Tuesday, October 29, 2002
Getting rid of the troublesome birds is proving to be hard.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Columbiana County Commissioner Jim Hoppel's war with pigeons is continuing, and so far the pesky birds are winning.
Hoppel said Monday that the tactic of hanging compact discs from the historical building appears to be scaring some birds away. "They have worked to a point," Hoppel said.
But plenty of pigeons are still roosting on the structure and fouling it with their droppings.
The CDs were the suggestion of local resident Harold E. Bailey, also known as "the friendly trapper."
The CDs catch and reflect light, which frightens away the birds. But Hoppel said he's finding the CDs don't appear to work as well at night and during cloudy days.
He said he's also noticed that some birds, frightened from roosting on ledges are perching on the Lady Justice statue that crowns the courthouse clock tower. On some days, the statue seems virtually cloaked in pigeons.
Another idea
The CDs will remain in place, but Hoppel said he's resorting to an earlier idea of attaching stainless steel spikes to parts of the courthouse.
The spikes will prevent pigeons from landing.
Hoppel said the spikes also are likely to be put on some courthouse ledges, where they'll probably be glued on to avoid having to drill holes into the stone structure.
As for protecting Lady Justice, Hoppel said he's checking into materials such as hard-to-see netting that can be placed over the statue to keep the birds off.
Hoppel, who is the commissioner charged with overseeing county buildings, began addressing the pigeon issue several weeks ago after becoming fed up with the mess the birds were leaving on the facade of the three-story,19th-century structure and the sidewalk and steps in front of it.
The problem is so bad that pigeon dung must be washed from those areas almost daily.
Besides being unsightly, county officials are concerned that the droppings present a health hazard.
leigh@vindy.com