LISBON CDs help deter pigeons

The birds circle, but don't roost on the courthouse ledges anymore.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Worn-out compact discs are finding new life as pigeon deterrents at the Columbiana County Courthouse.
As people go about their daily business at the courthouse, CDs dangle and spin at the end of fishing line tied to the railings high overhead.
The CDs were the suggestion of local resident Harold E. Bailey, better known as The Friendly Trapper.
Commissioner President Jim Hoppel was recently out sweeping pigeon dung from the courthouse steps, and commissioners were making plans to purchase different devices to keep the pigeons from roosting on the railings and ledges around the clock tower.
Hoppel said he received numerous suggestions from the public, including placing plastic owls on the ledges.
Then Bailey, known in the area for offering inexpensive, nontoxic home remedies for a multitude of problems, suggested the CDs.
Bailey's instructions were to suspend the CDs from the various railings, and the spinning motion and the glare from the discs would frighten the birds and keep them from roosting. He said the CDs should work after dark as well, because they will reflect the lighting around the clock tower.
It's working, so far
Hoppel said so far, the CDs are having the desired effect. With about a dozen in place since Tuesday, on Thursday birds were circling, but not landing on the courthouse ledges.
Hoppel said Bailey returned Thursday with more CDs and an electronic black box. Bailey said the box emits a high-pitched sound the birds cannot tolerate.
The box will be placed above the upper railings at the feet of the Lady Justice statue. The statue at the very top of the courthouse is a popular pigeon perch, and there is no way to use the CDs there, Hoppel said.
If the screeching box sends the pigeons off to roost elsewhere, Hoppel said commissioners will consider buying one.
Hoppel said the problem of pigeon perching has been ongoing, and commissioners have been concerned about not only the appearance of the front of the courthouse, but possible health hazards.
He said pigeon dung must be swept or washed each day from the courthouse front steps and an adjoining ramp for people with disabilities. He said the mess is most unsightly Mondays, after the birds have dropped dung all weekend.