Audio of predator birds' screeches keeps pigeons -- and mess -- away

COLUMBUS (AP) -- Strange noises have been heard around Capitol Square lately, and it's not just another floor speech in the House or the Senate.
It's the caws and cackles of predator birds emanating from an audio system designed to keep pigeons off the Statehouse cupola. The screeches -- which are emitted every 10 minutes -- are loud enough to be heard from the street and inside nearby buildings.
The pigeons became a problem in early October when part of an old billboard on a corner of the square collapsed during renovation work.
The billboard apparently had been home to dozens of pigeons, said Dennis Trimble, deputy director of grounds for the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board.
The birds quickly found a new roost atop the Statehouse, and their droppings soon began darkening the cupola's skylight, which provides illumination for the Great Seal of Ohio 120 feet above the Rotunda floor.
Capitol Square officials studied many kinds of bird-control measures, including electrified wires and chemical applications, before choosing the audio system, which was installed six weeks ago, Trimble said.
At $380, the system made by Bird-B-Gone appeared to be the most cost-effective solution, he said.
"The others cost thousands of dollars, but this one does the trick," Trimble said. "We haven't had a problem since we had it installed."
The device emits distress calls and sounds of predator birds to discourage 22 types of birds from landing, including pigeons, swallows, sparrows, crows and starlings.