Officials target pesky pigeons

Courthouse workers and officials complained about the mess left by pigeons.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Columbiana County authorities will try to catch pigeons that soil the courthouse and release them somewhere else.
Commissioner Jim Hoppel said Wednesday the plan should eliminate the problem for four or five years.
The pigeons have been an on-and-off problem. They perch on the base of the courthouse spire, and their droppings spatter the front steps of the courthouse and occasionally a pedestrian.
Several workers and county officials complained recently that the droppings may be a health hazard.
The pigeons had disappeared for a time after county workers hung compact discs, whose reflection apparently bothered the birds. The CDs apparently broke or blew down.
Hoppel, the chairman of the commissioners' property committee, said that after the complaints were publicized, he was contacted by a person who works for a pest control company. The man has loaned the county a humane trap.
Feeding the pigeons
Hoppel explained that Lynn Hively, the county's boiler operator and jack-of-all-trades, has been putting bird feed on the courthouse roof.
The idea is to get the birds used to the idea of food and people, Hoppel said.
The trap should be placed on the roof Saturday. Hoppel said Hively will scatter seed on the trap, and the birds should enter the cage to eat it. Once in the trap, they can't get out.
Hoppel said the first effort should capture the largest number of pigeons seeking food. That may be as many as 20 to 30 birds, he said.
After the pigeons are released, the trap may have to be used several times to get rid of all the birds.
The courthouse is undergoing some renovations, including a new flat roof. Hoppel said that should eliminate pools of water that have collected on the roof and provided drinking water for the pigeons.
If those methods don't work, Hoppel said there are other methods the commissioners can use.
There are plastic strips that use solar power that provide a small shock to birds that step on it, Hoppel added. There are also gels that birds don't like to step in that could be put on window sills.
The county may also install plastic strips it has bought, Hoppel said. The strips have blunt spikes that prevent birds from landing.
wilkinson@vindy.com