Nuisance Birds Webinar Report
Dealing with Nuisance Birds Around Schools Webinar Report
Thank you for attending the Dealing with Nuisance Birds Around Schools webinar broadcast on February 27, 2015, a part of the School IPM Webinar series hosted by EPA’s Center of Expertise for School IPM.
Speakers
- Mark Hardin, IPM Specialist, Howard Co. (Maryland) Public School System
- Dan Lisenko, Grounds and Maintenance Manager, Manatee Co. (Florida) Public Schools
- Lynn Braband, Community IPM Educator, Cornell University
- Marcia Anderson, Ph.D., EPA’s Center of Expertise for School IPM
Questions and Answers
The questions below were posed by the webinar participants. The responses may have been refined by the presenters following the webinar for clarification or to include additional resources.
General Questions
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Will the presentation be available for download? Where?
A PDF of the presentation will be made available on our website along with answers to attendees’ questions and statistics about the webinar. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, a recording of the webinar will not be available.
Bird Management Questions
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What is a wedge?
A wedge changes the angle of a flat service (such as a window ledge) from flat to 45 degrees or more to eliminate a bird roosting site.
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Do you recommend one brand of electric tracking over another?
We are not allowed to recommend specific brands. However, you should consider flexible tracks for their ease of handling and placement.
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What are your experiences with ovo-control for pigeons, starlings and geese?
(Dr. Braband): My only direct experience is of a large industrial facility that reduced their pigeon population from hundreds to a few dozen within a year.
Species-Specific Questions
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Are the starling, pigeon, and house sparrow the only birds that can be regulated in all states?
It is always a good idea to check your local ordinances when considering any bird management strategy because their regulatory status can differ.
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How can woodpeckers, which cause a great deal of damage to poles, buildings, and trees in my area, be mitigated?
There are currently few options aside from scare devices or seeking a depredation permit (approval is unlikely). If practical, cover vulnerable sites with metal.
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What attracts pigeons to a particular location?
Roosting and nesting sites, especially if close to feeding sites.
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What can be done to remove pigeons that live around a school that is next to a corn field?
(Mr. Braband): OvoControl might be worth investigating.
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How should we deal with a problem of starlings on stadium lighting poles?
(Mr. Braband): Assuming the tops of the lights/poles are rounded, you might try experimenting on one or two poles with products such as Daddy-Long-Legs Exit or Bird Spiders Exit although they are generally meant for larger species.
Health-Related Questions
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Do bird mites bite people?
They will, but they do not generally live on people. For more on pigeon mites read a 2012 EPA blog, Pigeon Mites Will Feed on Sleeping Humans.
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What is the basis for the statement that bird feces are in any way associated with rabies (slide 52)?
(Mr. Braband): No basis. Rabies is a disease of mammals that is transmitted by direct contact with saliva or central nervous system fluid. The rabies virus cannot survive long outside of a mammalian host.
Resources The following links exit the site Exit
- Nuisance Birds - The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Nuisance Birds and Their Control - 2016 eXtension
- Controlling Nuisance Birds - University of Illinois Extension
Upcoming School IPM Webinars
We welcome your participation in our upcoming webinars and ask you to encourage your peers to attend. These presentations are geared specifically to school and school district facility managers, buildings and grounds managers and staff, childcare facility managers, and school IPM practitioners. School nurses, school administrators, health officials, and pest management professionals are welcome to attend.