Pigeons and humans have coexisted for a very long time. Urban pigeons are essentially feral domestic pigeons, letter pigeons and rock pigeons, whose development as ownerless animals has gone its own way over the years. The favorable living and breeding conditions led to a mass reproduction of the animals. Due to the decline in natural enemies, especially birds of prey, the population increased even further. A pigeon can live for up to 20 years, and a pair of pigeons reproduce several times from spring to fall. In the meantime, breeding sites have become rarer in relation to the overall population, which is why urban pigeons now also set up their breeding grounds on the supporting structures of bridges, railroad stations and factory buildings. In residential areas, they also frequently find suitable opportunities, for example in accessible attics, wall recesses, balconies and cornices. This brings them into close contact with people’s living and working areas. In addition, urban pigeons find a veritable surplus of food here: leftover food on the ground and uncontrolled feeding by humans bring the animals close to people and cause them to lose all shyness. Where there are pigeons, there is usually a lot of droppings. A pigeon sheds 10-12 kg of wet droppings or 2.5 kg of dry droppings per year, most of it at breeding, resting and feeding sites. The high content of corrosive uric acid causes damage to buildings, monuments and various metal parts, including machines. Removing the droppings requires considerable effort. A risk that should not be underestimated is the transmission of diseases such as salmonellosis, ornithosis and other serious illnesses. Urban pigeons can also transmit animal disease pathogens to breeding and productive poultry as well as birds in the wild. Although this is not the rule, it should nevertheless be taken seriously. The spread of parasites must also be taken into account: the red mite, the pigeon tick and the larvae of the bacon beetle can be found in the nests of pigeons. Feather and excrement dust from pigeons and decomposition products from insects can cause allergies. Suitable defense measures depend on the nature and characteristics of the object to be protected. An assessment is carried out by a Desinsekta GmbH specialist. Every repellent or deterrent measure is preceded by a cleaning and disinfection measure. Possible pigeon repellent / deterrent measures:

• Installation of pigeon repellent spikes
• Installation of pigeon repellent nets
• Assembly of a tensioning wire system
• Installation of electrical defense systems
• Hanging up deterrent balloons
• Application of repellents (odorants)