended to be drenched.

Scare Devices / Fake Predators – If nests already exist, you’re wasting time and money. Pigeons will nest against fake predators and perch on top of them. Fake predators must be moved frequently to have ANY effect. At best, pigeons find this a curiosity until they finally make friends out of them.

Shooting – It has been found that killing without prevention invites new pigeons who will initially overpopulate in the process of acquiring protected perches, nesting spots, food and water (a great article in the New York Times Magazine on October 15th, 2006 discussed this at length – click here to read). By the way, it is against the law to shoot pigeons within city limits – Arizona Revised Statutes 13-3107 (reference here). We have heard complaints from spouses on the enormous expense of time and money husbands are willing to invest in camouflage gear and laser sights. Police have also told us neighbors call in reports of someone on their neighbor’s roof at night with a gun.

Poisoning – Poisoning is literally against the law.  Systemic poisons are no longer safe as they kill whatever stands on it. Avitrol is a pesticide used for hallucinogenic effects.  When not diluted according to the label, it kills in a very unsightly and vicious manner. You and your contractor would also incur the law suit in the event a protected species or pet died from eating scattered feed or dying pigeons (Avitrol label information here). It is against the law to use a pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling, grade 6 felony. – Federal Law Guidelines: (reference here) – See Also: Arizona Revised Statutes 32-2301, R4-29-301 thru R4-29-320 (reference here).

Auditory Distress (loud noises) – Pigeons are intelligent enough to figure these out after about 6-8 weeks.  Limited temporary results are realized when used in conjunction with ever-moving scare devices referenced above. You must also consider the obvious problems associated with distressing your neighbors.

Balled-up Wire / Rocks – We have seen very large rounded river rocks on a tiled roofs edge 2 stories up, hmmm.  Rolled up chicken wire, colored fencing and even netting must be fastened.  Pigeons will literally grab on to these products with their feet and flap their wings to dislodge.

Smells – Bleach, moth balls cayenne pepper.  These ideas have some merit if an enormously strong concentration of scent can be maintained long term to the point where the olfactory system is overwhelmed.  Similar to humans would be the way onions affect us.

Falconry – This is an enormously expensive temporary solution if permanent preventative measures are not installed.  Falconers are hard to come by since they run the risk of losing their prized birds.  Falconers maintain control over their birds because the birds are taught to believe they must return for food.

Cats – Cats do not like heights & slippery, hot tiles.  If only they would…

Hallucinogenics – There are bait trees which contain drugs which, amongst other things, disorient pigeons. The Urban Wildlife, Fish and Game and avian advocates do not condone any drug or treatment that would kill or disrupt the natural tendencies or physical health of pigeons. Unfortunately, these drugs in some cases have resulted in death.

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