This week we helped a builder who had a problem with pigeons in a roof space. The shop fitters were working on tight deadlines to complete a shop renovation in Northbrook Street, but discovered pigeons had made a roost in the top floor storage area and had made a right old mess.
The building has been unoccupied for some time and a door had been left open on the roof, allowing pigeons to move in. The project manager of the site completely did the right thing and did not attempt to clear the mess, but called in the bird control experts to do it.
Pigeon faeces is at its most dangerous when dry and dusty, so if you have this in an enclosed space, you will need specialist equipment and PPE to deal with it. Bird mess carries a whole range of diseases which are highly contagious and very dangerous. These included Salmonela and Ornithosis – some evidence of HIV and Chlamydia have also been found more recently – so don’t take any chances – call in the experts.
On arrival at site, we performed the normal risk assessments, sealed off the hatch leading to the lower levels of the shop and decided to use the roof as the appropriate way in and out of the building, ensuring no contamination went into the shop area, thus allowing work to continue below.
Then the taks started. Now this is not a pleasant job by any stretch of the imagination – its hot, dusty an when in full chemical barrier suits, gloves and masks you cant just stop for a breather as you then need to de-contaminate and clean off, dispose and re-suit in a new outfit….so once you go it’s not turning back. Steve Light, our Ops Director, Who runs our Oxford Office, hates small hot spaces, and with his arachnophobia it is his worst nightmare. On top of this, he does not like the heat either – so for him it’s a kind of “Perfect Storm” all rolled into one!
Needless to say, I do all the small hot dark type work and Steve does all the height work as I am not too keen on this type of work…a perfect combination!
The place was a right old mess – it’s amazing how much crap a few birds can make…they also built nests in every place possible. They managed to get behind an RSJ and into a small space above some plaster board, which obviously needed to be removed. We discovered birds are not the only issue up here as there were rat droppings amongst the nests too – these things get everywhere!
Here are a few before, during and after pics showing that a disgusting mess can be turned into a usable space with some hard work and the right equipment.
So If you have a bird problem, don’t try and tackle it yourself, call in specialists like Rapid Pest Control. With Offices in Newbury, Oxford, Basingstoke, Reading and Swindon you have a local pest control expert on your doorstep – call Newbury 01635 247192 or visit our website for your local office number.
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