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You are here: Home / Food Pests / The various species / Birds / Prevention and control of birds

Prevention and control of birds

Barbed wire for the fighting and prevention of pigeons
In the United States of America this ingenious barbed wire system is sold to place where pigeons are unwanted.

Poison
It is illegal to use poisoned baits or other types of poison against birds. Attempts to sterilise pigeons with baits containing chemo-sterilants has not worked in practice and experiments with sleeping pills so that experts could collect the stunned birds have not been very promising.

Shooting
It is legal to shoot some birds on private property. Always check with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for updated rules on this matter before shooting birds.

Trapping device for birds
Some birds that have strayed into a building might be caught with this trap and later released into the wild.

Trapping
Pigeons can in some cases be captured in locations where they sit and sleep. You can also set up special traps. It is done by certain extermination companies, but can of course also be done by local people with the requisite knowledge on the subject. The traps should be inspected both mornings and evenings. Have you killed adult birds, any young should be killed and removed too. Partly to prevent animal cruelty, but also to prevent blowflies, beetles etc. Nests should be removed completely and the nesting area should be dusted with insecticide, so that the many insects and mites that are hiding in the proximity are killed before they move on to a new place.

Feed
It makes a big difference that you do not feed these birds. It is not the small feed boards that you supply with modest amounts of feed in order to appreciate the animals that must stop. It is the wastage taking place at wharfs, loading ramps and silos and these kinds of places where pigeons and sparrows always thrive.

Constructional change of building to stop pigeons from entering
Not all pigeon infested properties are built with classical columns, but there are always shelves and cornices that birds can sit on. If you incline the horizontal surfaces with wood (as shown), cement or metal plate, pigeons do not reside on the building.

Preventive measures
Buildings should be designed so that birds cannot find nesting sites in and on them. Holes in the walls should be repaired or fitted with wire mesh. In addition, you can make a building unattractive to birds by making cornices slant (more than 45°) or by bird paste (for use only by authorized companies) as well as by physical barriers such as wire, etc.

The following means do not work: Scarecrows, either in the form of lifelike dolls, aluminium foil or rotary mills. Pigeons and sparrows quickly get used to it. Nor does scare sounds – audible or ultrasound – work. There are also no deterrent fragrances. Birds have a poor sense of smell.

  • About
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Henri Mourier
Biologist at Statens Skadedyrslaboratorium
Author of:
"Pests in House and Home"
"Bed Bugs - Bites, Stings and Itches"
"Food Pests"
"Husets dyreliv" (Insects Around the House - Only danish)
"Skadedyr i træ" (Timber Pests - Only danish)
"Stuefluen" (Common Housefly - Only danish)
Latest posts by Henri Mourier (see all)
    Food Pests
    Introduction
    An old problem
    Competition for food
    Pests can ruin stored goods
    Why not just eat the insects
    Some insects are unhealthy to eat
    Allergy to pests
    Transmission of infectious diseases
    Where do pests come from?
    Synanthrope species
    (1) The house dust mite and the sugar mite
    (2) The firebrat and the silverfish
    (3) The German cockroach and the forest cockroach
    (4) The rust-red flour beetle and the confused flour beetle
    (5) The merchant grain beetle and the saw-toothed grain beetle
    (6) The cigarette beetle and the drugstore beetle
    (7) The rice weevil and the granary weevil
    (8) The pharaoh ant and the common black ant
    History of the dark flour beetle
    Pests in bird’s nests
    Mould fauna
    The Look and Behaviour of pests
    Insect appearance
    Internal
    Insect development
    Insect senses
    Behaviour
    Water and Moisture
    Temperature
    What insects live off and live in
    The Air
    Mites
    Bug Indentification
    The various species
    Mites
    The flour mite
    The sugar mite
    The common house mite
    The Lardoglyphus zacheri
    The prune mite
    The cheese mite
    The house dust mite
    The Cheyletus eruditus
    Silverfish
    The Silverfish
    The firebrat
    Cockroaches
    The German cockroach
    The Oriental cockroach
    The brown-banded cockroach
    The American cockroach
    The extermination of cockroaches
    Crickets
    Earwigs
    Booklice
    Butterflies
    The Mediterranean flour moth
    The warehouse moth
    Tropical warehouse moth
    The brown house moth
    The Indian meal moth
    Grain beetles
    The saw-toothed grain beetle
    The merchant grain beetle
    The rust-red grain beetle
    Flour beetles
    The yellow mealworm beetle
    The lesser mealworm beetle
    The dark flour beetle
    The confused flour beetle
    The rust-red flour beetle
    The bolting cloth beetle
    Furniture beetles
    The drugstore beetle
    The cigarette beetle
    Bostrychidae
    The lesser grain borer
    True weevils snout beetles
    The granary weevil
    The rice weevil
    The corn weevil
    Bean weevils
    The common bean weevil
    The coffee bean weevil
    Skin beetles
    The bacon beetle
    The dermestid beetle
    The leather beetle
    The khapra beetle
    The reesa vespulae
    Chequered beetles
    The red-legged ham beetle
    The red-breasted copra beetle
    The black-legged ham beetle
    Spider beetles
    The Australian spider beetle
    The white-marked spider beetle
    The golden spider beetle
    The smooth spider beetle
    Plaster beetles
    Flies
    The common house fly
    The lesser house fly
    Blowflies
    The grey flesh fly
    The cheese skipper
    Fruit flies
    Hymenoptera
    The common black ant
    The pharaoh ant
    Wasps
    Birds
    The domestic pigeon
    The house sparrow
    Prevention and control of birds
    Rodents
    The house mouse
    The yellow-necked mouse
    Mouse prevention
    Mouse control
    The brown rat
    The black rat
    Rat prevention
    Rat control
    Imaginary pests
    Niches of food pests
    A: The Waste Niche
    B: The seed niche
    C: The dead plant niche
    D: The sugary excrement niche
    E: The carrion niche
    Prevention and Control, Integrated Control
    A. Inspection of the company and its environment
    The environment
    The premises
    Examination of raw materials and food on site
    Sampling
    Laboratory methods for detection of pests in food
    B. Statement of the problem
    C. Prevention and control
    1. Proper organisation of the company
    2. Proper operation
    3. Exclusion, proofing buildings
    4. Packaging
    5. Non-chemical control measures
    6. Chemical control
    D: Effective monitoring and communication
    Practical information
    Index

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