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Pigeon poop is dangerousBY ELANA MORIARTYMost people agree that bird droppings are an eyesore but they would be horrified to find out just how accurate the headline is.
Ocular histoplasmosis, a fungal infection that eats away at the eyeball is just one of over sixty diseases that birds can transfer to humans. Their droppings are often the vehicle for transmission as they dry out, turn to dust, become airborne, and are absorbed by the mucus membranes of unknowing victims. Stories exposing the reluctance of city officials to address the issue of bird droppings often focus on the aesthetics of the issue. People note the terrible smell of accumulated waste. Casual observers recognize that the appearance of bird droppings lowers the perceived value of a property. Directly after last summer’s collapse of the Minnesota Bridge, readers heard about the structural damage that droppings and their acidic nature can cause. Still, beyond avian flu and West Nile virus, diseases from birds are often glossed over. This leads people to believe that the issue of bird infestations, and the subsequent droppings they leave behind, can be safely kept on the backburner. City officials realize this and feel free to ignore the problem in exchange for other items that garner more publicity. If people realized that droppings are a carrier for potentially fatal illnesses like salmonella, E.coli, respiratory histoplasmosis (which can permanently affect the lungs), Cryptococcosis, or meningitis to name a few, they would have more ammunition when demanding the control of birds and their waste. This is not just a matter of image but of public health. While some of these diseases are unfamiliar and rare, they are a real concern - especially for individuals who work in close proximity to an accumulation of bird feces. Any of the aforementioned diseases leave young children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems, especially vulnerable. Bird-related diseases are in no way limited to only this specific segment of the population; the general population also needs and deserves to be protected. Realizing this, the CDC published the following safeguards for dealing with histoplasmosis: “Areas known or suspected of being contaminated by H. capsulatum, such as bird roosts, attics, or even entire buildings that contain accumulations of bat or bird manure, should be posted with signs warning of the health risk. … In some situations, a fence may be needed to be built around a property or locks put on attic doors to prevent unsuspecting or unprotected individuals from entering.” The most frustrating aspect of unresolved bird infestations is that there are so many available solutions. Strategies include visual scares (like balloons with holographic eyes that follow birds wherever they fly), physical barriers (spikes or netting), taste deterrents, sonic machines (that convince birds an area is unsafe using distress call recordings), etc. Often, those in charge of a bird control program will not look into the long-term viability of a plan. They become discouraged by the fact that, when using just one method, birds become accustomed to it and return. It is important to consider the idea of synergy when organizing a long-term approach. When two or more strategies are used together, success rates are much higher than each garners individually. This is especially important to remember when dealing with an environment that rewards the birds - like people who feed them. The New York Transit Authority was just recently ordered to pay over $6 million to a man who suffered serious injuries after slipping on bird droppings and falling on a flight of subway stairs in the Bronx. A teacher won $1.2 million in a settlement with a Florida school district after contracting Cryptococcosis from accumulated droppings (South Florida Sentinel, March 29, 2001). It is clear that everyone benefits from a timely response to a bird infestation. The public certainly does not want their neighbors to suffer serious injuries or illness and those in positions of power do not want to pay large amounts of money in the event that they are held responsible for such events. While pigeons have become a part of most urban landscapes, we can use what we have learned over the years to direct the populations to areas where they will have less human interaction and, therefore, be less of a risk. Elana Moriarty is a media correspondent for Bird-X, Inc. - the experts in “green” bird pest control for over 40 years. Visit www.bird-x.com or call 800-662-5021 for more information. |
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Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of queenscourier.com.
Al Streit wrote on Jan 29, 2008 7:17 PM:
" It's hard to improve on Don Jenner's criticism of this article. The Queens Courier publishing an ad for an exterminator as an article means only that it's in favor of cruelty to animals.
Forget about responsibility, morality, or even fact checking. Even a little research would have shown you that hosing off the pigeon poop is enough to protect from disease.
There are a small handful of disease obtainable from pigeons, excluding bird flu and west Nille virus. But they virtually never occur. Salmonella transmission is very rare and you're more likely to get it from chickens or parrots. People get sick from other people.
This has to be part of the campaign to get rid of pigeons started by Andrew Blechman and continued now by Simcha Felder. There has never been a reason for it. Have their backers (the Humane Soc. of the US, for example) paid you?
And it's easy to keep pigeon off of things. The most effective deterrents are cheap wire devices, not things that try to fool the birds.
In any case, pigeons are the only wild animals that think they belong with people, and if you would publish something true about them, you'd include how sweet they are as well as how harmless.
Many people are going to use the article as an excuse to continue the cruel things they already do to pigeons.
Read about them and learn to like them.
Pigeon People, a Yahoo rescue, educational, and activist group for pigeons.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pijnpeople "
Forget about responsibility, morality, or even fact checking. Even a little research would have shown you that hosing off the pigeon poop is enough to protect from disease.
There are a small handful of disease obtainable from pigeons, excluding bird flu and west Nille virus. But they virtually never occur. Salmonella transmission is very rare and you're more likely to get it from chickens or parrots. People get sick from other people.
This has to be part of the campaign to get rid of pigeons started by Andrew Blechman and continued now by Simcha Felder. There has never been a reason for it. Have their backers (the Humane Soc. of the US, for example) paid you?
And it's easy to keep pigeon off of things. The most effective deterrents are cheap wire devices, not things that try to fool the birds.
In any case, pigeons are the only wild animals that think they belong with people, and if you would publish something true about them, you'd include how sweet they are as well as how harmless.
Many people are going to use the article as an excuse to continue the cruel things they already do to pigeons.
Read about them and learn to like them.
Pigeon People, a Yahoo rescue, educational, and activist group for pigeons.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pijnpeople "
Joanna Tierno wrote on Jan 30, 2008 12:41 AM:
" How many people do you know that have become sick from pigeons? I don't know of any. I was also born with a condition called hypogammaglobulinemia, which is a primary immune deficiency and I am able to spend time with pigeons but have to be careful in my interactions with people. Humans carry illnesses that are easy for other humans to catch.
Pigeon poop used to be used as fertilizer. It is no more toxic or dangerous than any other kind of poop. People simple have to hose down areas that have been pooped on, but many are lazy and rather do away with all living creatures instead. This is really sad. Bird watching and feeding can actually be very relaxing- & thus beneficial to people. "
Pigeon poop used to be used as fertilizer. It is no more toxic or dangerous than any other kind of poop. People simple have to hose down areas that have been pooped on, but many are lazy and rather do away with all living creatures instead. This is really sad. Bird watching and feeding can actually be very relaxing- & thus beneficial to people. "
Charis Palmer wrote on Jan 31, 2008 7:28 PM:
" Girl...You need to get your facts straight by doing more research. You are so way off on this one it would be laughable if there were not those that believe everything they read.
Shame on you for your deception.
. "
Shame on you for your deception.
. "
nona smith wrote on Jan 31, 2008 9:15 PM:
" Lady, you are way, way off base. The cost to NYC for the removal of graffitti.....NYC's shameful eyesore, left on our public spaces by HUMANS......way exceeds the cost of any pigeon poop clean up. Why did you write such gross falsehoods.....are you a pigeon hater??? "
New York Bird Club wrote on Feb 1, 2008 4:45 PM:
" Dear Queens Courier,
We ask that you retract the false and misleading information that Elana Moriarty has posted in her article.
Please see our blog with many other replies that have ACCURATE info and support the facts.
www.peopleforpigeons.com "
We ask that you retract the false and misleading information that Elana Moriarty has posted in her article.
Please see our blog with many other replies that have ACCURATE info and support the facts.
www.peopleforpigeons.com "
Al Streit wrote on Feb 2, 2008 4:19 PM:
" Dear People for Pigeons
Thanks for your participation in favor of pigeons. I'd like people to know that People for Pigeons is not connected in any way with the group Pigeon People, which has been around for 4 years.
Sincerely,
Al "
Thanks for your participation in favor of pigeons. I'd like people to know that People for Pigeons is not connected in any way with the group Pigeon People, which has been around for 4 years.
Sincerely,
Al "
Tanya Romero wrote on Feb 15, 2008 3:37 PM:
" ...Did the "People for Pigeons", etc. actually read the article? The author never suggested exterminating the pigeons or doing anything cruel to them. In fact, she represents a "green" bird control company (i.e. cruelty-free, environmentally friendly). In fact, when I googled the company and PETA, I found that PETA was a fan. In the op-ed, "Pigeon Poop is Dangerous", Moriarty only brought up ways to disperse the populations in order to protect the health of those who are required (due to their job, etc) to spend a lot of time where the pigeons congregate in large numbers. The author acknowledged that the diseases are rare but that they do exist (which is true: http://www.thenewsherald.com/stories/091204/loc_20040912022.shtml here's one random example out of many more that I found in about one minute just googling). I doubt this man, or his family, cares that the disease is rare or that you may have had contact with tons of pigeons all your life and never felt sick. As rare as it is, there are clearly people that do become ill with the diseases Moriarty mentioned. Furthermore--realistically speaking--no matter what the likelihood of contracting these diseases might be, many people just do not like pigeons. No matter how much these Pro Pigeon organizations bully them, their gut reaction to these animals will not change. In my opinion, "People for Pigeons" and their gang should pick their battles. If they target those that actively promote cruelty-free, non-lethal methods like Bird-X does, they will simply alienate their best options for compromise. "
Edna wrote on Feb 25, 2008 3:36 PM:
" Wow Tonya, did Bird-x pay you to write that or are you just up on pest birds?
"
"
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