Marquette tries nonlethal ways to get rid of pigeons

For several months, pedestrians downtown near the Marquette Tower have been subject to the sounds of birds in distress. But they aren't the target of the noise.

Instead, owners of the building have installed a device making the sounds to shoo away pigeons that once roosted in large numbers on the Broadway landmark. The noisemakers, along with a device called a "spider," are a response to criticisms leveled in 2005 after exterminators used poisoned corn to kill the nuisance birds.

Between the two nonlethal devices, the pigeon problem seems to be reduced, said Bill Whitlow of Jefferson City, Mo.-based Prost Builders, which owns the historic building.

"Some days it seems to work real well, and some days it doesn't," Whitlow said.

Attempts to rid the building of pigeons became a subject of public debate in October 2005 when people near the building began finding dead birds and one resident called police after their dog became ill. Poisoned corn, a legal control measure, had been spread around by Quality Pest Control, a Cape Girardeau company.

After doing some research, Norm Craig, owner of Quality Pest Control, installed the device that emits the sound of a pigeon in distress. At first, it didn't seem to do much, he said.

"There is so much fan noise up there from their air conditioning that it has got a lot of competition," Craig said.

That's when he decided to try the spiders, which he described as poles with four-foot stainless steel rods, much like umbrellas without the cloth, that move in the wind or when a pigeon brushes against it.

The idea, he said, is to make the pigeons uncomfortable enough to find another roosting spot. "It is just to irritate them," he said.

The original device for making a distressed pigeon sound has been replaced with one that is louder, but Craig said he believes the two spiders are doing more to keep the roosting population low than the noise.

The spiders and the sounds of distressed animals are common methods for controlling nuisance wildlife, said Darin Pettit, Missouri Department of Conservation agent for Cape Girardeau County. He cautioned that while some methods are successful in one instance, they may not work at another location.

"The results depend on individual circumstances rather than something you can count on for every situation," he said.

Nuisance animals like pigeons want a home close to a food and water source that is sheltered from the weather, Pettit said. Animals evicted from one location must find another place to live, he noted.

"There are obviously several buildings downtown that could support them," he said. "They are going to look for something that is close to everything they need and keeps them safe."

Craig said he's proud of the work accomplished by the two devices. Prior to their placement, dozens of pigeons made the Marquette Tower their home, while on Friday afternoon just a few birds could be seen on the edge of the roof.

"It is cleaner on the ground and cleaner on top of the building," Craig said. "It was a health hazard."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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