Birds & Pigeons near you

Get this right before anything else, because a well-meaning homeowner knocking a nest off a porch beam can be committing a federal offense. The statute at 16 U.S.C. 703 makes it unlawful at any time, by any means or in any manner, to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, attempt to take, capture or kill, possess, offer for sale, sell, deliver for shipment, ship, export, import, transport or receive for shipment any migratory bird, or any part, nest or egg of such a bird, where the species is covered by the treaties the Act implements. Nests and eggs are named in the statute, which is the part homeowners most often do not realize.

The non-native carve-out is what makes ordinary bird work possible. The Migratory Bird Treaty Reform Act of 2004 amended the Act to state that it applies only to migratory bird species native to the United States or its territories, with a native species defined as one present as a result of natural biological or ecological processes, and the Fish and Wildlife Service publishes an amended list of the non-native species introduced by humans to which the Act does not apply. Rock Pigeon, Columba livia, is listed on it. The Service also notes, in the same notice, the families that do not qualify for protection under the Act, including Passeridae, which covers house sparrow, and Sturnidae, which covers European starling.

Everything else on your house is a different conversation. Barn and cliff swallows, house finches, robins, phoebes, chimney swifts, woodpeckers and Canada geese are native species covered by the Act, so an active nest is not something a contractor may simply remove, and work on them may require a federal depredation permit or has to wait until the nest is no longer in use. State law can add protections on top, and some cities regulate bird control or feeding separately, so verify locally as well. A company that cannot tell you which category your bird falls into should not be on your roof.

Identification is the first billable decision in a bird job, because it determines whether the work is a straightforward exclusion or a timing and permitting exercise.

The health concern with long-established roosts is a fungus rather than the birds themselves. CDC states that Histoplasma lives in soil in certain parts of the United States and the world, that the fungus is typically found in soil and bird or bat droppings, and that people get histoplasmosis by breathing in spores from the fungus. CDC adds that most outbreaks occurred after events that disturb soil contaminated with bird or bat droppings, which is exactly what scraping, sweeping or pressure washing a roost site does.

CDC's prevention guidance is correspondingly direct: avoiding activities that disturb soil or increase exposure to plant matter or bird or bat droppings can help prevent histoplasmosis, and large amounts of bird or bat droppings should be cleaned up by professional companies that specialize in hazardous waste removal. For workers in situations such as construction, CDC notes that protective masks like N95s can be worn. The University of Missouri extension makes the same connection, noting that accumulated droppings can harbor the histoplasmosis fungus.

In practice that means the size of the deposit changes the job. Wiping a few droppings off a railing is not the scenario the guidance addresses. A years-old accumulation in an attic, a parapet void, a barn loft or under a rooftop equipment platform is, and the correct response there is a company equipped for it rather than a shop vacuum and a dust mask. Ask any bidder what protection and what method they use for cleanup, and treat vague answers as a reason to keep looking.

Exclusion is the durable answer, and the University of Missouri extension is specific about materials. Building openings such as lofts, steeples, vents, eaves and windowsills are blocked with wood, metal, glass, masonry, three-quarter-inch rustproof wire mesh, or plastic or nylon netting. Plastic or nylon bird netting on the underside of rafters or ledges is described as a good solution to roost problems, and netting is also useful for covering windows or other building openings. For screening rafters, quarter-inch wire mesh is specified.

Where a surface cannot be closed off, the geometry of the surface becomes the tool. The extension notes that changing ledge angles to 45 degrees or more can discourage roosting, while cautioning that pigeons may still be able to roost on angled ledges. That honesty is worth carrying into a sales conversation: ledge modification reduces a problem, netting and mesh eliminate access, and the two are not interchangeable. Vent hoods and dryer terminations need proper bird-resistant covers rather than screen glued over the opening, and solar arrays on a roof need edge screening fitted for the array rather than improvised.

Install quality decides how long any of it lasts. Netting must be tensioned to a cable perimeter and anchored properly, or it sags, admits birds behind it and traps them, which creates a worse problem and, where protected species are involved, a legal one. Ask to see the anchoring detail and the warranty, and ask what happens if a bird gets behind the net.

Exclusion moves birds to the next available ledge; removing the food supply is what reduces the number of birds in the neighborhood at all. The University of Missouri extension is plain about the cause: populations persist because the birds subsist on spilled or improperly stored grain, garbage or other food materials people provide for them intentionally or unintentionally. Eliminating those food sources is described as essential to control.

On a residential block that translates into specific, sometimes awkward tasks. Secure garbage and recycling containers, clean up spilled birdseed and switch to feeders that do not scatter, keep pet food indoors, sweep up fallen fruit and nuts, and take the outdoor feeding of pigeons seriously as an issue with neighbors rather than a private preference. Some cities prohibit feeding pigeons outright, so it is worth checking the local ordinance before that conversation. And since the extension also advises checking local laws and ordinances before taking control measures even for unprotected feral pigeons, the sensible order is to confirm the rules, remove the food, then do the exclusion work, rather than to start with a ladder.

Bird work is priced on access and area more than on the number of birds. The variables are the species and whether it is federally protected, the height and reach of the work and whether a lift or rope access is required, the linear footage of ledge or the square footage of netting and how the perimeter is anchored, the number of vents, eaves and cavities that need individual covers, whether a droppings cleanup is included and how large and old the accumulation is, whether a federal depredation permit is needed and who applies for it, and whether the installation carries a warranty and an inspection schedule. Ask for exclusion, cleanup and any permit work as separate lines.

LokalMatch is where the search starts. You describe the situation once: which birds and where they are roosting or nesting, how high the area is, how long it has been going on, and whether there are droppings to clean up. Pest control and bird exclusion companies covering your area receive the request and the interested ones contact you. Pros pay for the requests they receive, and homeowners use LokalMatch at no cost. LokalMatch does not perform bird control, does not set prices, and does not vet, rank or recommend any company, so confirming the species question, the licensing, the insurance and the written scope is yours to do.