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When you think of pest control, you probably picture setting traps for mice and rats and getting rid of wasps, ants, and termites. All of these pests can be a destructive nuisance, but pigeons can cause equal destruction.
If you’ve noticed pigeons nesting on your roof, in your attic, or in the beams of your walkways, they will probably end up destroying your property. Pigeons can seem harmless at first, but once they settle in, the damage can be profound.
Pigeon control services help homeowners with the following services:
· Pigeon waste removal
· Abatement (nesting prevention)
· Pigeon trapping
· Solar panel cleaning
While you might be tempted to handle a pigeon problem yourself, it’s easier to call a professional. If pigeons are nesting around your house, here are 6 signs you need professional control services.
1. Excessive pigeon droppings are a health hazard
You might have a bunch of pigeons nesting on your roof, not causing any harm to your property. However, if you come in contact with pigeon droppings, you can contract a disease. For example, you can contract Histoplasmosis, Psittacosis, or Cryptococcosis. For example, Psittacosis, also known as “parrot fever,” is a rare bacterial infection that can be contracted by breathing in fine particles of urine and feces.
If your plan is to wear rubber gloves and clean up the pigeon poop, you should reconsider. Pigeons can carry diseases that get transferred without direct contact; you can get sick just by breathing in the air surrounding the droppings. Cleaning the droppings will put even more contaminated particles into the air.
2. Pigeons droppings eat through substrate
Another reason pigeon droppings are damaging is the way they eat through substrate, including roofing material. An accumulation of droppings on your roof over time can cause your roof to leak.
If pigeons continuously drop their feces on a roof, it can slash the life expectancy of that roof by 50%. In some areas, roof damage from bird droppings will void a warranty.
Pigeons are a threat to just about every material, even fibers. In response to seeing just a few pigeons, Spain’s National Heritage Museum installed ultrasonic devices to prevent pigeons from perching and nesting above a display of Raphael tapestries in Madrid.
3. Pigeon droppings will damage your car’s paint
Pigeon feces contains high levels of acid, which eats through paint. Even if pigeons aren’t damaging your roof, their droppings might be damaging your car. Unlike dogs and cats, pigeons don’t find a special place to poop – they just let everything drop as they fly and walk.
When you have a large number of pigeons nesting around your home, the chances of them all pooping on your car as they fly around increases greatly.
4. Pigeons can destroy solar panels
If you thought installing a giant array of solar panels was a brilliant idea, pigeons can easily crash your party. While it takes pigeon droppings time to eat away at roofing materials and paint, the damage to solar panels is instant.
At first, it will seem like the droppings are just blocking the cells from capturing sunlight. However, the acidic nature of pigeon droppings can destroy the photovoltaic cells in your solar panels by gradually reducing their performance.
When you handle your pigeon problem, you won’t have to worry about constant droppings on your solar panels. You might still get the occasional dropping here and there, but it won’t be as frequent.
5. Pigeon damage isn’t always covered by homeowners’ insurance
Most insurance companies consider damage caused by pests to be a maintenance issue and will not provide compensation for damage caused by pigeons. However, if you wait until the damage completely destroys your roof to the point of collapse, you might get compensated.
If you don’t want to wait until your entire roof collapses, you need a professional to handle your pigeon problem.
6. Pigeon nests are a fire hazard and can cause water damage
Pigeons nest in gutters, on top of beams, in chimneys, inside ventilation systems, and in drainage pipes. Unfortunately, having nests in some of these areas creates a fire hazard. Nests in drainage pipes can cause water damage. Worse, nests in ventilation systems can spread disease to you and other members of your household.
Birds are cool, but you need to protect your home
It’s fun to watch birds nesting around your property, but beware of pigeons; they can destroy your property if you don’t get rid of them.
