One of our other neighbors mentioned that pigeons often carry lice. Lice? I had no idea. They've also been irritating the three dogs that are tied outside of their house by eating the food in their bowls. Our neighbor says that before he retired, their company had a huge problem with bird lice and he's worried about his dogs getting infested.
None of the neighbors are wanting to go over and tell this neighbor to not feed the birds because it gives him such obvious pleasure.
We used to set out a bird feeder in Illinois every winter, just as many of our neighbors did. It was mostly smaller birds that came like house finches, chickadees, sparrows and a few cardinals. The squirrels loved the bird feeder too.
I don't think about feeding the birds here because I figure they have enough to eat year round.
I love our neighbors. I guess we'll have to live with the birds. It's the rainy season coming up so I think the solar panels will get cleaned off. And the dogs? They're great watch dogs. We're getting used to the fact that they ALL bark at ANYTHING that moves, day and NIGHT.
I wonder if there's anything we do that might be an inconvenience to the neighbors. I guess they wouldn't tell me if there was.
Live and let live!
ReplyDeleteI don't understand. If all the neighbors are friendly, why can't all or one of you just invite the feeder-neighbor to a cup of tea and explain your objections. Talk about it.
ReplyDeleteYou want to be very careful with those bird mites. They can infest a house and bite you.
I try to plug a roof cavity in my little house, but if a pair of pigeons still tries to get in there and nest I shake a stick at them and shout for days, every time they fly back, until they get the idea that they are not welcome.
Feeding pigeons spells trouble for all the neighbors. Your neighbor already knows this.
ReplyDeleteLuckily mites generally prefer birds over people and dogs.
ReplyDeleteYou really do have a problem, especially with your solar panels. I'd try to explain to the people also.
I know if I were doing something to bother my neighbors, I would want to know.
You can say something, Kay. You are such a wonderful person...how could anyone be upset by your kind words?
ReplyDeleteI feed the birds but if pigeons starting coming to my front porch (where my feeders are), I would definitely stop. The biggest birds I have are woodpeckers and the occasional hawk looking for a bird treat. Chicakdees, nuthatches, goldfinches, and sparrows are the usual visitors.
ReplyDeleteyou need a scarecrow or whirling something on your roof to scare away the birds...
ReplyDeleteUnless you and your family start to bark!! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's been my understanding that all birds CAN carry lice. It doesn't mean they do. Check with your local agricultural extension service.
http://icwdm.org/handbook/birds/Pigeons.asp
ReplyDeleteDAMAGE
Pigeon droppings deface and accelerate the deterioration of buildings and increase the cost of maintenance. Large amounts of droppings may kill vegetation and produce an objectionable odor. Pigeon manure deposited on park benches, statues, cars, and unwary pedestrians is aesthetically displeasing. Around grain handling facilities, pigeons consume and contaminate large quantities of food destined for human or livestock consumption.
Pigeons may carry and spread diseases to people and livestock through their droppings. They are known to carry or transmit pigeon ornithosis, encephalitis, Newcastle disease, cryptococcosis, toxoplasmosis, salmonella food poisoning, and several other diseases. Additionally, under the right conditions pigeon manure may harbor airborne spores of the causal agent of histoplasmosis, a systemic fungus disease that can infect humans.
The ectoparasites of pigeons include various species of fleas, lice, mites, ticks, and other biting insects, some of which readily bite people. Some insects that inhabit the nests of pigeons are also fabric pests and/or pantry pests. The northern fowl mite found on pigeons is an important poultry pest.
Pigeons located around airports can also be a threat to human safety because of potential bird-aircraft collisions, and are considered a medium priority hazard to jet aircraft by the US Air Force.
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Geee...what a problem birds can be. We have a neighbor who insists on keeping his dog poop in a bucket rather than disposing of it. That neighbor also liked to burn his trash. It literally choked us.
We have a problem of too much dirt on our solar panels since there are lots of open lots around us. We don't want to wash off the dirt with tap water since that might leave water spots. We too hope for a big rain to wash the panels.
L.
I live in a neighorhood where everyone feeds the birds. One of my neighbors feeds the squirrels!! She leaves her door open so they can come in her house, and they do. We have winters with snow, and it is important to feed the birds..Mary Poppins said so.
ReplyDeleteI also have many plants that produce berries and seeds for the birds. Sorry to hear about your skylights/solar panels. Birds love them because they are so warm. Pigeons...yuck!!
As for mites...all animals have some kind of mite on them, even humans. Mites can infect bird houses which must be cleaned every year. Bird baths also require cleaning. That's life, always something to clean, ha ha.
You are a kind neighbor. Dianne
Oh, I don't know how you're going to solve this one, Kay. Pigeons are a whole different thing from more regular bird feeder visitors. Good luck.
ReplyDeletewe had neighbors farming the pigeons to sell for food. The whole neighborhood had a big problem. They were probably cited for some kind of violation. Meanwhile we ended up with fleas and clogged rain gutters. Hired cleaner and they scooped more than 5 gallons out of the rain gutters and washed the roof and gutters. Boy did that stir up the mites even more. I had to wash bedding, laundry, steam clean the carpets. and wash the outside of the house, including the patios and the plants with soap. I started with Planet dish soap on the plants and patio and hoped that would do... and fortunate it did. I hope never to have that many pigeons roosting again.
ReplyDelete--- the other L.---
the other L.: Does this mean you're not my L. from Waianae?
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! That sounds AWFUL! I think the reason all the neighbors are reticent about saying anything is we rarely see those neighbor outside. They actually really keep to themselves.
no I live in Calif.
ReplyDeleterarely comment and first time commenting on your blog. just have not thought of a good short name to sign.
~L.~
I'm always thrilled to see someone take the time to leave a comment. Thank you so much! I'll look forward to seeing L. from California along with my L. from Waianae.
ReplyDeletefirst I'm hearing about birds carrying lice...scary!
ReplyDeleteYou really have the Aloha spirit, Kay.
ReplyDeleteOur neighbors had a fireplace, and all the smoke from our chimney would blow into our living room. Although they denied it, they burned a lot of trash in it. We offered to buy them a gas fireplace insert, but they wanted a "real" fire. Now they have left, and our new neighbors let us buy the insert for them. I am so glad!
the daily small things that can be such a wrecker of peace. I think you are wise to take a longer view. Perhaps some "scare crow" type solution could keep them off your panels?
ReplyDeleteAloha from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
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Pigeons are 'flying rats'
ReplyDeleteWhen we attracted band tailed pigeons, they wiped out the bird seed so fast that we stopped feeding for three months to get rid of the pigeons.
ReplyDeleteYou are very kind, but feeding birds like your neighbor does is a nuisance for the neighbors. Several of you should speak to them.
LOL...Awhile back, gigi had another L.
ReplyDeleteJust me L. <-- new name :)
Awww..."my" is so sweet.
I agree that pigeons are pests and the neighbor who feeds them is being irresponsible. When we all have to live together so closely, we need to be considerate about how our actions impact our neighbors. Since some people are clueless, we must sometimes kindly clue them in to how they are causing us expense. Usually, they really are socially irresponsible because they don't care, but that is another story.
ReplyDeleteI learned something new today. I have never heard of birds carrying lice before. Maybe your neighbor will read this post.
ReplyDeleteOh, my, what a funny group of comments! I would much rather have the birds coming around than children playing in my yard and driveway, yet I have both. I've had fewer kids this year, but there is a group of high school boys that have started wandering down the middle of the street, often stopping out front to lollygag and josh around. When I taught, we called it "playing grab ass."
ReplyDeleteI feed the squirrels, in a tree though, not my house. And because of the seeds and nuts, I get birds too. In the past we've had hawks come by and clean out the squirrel population for awhile. Wonder if they'd take some large boys, too?
I am all for feeding birds if it's proper bird seed in a clean proper feeder that doesn't cause too many birds to come into contact with their own feces. Your neighbor is not helping the birds as bread is a terrible thing to feed and with them eating it off the ground, they can become sick.
ReplyDeleteThe question of lice is that they are animal specific. Bird mites (my understanding) could get into your house if you had birds nesting in the house and the birds fledged leaving the mites looking for something to eat. Someone who rehabs birds in their house might have a problem. You won't.
I'm sure your neighbor is feeding the birds because he enjoys watching them. Maybe he could find an actual feeder that would feed them actual seed. By pigeons are flocking birds and you are always going to get a crowd.. good luck with this one....you might try that it isn't good for the bird due to disease and improper food..
I was reading through the comments.. The poster who posted a section from Cornell didn't include some of the ways to deter the birds which was father down the page. All birds and wildlife can carry lice, mites and illness. Even the simple mosquito can carry West Nile and a tick can carry Lyme.. We need to keep it in perspective in that we aren't sharing a bed with most of nature and most of the biting bugs like the species that they were designed for...
ReplyDeleteThat being said, you have every right not to have your roof used as a roost and that is what they do. Hang out is a good location to view predators and sit. Pointing this out to your neighbor who is probably unaware that it is causing a problem might help.
What about a hose or a super soaker water gun?......or mylar windsocks that flap in the wind..
Michelle: That's right! I forgot about that Super Soaker gun thing. Art was considering that for the birds a while back, but we never got around to trying it out. I think I'll put it on our holiday wish list. :-) Thanks for the reminder. The windsock wouldn't last long in Hawaii and the 2nd floor is way to high to be climbing to attach the sock. We've tried hanging used CDs on the lemon tree and the mynahs and bulbuls just laugh at them.
ReplyDelete