Pigeons leave their mark on N.D. bridges

AssociatedPress

Pigeons are more of a nuisance than a threat to North Dakota’s bridges, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Pigeon droppings are known to be corrosive, and the amount of dung that had built up on the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis was one of the factors that bridge inspectors say worked against the structure. Investigators are continuing to study which factors caused the fatal collapse on Aug. 1.

North Dakota inspectors haven’t found pigeon dung, while plentiful, to be affecting the integrity of any bridge, said Terry Udland, chief bridge engineer with the state Department of Transportation.

“The bottom line is we are aware of it. We have never really had what we consider an issue with it,” he said. “It’s been pretty much more of a nuisance issue.”

Pigeon droppings contain ammonia and acids that can lead to corrosion and rust. Udland said the lack of notable damage on North Dakota bridges might be due to the type of primer and paint providing a protective coat.

Pigeon dung presents more of a problem as a source of disease. The transportation department hires a contractor to clean up the mess before inspectors go in to do their work.

The department doesn’t consider the clean-up costs to be significant, Udland said. Still, because of the nuisance, the department has tried some techniques for discouraging pigeons from roosting where they’re not wanted. It has found that keeping the birds away isn’t easy.

This past winter, the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted a pigeon eradication program in Minot at the request of First District Health Unit, which was responding to concerns of downtown business owners. The eradication program included the downtown area and a grain elevator east of town and was funded by the businesses.

Phil Mastrangelo, state director for USDA Wildlife Services in Bismarck, estimated nearly 700 pigeons were removed, primarily through trapping and euthanization.

While not a cure, the program did reduce the scope of the problem, said Tim Greenheck, a former downtown property owner who coordinated the fund-raising for the program.

“It absolutely made a difference. It absolutely helped, but it would have to be an ongoing endeavor to really be what most people would deem successful,” he said.

A study completed in April for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation concluded that trapping or shooting pigeons alone isn’t effective in the long term. Successful pigeon control requires a blending of more than one approach, according to the researchers.

Preventive measures include spikes, netting, sticky gels, sonic and ultrasonic devices, scarecrows like snakes or owls and electrified perches. The Wisconsin study found places in the country that have used repellents with success. They found others struggling to get anything to work – like folks along the Ohio River who struck out with scarecrows, barbed wire, predator calls, cannons and chemicals that make the birds’ feet burn.

Using a combination of prevention strategies can produce results, said Mona Zemsky, technical consultant with Bird-X, a Chicago company that markets repellents at (www.bird-x.com).

Some of the most popular repellents are bird netting made of a polyethylene or polypropylene and metal strips with spikes that inhibit roosting. A sticky gel, applied with a caulking gun, works the same way in creating an unattractive roosting environment.

“Physical barriers are easy because they do the job permanently,” Zemsky said. “While they take a little bit of labor upfront, it’s of one those things you won’t have to think about again. That’s what a lot of municipalities want is a one-time fix.”

Electronic options also are popular, she said. There are ultrasonic devices that humans can’t hear and sonic devices that make intermittent, natural sounds, such as bird distress cries or predator cries.

The amount spent on a device or combination of devices can be more than offset by savings in property damage and avoiding disease or injury lawsuits, Zemsky said. Birds and their droppings can spread more than 60 diseases to humans, she said.

Zemsky said the Minneapolis bridge collapse has generated publicity for the pigeon issue, which is a good thing.

“We are happy it’s getting attention because it’s a very important topic, but it’s not like this is brand new,” she said, noting Bird-X has been in business for 44 years.

Transportation departments have been aware of the issue for a long time, but some are getting more serious about it. The state of Colorado is studying pigeon repellents to find which are the most effective and cost-efficient to use with its bridges. It also is looking into future bridge designs that could make the structures less attractive to birds.

What scarecrow? Bartlett has its scare-gators

Bartlett has new tools for bird abatement: coyotes on sticks and alligator heads.

Not real coyotes or alligators, mind you, but fake ones that look mean enough to scare flocks of wildfowl from parks and ponds.

"They don't stay around too long now," said Joe Beasley, operations manager of the Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center, where decoys dot the lake and grounds.

Wildfowl skimming over water at sunset can be picturesque, but masses of birds on groomed suburban lawns are mostly a nuisance.

Behind BPACC, where the birds have left feathers and excrement, what started out as about two dozen geese quickly became 250.

Complaints prompted Bartlett parks to put plastic alligator heads in the nearby lake and in other ponds in the city.

"Those worked well with the wild geese that were flying in," said David Thompson, city parks director.

"These wild geese hatched out in that pond (behind BPACC), so they grew up with the alligator heads and they were no longer scared of them."

About two weeks ago, the city put a half dozen cut-out pictures of coyotes along the walking trail that ring the pond.

"The coyotes are doing great," Thompson said, noting the geese population is down considerably from earlier this summer.

The decoys don't put much scare into ducks.

"It doesn't seem to have the same effect on the ducks that it has on the geese," Thompson said. "But the ducks don't leave the mess that the geese do."

Reaction has been mixed. Thompson said he's heard positive comments, although retiree Bob Weeks, who was fishing in the pond one day this week, said he hadn't noticed much difference. Nearby, about two dozen ducks and geese gathered 'round.

Thompson fears the geese will eventually realize the coyotes won't bite.

"I've been doing some research and we can buy some speakers and recordings of coyotes and different predators. We may place that out there if this doesn't work."

He's talked to Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency about trucking the birds north, but figures they'll return the first day of hunting season.

"When they are being shot at, they will end up back in Bartlett."

-- Shirley Downing: 529-2387

Roseboro Tries to Roust Pigeons from Roost

WRAL.com

Roseboro NC — Town officials plan to use a high-tech system to deter flocks of pigeons that have taken up residence and leave daily messes on sidewalks and anything else outdoors.

"We hate to even walk outside because they'll get you," resident Ann Patterson said of the pigeons. "We just run. We try to outrun them."

The pigeons have been flocking to the town of about 1,200 in Sampson County for about three years. Roseboro residents said they don't know what the attraction is, only that they would like to get rid of them.

"We do everything we can to get rid of them, but they don't go away," Patterson said.

Town officials said they refurbished Main Street with new sidewalks and repaving to entice more visitors and business, not pigeons doing their business.

“All we can do is just watch, watch them do it,” resident Brian Bennett said. "You can see they've been making a mess on the ground."

Students and instructors at a Sampson Community College satellite campus on Main Street got an owl decoy from a drug store that recently closed, but it didn't scare off the pigeons when the students placed the decoy outside their building.

The Roseboro Board of Commissioners plans to hear a presentation from Bird-X at their next meeting. The company sells a system that uses ultrasonic waves to get rid of unwanted birds and other nuisance animals safely.

video link:

http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/1717293/