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With proficiency in social media platforms and public relations, Jasmine Kashani strengthens company’s marketing team 

Bird control isn’t just a good idea, it can save your business and keep company officials out of jail.  A federal grand jury in Georgia today indicted a company owner, vice president, plant manager, and plant quality assurance manager over a 2009 salmonella outbreak linked to peanuts processed at one of their plants.  The outbreak caused nine deaths, hundreds of illnesses, and resulted in a $12 million insurance claim for over 100 of the outbreak victims.

Recent claims that infrasounds  can successfully deter birds from airports and other areas require further testing and verification.  Ornithologists have known for decades that pigeons, and perhaps other birds, can detect infrasounds—low frequency sounds below 20 Hertz that are produced by severe weather, earthquakes, lightning, and explosions.

by Maggie Menderski (via Quincy Herald-Whig)

HANNIBAL MO. — The Hannibal City Council thought it had addressed a problem with pigeons.

Now it is being forced to address pigeon activism.

A large flock of pigeons roost atop the steeple of the Fifth Street Baptist Church in Hannibal, Mo. The City of Hannibal is looking for solutions to control the pigeons. (Image credit: H-W Photo/Phil Carlson)

Councilmen unanimously voted Oct. 16 to accept a bid from Reliable Pest Solutions to handle the local pigeon population with poisoned feed. Garry Allen, general manager of Reliable, estimated 500 pigeons live in Hannibal, and this surplus of birds causes a danger to the community’s property and health.

Since that vote, People for Ethnical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has sent a letter asking for the city to cancel the plan, and news sources nationwide have picked up on the story. The negative press has caused Reliable and another local company, Big River Pest Control, to withdraw their estimates from the project.

“If Hannibal officials have decided that poisoning is the best way to control the pigeon population, they simply haven’t done their homework,” PETA Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch said in a press release. “It’s unconscionable that the city would subject birds to agony and its own citizens to the spectacle of having to watch birds convulse in the streets when humane, proven and cost-effective measures are readily available.”

PETA Senior Cruelty Caseworker Kristin Simon said the organization had received several emails expressing concerns for the pigeons and the community. Her letter to Hannibal Mayor Roy Hark states that the poison, Avitol, would impair the birds’ the nervous systems. After consumption, the pigeons suffer from disorientation, which leads to erratic flight and eventual death.

“Everyone has a big concern and a right to a big concern with such dangerous (chemical),” Simon said.

Since the media explosion, Allen has fielded dozens of phone calls regarding the poisoning method. Councilman Mike Dobson, who supported the method during the Oct. 16 city council meeting, has answered several calls as well, but the complaints he’s heard have come from outside Hannibal.

“I haven’t had one phone call with a local person against it,” he said.

The $3,560 bid from Reliable Pest Solutions would have required the city to gain access to local businesses and place poisoned feed on the top of buildings for the pigeons to eat. The poison would then have killed a small amount of the birds and startled the rest out of the city.

Allen said this method had been successful with local business owners in the past several years.

“The problem with it is that we didn’t keep it up,” Allen said. “You just can’t do it once and walk away.”

Pigeons, starlings and sparrows are the only three birds classified as pests. Because of birds’ habits and flocking tendencies, exterminators may diminish the population just as they would handle a surplus cockroaches or ants. Allen said pest control companies use poisons in some situations, but the products are not used carelessly.

“It doesn’t make sense for a responsible company to do something irresponsible,” he said. “You don’t make money.”

Dobson supported the poison method because he has seen it work firsthand for a company in Quincy. While Avitrol may shock the pigeon population out of Hannibal, Simon feared the poison could harm domestic animals as well as other birds and wildlife. Allen said only 10 percent of the feed would be poisoned. Dobson reasoned a 100-pound dog would have to eat a minimum of 15 pigeons before the poison in the feed would cause the dog to be sick.

“If I was in the business of killing people’s pets, then you don’t have a business,” Allen said.

The city now must pursue another solution. The U.S. Department of Agriculture had submitted a $6,700 bid for a pellet gun program, which would also involve pigeon mortality.

Dobson also has been in contact with a horse whisperer for pigeons. Horse whisperers adopt training and handling techniques for horses that are kinder and gentler than traditional methods. This person has offered to come speak with the birds at no cost to the city.

Simon recommended installing anti-roosting products such as bird spikes, slides and coils. She also suggested implementing statues of natural predators, creating a wildlife feeding prohibition, keeping garbage tightly contained and avoiding artificial sources of standing water.

Allen also had presented the city with a birth control plan for the pigeons. The process involves providing sterilizing feed to the population and then letting them die off naturally without being able to reproduce. This process requires more money to pay for continuous feeding. It also happens gradually, rather than in a couple weeks’ time.

During the Oct. 16 meeting, Dobson stressed nuisance and dangers pigeons cause to a city. Pigeon feces, which is acidic, wears away at roofs and damages cars, and it also can cause health-related issues.

Marion County Health Department Administrator Jean McBride declined to comment about potential health hazards pigeons might have on the community.

According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene website, pigeon droppings pose a small health risk. Humans may contract histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis and psittacosis by inhaling particles from pigeon droppings. Cleaning pigeon droppings does not pose a serious health risk to most people, but avoiding direct contact with the droppings is recommended. People cleaning feces off a car or a windowsill should wear disposable gloves and washable clothing.

Allen said the pigeons have taken to Hannibal for its architecture and river access, explaining that they look for structures to sit on and ways to obtain food.

“It’s all about habitat, and they found a place they like,” he said.

Hark anticipates a solution would be discussed at the Nov. 6 council meeting.

“We’re still looking at what we can do, but we haven’t made a decision,” Hark said.

Southern California Radio Host Calls for Much Needed Bird Control Action

This problem can be easily fixed with the following bird deterrents from Bird-B-Gone:

Pigeon Traps

• A “live" bird trap that captures pest birds for later release or relocation

Bird Chase Super Sonic 

• A bird sound system that is ideal for keeping birds out of open, outdoor spaces

Bird Spikes 

• Spikes used to humanely prevent birds from landing on unwanted surfaces

Bird Net

• A U.V. stabilized polyethylene mesh that keeps birds from entering unwanted areas, especially where people eat.

Bird Jolt Flat Track

• Electric track system that produces a mild electrical shock when birds land on its surface, conditioning them to stay away from the area

Bird Spider

• Made of stainless steel arms attached to a U.V. protected polycarbonate base that prevent birds from landing

The above bird problem can happen anywhere – the key is to have access to the proper bird control products to rectify the situation and ensure the birds do not return and the patrons remain happy and healthy.

Northern Illinois University has been invaded by geese. The fearless birds seem to be everywhere on campus, walking on the sidewalk outside DuSable, paying no mind to buses and cars, picking at trash on the ground--the problems are almost too numerous to mention.

As seen in Will and Guy's Strange But True Stories of Dangerous Seagulls, workers at a weather forecasting facility in Devon, England have resorted to wearing crash helmets to protect themselves from dive-bombing seagulls. It  seems flocks of seagulls have been attacking staff gathering  weather data from the roof of council offices in Newton Abbot (a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon on the River Teign).

One victim noted that the gull attacks can quickly go from bad to worse. He indicated that more gulls seem to be on the attack every year—and that this is his fourth year in dealing with the aggressive gulls. He recounted how the big gulls swoop down on his head followed by half a dozen others that dive-bomb him. He described the situation as very distressing, but noted that at least he now has a helmet to protect his head and face.

Birds have cost airlines big money in aircraft damage, downtime and even downed aircraft. The statistics are staggering and point to the need for aggressive bird control measures.

During a 19-year period from 1990 to 2008, 89,727 strikes were reported to the FAA across the United States. California, Texas, Florida, and New York suffered the most bird strikes (7,442, 5,963, 5,571 and 4,732, respectively). Twenty-one other states each reported more than 1,000 bird strikes.

Recently, the Peach Drive neighborhood  of New Jersey saw as many as 60 small black birds fall from the sky onto the street. Many birds attempted to rise and fly but just fell to earth again.  Some birds simply dropped dead while eating at bird feeders.

This problem could have been avoided had Ingraldi Farms used bird deterrent products that are safe, humane and effective.

Bird-B-Gone, Inc. is the #1 specified bird control company by architects, engineers and government agencies. Since 1992, we have worked closely with the AEC industry in both the design and implementation of effective, humane and cost efficient bird control solutions.

Our products are specified on building projects on a regular basis. The AEC industry has for several decades been aware of the damage birds can cause to buildings and architectural features and work proactively to ensure their designs are protected.We provide architectural specifications, CAD and BIM details on our products and have a dedicated team of bird control specialists who can help specify bird control, or help installers get the information they need when bidding on a project.

Mission Viejo, CA – Bird-B-Gone, Inc. leading manufacturer of professional grade bird deterrents celebrated their 20-year anniversary, June 21st 2012.

Bird-B-Gone supplies the commercial, industrial and residential market with effective, humane bird deterrents manufactured in the USA.

In 1992, Bird-B-Gone started in the home of owners Bruce and Julie Donoho with little more than a school desk, a phone and a fax machine. Today, they supply the world with professional grade bird control products in nearly every major city across the globe.

With the Red Flag Warning still in effect for most of the valley, officials have been warning the public about how quickly a fire can start.

In a field near Rio Vista Sunday afternoon, all it took was a bird strike against a power line to spark a fire. With wind still being a factor, the fire was able to quickly spread 7 acres.

Jeffrey R. Pocaro, an attorney representing a Green Brook resident who lives in the Mountainview at Green Brook Complex, came to the the Green Brook Township Committee on Monday looking for help.

After pointing out a spelling error in the township’s property managment code, Pocaro then asked for an amendment to it to address an issue he said is causing a problem at the complex: pigeons.

Although pigeons nowadays are largely regarded as grubby urban pests, bumblers for bread crumbs, and unwelcome statuary redecorators — in the not-too-distant past, their service to mankind was much loftier indeed. Not only were these hardy birds used to swiftly carry important messages and materials across great distances, for a brief stint at the turn of the last century, an elite group of camera-wielding pigeons also became early pioneers of a then burgeoning field: aerial photography.

Pigeons‘ brains appear to contain “GPS neurons” that help them navigate, according to a new study published in Science journal.

Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas have discovered a group of 53 cells in the birds’ brains that respond to the direction and strength of the Earth’s magnetic field, BBC News reported.Le-Qing Wu and David Dickman, the study’s lead researchers, found that the neurons “buzz” at different levels depending on how strong the magnetic field is and which direction it’s pointing in, Discover Magazine’s blog reported.