Bird Control Kensington

Effective, Humane Bird Controllers in Kensington

The city of Johannesburg and its suburbs have several claims to fame, one of the most remarkable being that the area’s greenery is visible from outer space among the surrounding savannah. In this respect, Johannesburg is often referred to as an urban jungle. Indeed, many of the city’s older and longest established suburbs, such as Kensington, feature large trees everywhere, in gardens, parks and on pavements running alongside city and suburban streets. Kensington is a green suburb, quite densely populated by humans.

Birds and trees are synonymous, mainly because trees provide safe perches and nest building locations for birds of all descriptions – those that people love to attract to their gardens and also those that have the potential to become pests, eventually requiring control measures because of their unchecked numbers and/or destructive habits.

Potential Avian Pest Species

• Feral pigeons occur in enormous flocks across southern Africa, Kensington included. A pair usually mates for life and may produce 10-12 young annually. These birds avail themselves of all types of elevated nesting sites, on ledges, rooftops and under protruding roof eves. Pigeons deface building with their droppings, which may eventually erode concrete and wall or roof finishes. They spread lice, ectoparasites and numerous diseases, many of them very serious.
• Indian mynahs were brought to the Durban area in the early 1900s, possibly as pets that eventually escaped from captivity and commenced breeding. Today, they are commonly found throughout Johannesburg’s suburbs, usually in pairs. Palm trees and roof cavities are favourite nesting sites.
• Starlings cause immense damage to agricultural crops, but they adapt equally well to urban environments. Their droppings, especially if concentrated below a preferred roosting site, form a medium that is favourable for the growth of certain pathogenic fungi, which are potentially very hazardous to humans.
• Sparrows are found in all Kensington and other gardens, appearing harmless. However, they are a particular pest to the food industry, where they damage packed goods and contaminate foodstuffs with their excrement.
• Seagulls have also migrated from coastal areas to Johannesburg and other Gauteng centres.

Diseases Spread by Pest Birds

• Salmonellosis – disease bacteria that are found in droppings, and dust from dried droppings, which can lead to contamination of foodstuffs and food preparation areas via ventilation systems.
• E. coli – may be found in cow manure, which is pecked at by birds. They excrete the bacteria-filled dropping, which may land on foodstuffs or in water supplies.
• Encephalitis – a particular strain of this serious disease is carried by virally infected pigeons, house sparrows and finches.
• Histoplasmosis – produced in a fungus that grows in pest birds’ dried-out droppings. If inhaled or otherwise ingested, humans develop the disease, which may be fatal.
• Candidiasis – a fungal or yeast infection, spread by pigeons.

Ectoparasites

• Bedbugs may be carried by sparrows, pigeons and starlings.
• Chicken mites are spread by the same birds.
• A total of 7 ectoparasites, which bite humans and at least 8 diseases that are carried by pest birds have been identified locally.

Bugman’s Pest Bird Control Services