Wildlife rehab centre weighs in on pigeon infestations

Pigeons aren’t the neighbours Saskatchewan apartment owners were hoping for.

The birds have reportedly been invading many apartment balconies and roofs throughout the province recently.

Saskatoon’s Living Sky Rehabilitation Centre said the organization gets a lot of calls relating to pigeon infestations every week.

“Pigeons are a problem for a lot of people. Obviously, I do pigeon rehab, and I love them very much,” said Aurora Milbrandt, Living Sky’s pigeon expert.

“But for a lot of people, they’re a nuisance and a problem, so I understand you need to get rid of them.”

Milbrandt explained that there are many humane and easy ways to deter pigeons from spending time on your property.

She suggested hanging up anything bright or shiny that will flap in the wind on balconies to scare pigeons away from the space.

Milbrandt said it’s important to change the deterrents regularly, otherwise the pigeons will catch on that they don’t actually pose a threat.

She said her team is also working with some apartment managers in making artificial pigeon nests, a concept that originates from Europe. Milbrandt said the method has significantly lowered pigeon numbers abroad.

“Using these artificial nesting sites, we can convince pigeons to have their nests there, and then we can control how many eggs are laid,” said Milbrandt.

Mildbrandt suggested removing pigeon eggs from any nests before they hatch. Once they have hatched, she said the birds will want to live on that balcony for a while, and will be much more difficult to get rid of.

“It’s definitely better that they stay in the nest with their parents, because their survival rate in the wild is always going to be better than in rehab,” said Milbrandt.

People tend to be afraid of pigeons because they believe the birds carry infectious diseases, explained Milbrandt. But, she pointed out, contracting a disease from a pigeon is actually very rare.

She also explained that although pigeons aren’t considered a protected species, they’re still protected under animal cruelty laws.

Milbrandt said many of the pigeons that end up at Living Sky are starving and close to death.

“A lot of the time they’re in the worst state and they are starving, they’re poisoned, or someone left them in a trash bin. So we can’t just do that, because that’s not humane and that’s animal cruelty.”

Milbrandt suggested contacting Living Sky Rehabilitation Centre with any pigeon-related questions to help ensure the birds’ safety while evicting them from balconies.