There is a lot of debate about pigeons. Are they good? Are they bad? Ancient societies revered the “rock dove”, a cousin to the modern-day pigeon, as holy. They are pretty, especially in the sunlight. They have been raised through the last two centuries for meat, communications and even for religious/sacrificial purposes. While their historical place has been mostly positive, there are serious concerns about pigeons as their numbers increase at an alarming rate. The few natural predators of the pigeon; hawks, falcons and owls seem to be ineffective at curbing large flocks from gathering in cities and around food processing plants where scraps and garbage are more than enough to sustain large numbers of these controversial birds. It is hard to grasp the difficulties of pigeon control when you are just dealing with a nesting pair in a yard. However, for a business or factory that is threatened by the unclean conditions caused by the waste and nesting of a large flock, pigeons have become a real conundrum. One of the primary issues is how quickly pigeons multiply.
Pigeons live in large flocks of 20+. They breed as monogamous pairs that will raise up to six broods of 2 eggs a year. That comes out to 12 new pigeons per pair per year. Six months later those new pigeons can begin breeding. The math gets a bit tricky here, as only about half of those could be breeding by mid-year. Assuming 8 of them can have 2-3 broods before the end of that year of 2 eggs each, we are looking at 30+ new pigeons, plus the original 15 babies, and I think that’s conservative. So, in one year, we’ve gone from 2 pigeons to 45+ pigeons. That’s a population increase of 21.5% annually. Following this math there will be 1,000+ by the second year.
There are real health concerns associated with pigeon droppings and the dried droppings that turn into dust and could be sucked into heating and cooling systems. Especially around businesses that serve or process food, the bird populations simply must be addressed. When it comes to keeping birds away from human habitation, there are a wide variety of techniques available. Encouraging pigeons to relocate involve things like spikes, netting, and electricity. Reduction of their population means poisoning, traps, and shooting. But what if we could address the root of the problem? What if there were less pigeons to begin with? What if we could do something about how quickly they multiply? Well, we can. OvoControl is the long-term pigeon control solution to interrupt the breeding cycle of pigeons who may be putting your business at risk.
