Birds
Although wild birds are widely welcomed and liked, there are times when some kinds can cause problems. Birds can not only become a nuisance, they can also pose a health hazard and have been proved to spread diseases such as psittacosis. Excessive accululations of droppings can make paths slippery and can also have corrosive properties which can render pavements, ladders and fire escapes unsafe.
Gulls
Herring Gulls – and to a smaller extent Lesser Black-Backed Gulls – commonly nest on rooftops in many coastal towns and may become aggressive when they have eggs or young to protect. In addition, nesting material and discarded food may block gutters, down-spouts and gas flues or encourage other pests, while severe fouling may occur around on buildings around the area and along the parent birds' flight-path.
Bird spikes are the most reliable method to deter gulls from nesting on your property. Not only are they extremely cost effective, but they last for many years and are virtually invisible when installed.
Pigeons
Roosting pigeons inevitably cause heavy fouling of buildings and surroundings, which is unsightly in itself, but can also become a public health hazard. Over time, the acidic nature of their excretions also can prove destructive to property, particularly buildings or monuments made of limestone, which becomes heavily eroded. Gutters and down-pipes can also be blocked with faeces, feathers, food or nesting materials which may lead to water damage or damp problems.
In addition, pigeons can carry a large number of diseases – more than the average rat, according to some studies – including salmonella, tuberculosis and ornithosis – a form of the serious infectious disease, psittacosis. Their droppings, nests and dead bodies often contain a variety of mites, lice and other parasites, which have the potential to infect or infest people and property in the vicinity. Feral pigeons can also harbour diseases which affect other birds, such as Newcastle disease, a serious illness of domestic poultry.
Bird netting is the preferred method for dealing with pigeons as, when correctly installed, it can be 100% successful in deterring any bird from perching on your property. Alternatively, gel can be applied to ledges, which creates an uncomfortable and unstable surface for the birds to land on.
House Sparrows
Generally a very welcome sight in the garden, house sparrows are less well received in supermarkets, bakeries and food manufacturing premises, where their activities can cause serious contamination of the product. Apart from droppings and nest material, they may also introduce other pest species into the building.
Perhaps surprisingly, the introduction of a predator bird into the area is the most effective and reliable form of pest control. A sparrowhawk would be the bird of prey of choice to act as a deterrent – populations of sparrows have been found to dramatically decline in areas where a sparrowhawk is flown on a regular basis.