Pigeon Peril in Surf City, NJ
Challenge
Recently, we went on a service call for a homeowner in Surf City, NJ who was having an issue with pigeons landing near the ledges of his front door. Pigeons harbor a wide variety of different parasites, primarily bird mites. Bird mites are parasites that feed on the blood of birds and are naturally found where pigeons nests are located. However, once a bird leaves its nest, they can move into living spaces in houses and climb on walls, ceilings, and beddings in search of a blood meal from humans. Bites from bird mites can cause severe irritation.
Once we arrived and began our inspection, we noticed a small gap underneath the stairs leading to the master balcony. As we got closer, a pigeon flew out of the gap right into our faces! Not exactly the proper way we want to find a harboring area for pigeons. After a thorough inspection, we came across several pigeon nests inside the gap under the staircase.
Solution
First, we carefully removed the nest and then sanitized and deodorized the area with a solution that targets bird mites. They are the main reason why extreme care is needed when removing a nest. The last thing you want to do is disrupt the mites that are crawling in and around the nesting material. After removing all the remnants of bird activity we sealed up the gap by bending flashing metal that matched the bottom staircase. Once we were finished, you could barely tell that there was a gap there to begin with.
The homeowner was beyond grateful that we were able to resolve his pigeon problem. I’m just glad the homeowner can properly enjoy the beautiful view on his balcony without worrying about pigeons flying in his face.
