Pigeon Damage in the Attic

Pigeons can easily get into the attic once a hole or patch of damage has formed, and seeing as the roof/attic is one of the seldom-investigated places of your home or building, the pigeons and other pest animals usually have some time to establish themselves before they are discovered. In some cases, particularly with large houses or buildings, a pigeon problem in the attic can go undiscovered for many years.

Pigeons themselves are disease-spreading animals, but we're not going to pay attention to that right now. Instead, we're going to look at the physical damage that pigeons can cause once they live in human residences. And you should know that the damage created by these birds can be expansive, incredibly destructive, and terribly expensive to put right ...

The sooner you sort out a pigeon infestation, the cheaper it will be to remove them, repair the damage, and clean up the waste material they leave behind.

Pigeons set up home close to a source of food, so if you see the birds regularly feeding in your yard, it is definitely time to check the attic for signs of a flying invasion.

One small patch of damage can be made much bigger by a number of pigeons trying to get through it, which means that one entrance point into the attic will get much bigger over time. That hole will soon start to let in the cold from outside, as well as rain, and this can have widespread repercussions, not just on the attic, but also on the rest of the building. An increase in moisture can lead to mould, which has very serious health implications. Letting rain in the attic could also lead to leaks, and then in turn floods. Those leaks might not seem like much of a big deal at first, but if unnoticed, could lead to water dripping down into other areas of the house, such as in wall cavities, etc.

The nesting material that pigeons use is very flammable once it has dried out, and there have been countless reports of attic and house fires that have either started because of a pigeon's nest (dry, flammable material next to exposed chewed or damaged wires in the attic), or have been made worse because of the pigeon nests. What you will need to bear in mind is that a hole big enough to let a pigeon is is also going to be large enough to let a number of other pest animals in. If you have rats in there, too, you're going to have chewing problems, and those problems very easily could be the wires and other electrical cables in your attic. This lethal combination causes fires and problems with the entire electrical circuit.

If you have important equipment or vents up in the attic, they can become blocked with the pigeons and their nesting material, and this seems to be the case a lot with heating systems. The warm and dry environment makes a perfect setup for a pigeon and her squabs, and it doesn't take a lot for there to once again be a fire risk, or an equipment breakdown.

With a highly corrosive nature, pigeon droppings are one of the most destructive things to come hand-in-hand with pigeons. The stuff can burn through other materials because of the high acid levels, and even if the pigeons were unable to get into the attic, this burning nature could still lead to damaged roofs and perhaps leaks and other problems.

Pigeons come with so many problems, it just makes perfect sense to get rid of them as soon as you see signs of their activity. For more information on how you could get rid of pigeons from your property quickly and efficiently, get in touch with us for advice and a free quote today!