Bird control can be very difficult for property owners, especially in concentrated urban populations.
Without effective bird control, birds can cause a variety of problems, including:
- Damage to buildings e.g. blockage of rainwater systems
- Damage to buildings by the acidic reaction of fouling to masonry
- Property defacement
- Health hazards
- Accident hazards e.g. people could slip on droppings
- Increased Maintenance Costs
How birds can be a health hazard to humans
Urban pest birds can contribute to the transmission of many types of diseases, infections and illnesses. Buildings infested with pest birds can place risk for anyone working/visiting in or out of a building. Typical nuisance birds: pigeons, starlings, house sparrows and nuisance gulls, to mention only a few, transmit disease in four ways:
- Food and water contaminated with faeces
- Inhalation of contaminated dust
- Transference by parasites associated with nuisance birds, i.e., fleas, ticks, mites and other ectoparasites
- Direct contact with faeces
Numerous cases of food poisoning such as Salmonellosis occur every year. Food poisoning is caused by the Salmonella bacterium getting into left out food. A main source of the Salmonella bacteria is dried faecal dust from air vents covered in bird droppings.
Nuisance birds carry ticks, fleas, mites and other ectoparasites, which can also be left in their nests and in places they roost. These parasites are responsible for the transmission of several hundred viral and bacterial agents. These diseases include those highlighted above. Control of these parasites is a crucial phase of containing health hazards to humans.
The final, and most rare, manner of transmitting any of these diseases is through direct contact with faeces. This situation arises when people get faecal dust or droppings in an open wound or open cut when cleaning or repairing an area contaminated with them.
Infection can occur locally at the location of the wound or, in serious cases, infection within the bloodstream can also occur.
Give Peter Cox a call
Bird fouling removal should only ever be carried out by trained specialists who wear proper personal protective equipment and intrinsic care must always be taken when cleaning and disinfecting a bird site or installing bird control systems.
For more information or to book a survey, please call 0800 030 4701 or book a survey here.
