I had a county commissioner ask me to give them a price for pigeon removal on a couple of buildings(seperate locations). They do not want exclusion because of the look of spikes and the cost of electric track. I assume I will have to set them up with an on going maintenance plan, trapping and repellents.
I am looking for advice (I have limited experience with pigeons) on trap styles or models and repellents (gels). Also any ideas on frequency of maintenance after initial control.
Thanks
Here's a couple of pics
Building 1

Building 2

Per bait then trap . Look to bird dog clubs to sell the birds to . The flush dog retrevier type trainers love the pigeons 2.50 going rate . WArning once these guys find a sorce they will call for more . Can even run a small add in a local mag under game birds

Jeff,

Flex track disappears on most buildings, I have very high end clients that have been thrilled with the lack of being able to see it.
The other thing many historical and old buildings use is bird wire, it is one of few deterrents allowed by historical societies. I'm
working on some bids right now, will pm you with some more thoughts, I don't do tons of bird work by any means, but I've used
all of the products available and have seen how they look, how clients like them and how they are to install as well.

While there are folks who use the gel, out in my climate that gel always turns into a black sticky feather and dropping covered mess,
if they don't like the idea of seeing the deterrent, they are not going to be pleased in my humble opinion, when their nice old buildings
ledges turn into a tar pit. There are gels that say they stay clear and don't turn into that, but that has not been my experience following
behind others who did that first. Most often this is a go to for pest control operators in my area when spikes aren't desired or wanted.

The other question to ask yourself is would you rather attempt to sell a job that may be $15-$20K for solid exclusion work, or have a
monthly check for trapping that might run $300-$500 or less depending on their willingness to pay.

I always go for the exclusion, I can sell it, people understand the benefit and I have solved their problem, no more birds, no more droppings
and they should know you did that and everyone who works there and has stepped in pigeon droppings, looked at them out their windows
etc...

Could be a big new market if you aren't already doing much of that work.

Let me know if you want to discuss more, be glad to help you out.

Justin

Pesky, we do a lot of pigeons and we make it a point to destroy them on site. By doing this there is never a question in the customers mind if we are catching the same birds over and over again.

I'm with HD, sell the exclusion! If it helps you can explain to the client that trapping is a recurring cost and exclusion is a one time cost (well you should also sell a maintenance service with any exclusion of that type but that's usually far cheaper than trapping or you could train county personnel to maintain). You just have to sell it as the better alternative in the long run.
There is also the risk to you of not having a locked in exclusive on any trapping program. Once your contract is up anyone can come in behind you and undercut. Sell the exclusion and pocket the money and be done with it unless you get the maintenance as well.

Was also thinking this to be true, but didn't want to speculate beyond my experience. Thanks for solidifying that Warrior. I know in our area there are tons of pigeon trappers and I thought there would be lots of turnover like many other monthly deals.

Justin