Suffering From Pigeon Infestation? Here Are Some Health Hazards Associated With It.

by Prasad Krishna Swaastik Yoga

Bird infestations come with different levels of danger. If you have a small, medium, or large pigeon infestation in your home or other properties, you are exposed to the risk of developing an illness from their droppings. The safest option for you is to quickly manage pigeon infestation by hiring professionals and preventing any risk of illness.

Pigeons may contract and spread several diseases and parasites that end up in droppings. Once pigeons find an empty area on the roof of your home or property, they will create a huge mess of their droppings.

Below are the two common issues that people face when pigeons live on their properties

1. Poop on Your Roof

Once pigeons poop on your roof, mother nature ensures waste ends up in dishes, plants, trees, and ground. It has the danger of getting tracked inside your home by you, your family members, and even pets.

Their intrusion inside your home may cause severe disease. Even the parasites in their droppings may end up in your home.

2. Nest and Poop in One Place

Pigeons tend to find a comfortable area to nest and poop in a place. Such droppings will pile up on your ledge or roof and cause severe damage to your property. As droppings are acidic, they can destroy roofing elements and even destroy solar panels.

Rainwater can soak the droppings and cause even more damage to your property if you get a roof leak. The tainted water can bring everything into their droppings directly into your attic and anywhere the leak passes. A bunch of pigeon poop may not cause severe diseases but can look horrible on your property.

So, what are the diseases that pigeon infestation causes? Find them below:

Histoplasmosis

It is an infection that you may get from inhaling fungal spores, which can grow on soil containing pigeon poop. Not everyone who intakes such spores will develop histoplasmosis. Having such spores on your property will expose you and your family to consistent risks of contracting this infection.

The symptoms of histoplasmosis can get extremely unpleasant and even dangerous for anyone with a weak immune system. The symptoms are usually like the flu and include fatigue, dry cough, fever, and headaches. 

Candidiasis

It is another fungal infection, which humans can contract from pigeons. Over 20 species of Candida, a yeast, cause this infection. The throat and mouth are the common areas for infection and are usually known as "thrush".

Candidiasis can also affect your urogenital tract, intestines, respiratory system, and skin. This infection can cause even more critical health issues among women.

Cryptococcosis

It is another fungal infection spread by pigeons. Even though cryptococcosis is dangerous, it is less likely to get contracted than the other two infections mentioned above.

This fungus usually lives in tropical and subtropical places including the US Pacific Northwest. Cryptococcosis can adversely affect your lungs and nervous system.

Psittacosis

It is sometimes called "Parrot Fever". Pet birds can carry this with pigeons and are likely the most commonly known technique for contracting the disease. Most people develop this disease from breathing in dust from dried bird poop or discharge, which can occur from the bird's beak and eyes.

The symptoms of psittacosis are fever, headache, and cough. This disease can become a critical lung infection that requires medical attention.

Encephalitis

Encephalitis is not something contracted directly through pigeon droppings. It is more of an indirect risk, which usually comes from pigeons and other birds. It gets usually passed to humans via mosquitoes that have had a pigeon having the virus and then pass the virus to a human by biting them. Ticks may also pass this virus. Controlling the pigeon population on your property can help in preventing that from happening.

Besides eliminating pigeons from your property, you should try to prevent bites from ticks and mosquitoes. This virus has critical symptoms and potential damage. Encephalitis is the en inflation of your brain and is quite dangerous.

The common symptoms of encephalitis are fever, headache, fatigue, confusion, and drowsiness. More critical symptoms are convulsions, seizures, tremors, memory issues, hallucinations, and stroke. The risks associated with this virus are a good reason to permanently remove all pigeons from your property.

Salmonellosis

It is a potentially critical and even fatal infection caused by the Salmonella bacteria. The most common way of getting this infection is from least-cooked poultry and cross-contamination in the kitchen. A rare but very real scenario is Humans developing the infection from pigeons is a real yet rare scenario.

Pigeons with this bacteria in their systems can spread this disease through their droppings. Dust from the droppings may contain Salmonella, which can get spread in numerous ways. If the dust gets into a home or HVAC system, you can inhale it and get an infection.

E.Coli

E.Coli, also known as Escherichia coli, is a bacteria that usually live in the intestines of people and animals. Most E.coli are harmless, but some are pathogenic and make humans ill. This bacteria can enter your body if you get close to any pigeons carrying it. Illnesses caused by E.coli can include diarrhea, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and respiratory illness.

Besides diseases and infection, pigeons can also bring parasites, mites, and ticks to your property.  It usually occurs when the pigeons have built a nest and have created a large mess of droppings in a place. It is a breeding ground for all types of pests and parasites.

A dead pigeon is more of a breeding ground for flies and pests. Some of the more problematic insects are lice, ticks, mites, and bed bugs. The more intense the pigeon infestation, the greater risk of these dirty little bugs getting inside your home.

The Takeaway

Pigeon droppings on your property don't gross, but carry high risks to your health and even cause big property damages. The best thing you can do is get rid of the pigeon infestation on your property. Clean all corners of your home and take proper measures to prevent birds from rebuilding a nest on your property.

Professional exterminators can always help you to control pigeon infestation effectively. Hire our experts today!

 

 

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Created on Nov 16th 2022 02:40. Viewed 158 times.

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