Toronto Wildlife Prevention: Common Pest Birds

The skies and trees are a bird's natural domain. But when they come down to earth many property owners, like those in Toronto suffer the inconvenience. Often, in an effort to protect our properties from the damage that birds can inflict, people use harsh methods that threaten the survival of the animals. Humane wildlife prevention really is the best way to live harmoniously with these winged sky beauties.

‘Nuisance’ Birds

The birds that tend to come into conflict with human properties are the smaller ones. Thankfully, larger birds like hawks, owls, and eagles rarely find themselves in conflict with human spaces. Pigeons, Grackles, and Sparrows are among the world’s most notorious birds when it comes to making residential and commercial spaces uncomfortable. Business and homeowners are likely to run into one or more of these intrusive birds on their properties. When you hear flapping, squawking or pecking sounds coming from inside your building it’s likely to be one of the birds listed below.

Pigeons

Pigeons are pretty common around the world and especially in North America. These cooing birds cost property owners millions of dollars in damage each year. Their feces and urine can do some real damage to buildings. The acid in their waste has a corrosive effect on concrete wood and metal. To make matters worse, their waste functions like an incubator for disease-causing bacteria and viruses.  Pigeons have excellent built-in homing devices. They always return to their ‘home bases’ which makes them particularly tricky to exclude.

Grackles

Grackles belong to the Troupial family, which makes them close relatives of the blackbird. Many people mistake them for blackbirds because their feathers have a dark hue. But the male Grackles plumage is darker purple than black when you take a closer look or see it in the right light. These birds are known for their aggressive behaviour and propensity to move in large groups. They are scavengers, which means they’ll frequent any location that offers a meal (restaurants, especially outdoor ones and dumpsites). Like many other birds, their waste can transmit viruses and bacteria to other animals as well as people.

Sparrows

Sparrows, cute as they are, have been problematic for property owners for centuries. They are speedy multipliers, which makes controlling their presence even more challenging. They eat insects, grains, fruits, vegetables, and human leftovers. Birds are very messy eaters and leave behind many seeds. Bird feeders should be cleaned and maintained regularly. Proper clean up is important to keep other rodents looking for food away. Another problem is when a sparrow's nest block drains or eavestroughs and flooding becomes a problem. Their nests can also lead to fires when they are located near electrical wires. [embed]https://www.skedaddlewildlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/BirdSeed.mp4[/embed]

What You Can Do To Keep Birds Out

Birds are pretty difficult to exclude since they pretty much rule the skies, but there are some things you can put in place to discourage birds from encroaching on your space. Whatever these birds feed on, remove it. This includes most of the leftover food bits that can often be seen in and around human-occupied spaces.

Expert Intervention for Toronto’s Bird Problems

Professional humane wildlife prevention service providers like Skedaddle can help you to keep birds out of your commercial or residential property.  Skedaddle’s wildlife technicians are experts in bird behaviour and biology. We can remove birds from your property in a humane way without sacrificing efficiency. We will install one-way doors that allow birds to leave safely while preventing them from returning as well as cap openings such as chimneys and service pipes to prevent birds from getting in. We can also physically remove those birds that have become trapped in tricky spaces such as chimneys. For more help schedule an inspection today with our Skedaddle team!