Bird Nest Removal Nassau County, Long Island, New York

Bird Removal Nassau County, Long Island, New York

Nassau County Wildlife Control offers professional Long Island bird control and bird removal services to both residential and commercial establishments in Nassau County, Long Island. Many Nassau County residents enjoy the presence of birds in and around their properties. Sadly, birds can become a big problem for Nassau County homeowners and business owners. In addition to becoming an unsightly mess, bird poop is highly acidic and extremely corrosive. Bird feces can damage a roof, awning, automobile paint, and create a health risk. Bird droppings can foster soil conditions favoring the development of such fungal diseases as histoplasmosis. Bird nests can be unpleasant to look at, and clog gutters, drains, and vents. Constructed in electrical signs, chimneys and dryer vents, bird nests can become a fire hazard and a breeding ground for bird mites and carpet beetles. Nassau County Wildlife Control offers bird nest removal and Nassau County pest control services.

Bird Control Techniques Nassau County, Long Island, New York

Bird control techniques include physical barriers, visual repellents, chemical repellents, trained birds of prey, contraceptives and electrical shock systems. The bird control devices that are most practical either physically block the birds, or actively modify behavior using a gentle electrical shock. Physical bird repellents include pigeon spikes and bird netting. Electric shock systems stop birds from landing or nesting in unwanted areas. The electrically charged tracks transmit a mild electrical shock when birds land on them. The electrical shock does not harm the birds and conditions them to stay away from the area. Electric track systems are an inconspicuous, and almost invisible solution to keep nuisance birds off building ledges and a variety of other surfaces. Electric track systems are a highly favored option when structural aesthetics are of importance. Bird contraceptives block sperm from fertilizing the egg and consequently, no embryo is ever formed. Chemical repellents consist of avicides, polybutylene gels, and taste aversion products for geese. Polybutylene can be applied to ledges or beams to prevent birds from roosting on them. Birds usually accommodate quickly to stationary bird control devices, such as plastic owls and scarecrows, making them ineffective bird control methods. Sonic and ultrasonic devices have been used to get rid of unwanted nuisance birds, but have been demonstrated to be ineffective. Products that produce predator and distress calls of a variety of birds have also been used, but studies have shown that nuisance birds will habituate to and disregard these devices.

Pigeons ( Columbidae) - There are roughly 310 species of pigeons. A white pigeon is commonly referred to as a Dove. However, the terms pigeon and dove are frequently used interchangeably by people. Pigeons can be found worldwide, except for Antarctica, the high Arctic, and the Sahara Desert. The Rock Pigeon, also known as the common city pigeon has been domesticated, raised for food, trained for homing, racing, carrying messages and is used in research. Pigeons perch and nest on windowsills, roofs, eaves, steeples, and other man-made structures. They will build fragile nests, often using sticks and other debris. Pigeons are monogamous and mate for life. Female pigeons will lay two eggs and incubate the eggs by night and the male will sit on them during the day. The incubation period is 2 to 3 weeks and the hatchlings, which are called squabs are cared for in the nest for another 3 to 4 weeks. These birds have a life expectancy of three to five years in the wild. Pigeons are very intelligent, feed predominantly on seed and fruit, have extremely good eyesight and can fly at speeds of up to 90 miles per hour. The peregrine falcon is a predator of the pigeon, that can reach speeds of up to 200 miles per hour in a dive. The peregrine falcon is one of the few birds that have the speed and the maneuverability to outpace and catch a pigeon in flight. However, a pigeon's survival could depend upon its color pattern. It has been demonstrated that falcons rarely go after pigeons that have a white patch of feathers just above the tail, and when the falcons do target these birds, the attacks are seldom successful. A pigeon produces approximately twenty-five pounds of droppings in a year. Often pigeon feces must be blasted off hard to reach places using boom lifts and steam hoses. Damage brought about by pigeons in the United States has been estimated to cost $1.1 billion a year.

Sparrows (Passeridae) - The English Sparrow or House Sparrow is one of the most widespread and abundant passerine birds in the world today. English Sparrows originated in the Middle East and spread to most of Europe, Asia and parts of North Africa. House Sparrows were imported from England and released throughout the United States beginning in 1851. These songbirds were introduced to control insect infestations. However, sparrows consume mostly seeds and weeds with insects making up only four percent of their diet. Sparrows will also eat corn, buds, berries, oats, wheat, sorghum, and fruits such as cherries and grapes. House Sparrows are strongly associated with humans and can live in urban, suburban and rural settings. Sparrows are very social birds and their nests are usually close together. The House Sparrow is monogamous, and typically mates for life. Female sparrows are colored pale brown and grey and are somewhat smaller than males. Male sparrows have a dark grey crown from the top of their bill to their back and the area around their bill and throat are black. Regardless of their smaller size, female English Sparrows are dominant at feeding locations and may fight over males during mating season. House Sparrows will construct their nests in a tree hollow, hole in a building, street lights, in a soffit, in an attic and in the eaves of Nassau County homes. Sparrows are very aggressive and will drive out other birds from nest cavities, including Purple Martins, Tree Swallows, and Eastern Bluebirds. The sparrow's nest is made up of grass, twigs, weeds, feathers, and trash. Females sparrows generally lay four or five eggs, which hatch in eleven to fourteen days. Hatchlings will stay in the nest for two to three weeks, where they are fed by both parents. Roughly twenty to twenty-five percent of sparrow hatchlings will survive to their first breeding season. Sparrows have a life expectancy of three years in the wild. Predators of House Sparrows include hawks, owls, merlins, raccoons, snakes, and cats. The House Sparrow is host to a great number of diseases and parasites. Salmonella is a bacterial pathogen often found in House Sparrows. English Sparrows also host Avian Pox, Avian Malaria, and the West Nile Virus.

Starlings (Sturnus Vulgaris) - The European Starling, also known as the Common Starling is a medium-sized passerine songbird. It is a noisy bird and its song consists of a wide diversity of sounds. There are approximately two hundred million starlings in North America and they are all descendants of one hundred birds that were released in New York City between the years of 1890 and 1891. Starlings travel in flocks of thousands and pose a danger to air travel. A flock of starlings is known as a murmuration. Starlings spread infectious diseases that sicken people and livestock, costing almost eight hundred million in health treatment costs. Lastly, European Starlings have contributed to the decline of native cavity-nesting birds by taking their nesting sites. Male starlings choose a nest site and sing to attract a female mate. The Common Starling nest site is any type of cavity, such as a woodpecker hole in a tree. Starlings also build nests in attics, soffits and exhaust fan vents of Nassau County, Long Island homes. Starlings breed during the spring and summer months. The female starling will lay four or five eggs that are blue in color. Incubation of the eggs lasts approximately two weeks and both parents share in the responsibility. Hatchlings depart from the nest at about twenty-one days. These birds have a life expectancy of two to three years in the wild. Southern birds may be indefinite residents, while many northern birds will migrate south in the fall. Starlings are considered an invasive nuisance species in North America and are not a protected bird species under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The Common Starling is a Long Island exterminator, which will consume beetles, grubs, ants, flies, caterpillars, spiders, snails, grasshoppers, and earthworms. Starlings will also eat fruit and crops and are responsible for millions of dollars in agricultural damage in the United States every year. European Starlings are hosts to fleas, ticks, and mites. Predators of the European Starling include hawks, falcons and owls.

Bird Nest Removal - Pigeon Control - Nassau County, Long Island, New York

Bird Inspection - This is the first step in the Nassau County bird removal and bird control process. Nassau County Wildlife Control will determine the nuisance bird species and the best method of controlling it.

Pigeon Trapping - Pigeon control measures, such as bird exclusion will be most productive if the pigeons are initially removed by trapping. Where a flock of pigeons are roosting, or feeding in a confined and secluded area, pigeon trapping can be the primary bird control method. Bird traps have one-way doors that allow the pigeons to enter, but not exit.

Pigeon Spikes - Bird spikes are a humane pigeon exclusion device. Nassau County Wildlife Control installs stainless steel bird spikes to prevent pigeons from landing and nesting on ledges, air conditioners, window sills, roof lines and under eaves.

Bird Exclusion - Both the European Starling and the English Sparrow are cavity nesters. Starlings will use any opening that they can fit through, provided that it leads to a suitably sized cavity. Bathroom exhaust fan vents, stove vents, dryer vents, and attic gable vents need to be screened to keep nuisance birds out. House Sparrows will construct their nests in the space below window or wall air conditioners. This space needs to be blocked or screened to keep English Sparrows out. Reducing the number of nesting sites that these nuisance birds can use is crucial to Nassau County bird control and limiting their population.

Nassau County Bird Control - News

Wild Parrots Of Nassau County, Long Island, New York

Quaker Parrots are also known as Monk Parakeets. Quaker parrots are a highly intelligent small bright-green parrot with a greyish breast and greenish-yellow abdomen. This parrot originated from Argentina and the surrounding countries in South America, where it is considered to be an agricultural pest. Government sponsored programs in Argentina succeeded in exterminating more than 400,000 of these birds in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In the mid-1960s a decision was made to sell the birds to the United States as opposed to killing them. In excess of 60,000 wild parrots were shipped from South America to the United States. A large shipment of birds destined for sale in New York pet shops were accidentally released at Kennedy Airport in 1967 or 1968. Despite being tropical birds, these parrots are resilient to cold and can tolerate New York City winters. In the 1970s the escaped parrots became established residents and have expanded to all five boroughs of New York City, Long Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island and beyond. In fact, Quaker Parrots have been spotted in at least fifteen states within the United States. This bird has an average lifespan of twenty to thirty years and unlike other species of birds, the parrots do not fly south for the winter. This parrot will build a stick nest in a tree or on a man-made structure, as opposed to utilizing a hole in a tree. These gregarious birds build a single large nest with separate entrances for each pair of parrots in the colony. Unlike pigeon feces, Monk Parakeet droppings are not corrosive.