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The Vulture Menace

Discussion in 'Broadlands Community Issues' started by hornerjo, Nov 6, 2009.

  1. redon1

    redon1 aka Aphioni

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    i dunno know why they don't like our house- we live next to trees, see several vultures every day, but so far no known damage... fingers crossed!
     
  2. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    Well now you've done it! Tomorrow they'll be out in full force in your front yard. :devil2:
     
  3. napper

    napper New Member

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    The thing is, if EVERYONE, in EVERY neighborhood did this, there would be no vultures around. The vultures are here for a reason, to clean up what we can't or won't. Thus, helping with the spread of disease. Because of the nature of their diets and digestive system, vulture poop is actually a sanitizer. Feces of the turkey vulture contains strong acids that kill many of the bacteria commonly associated with bird feces. Because of their diet, these birds are able to kill harmful bacteria and viruses with their stomach acids, and halt the potential spread of disease from rotting carcasses.

    As for their vomit, they vomit when they feel threatened. So for the guys out banging the trees, watch out below.

    Finally, as for getting rid of them permanently: "Scarecrows have proved ineffective, and noise deterrents bother the residents nearly as much as the birds. Firecrackers, water hoses, and all other methods tried thus far provide only a temporary solution.
    A Turkey Vulture Society member who has been researching this problem for several years reports that he has finally discovered a successful solution to urban roosts.
    Steve Kohl reports that a motion-activated sprinkler system seems to be very successful in deterring vultures from rooftop roosting.
    This product, marketed as a deterrent for yard-invading animals, can be mounted on a rooftop with a simple bracket system. As Kohl reports, "if you can seal the connections properly, leakage doesn't occur."
    One company that markets this product is Contech. They call the product "Scarecrow." As soon as Kohlmoos installed his "Scarecrow," his vultures disappeared. At last report, he had not seen them for 6 weeks.
    You can visit Contech on the web at http://www.biconet.com/critter/sprinkler.html
     
  4. msflynn

    msflynn New Member

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    You are right there is a lot that these birds do to eliminate bacteria and viruses from our community and clean up what waste others leave behind. However that does not mean they are not harmful as well. Their feces and urine is so toxic it burns holes in the roof where the perch. The black vultures that have taken up residents here as well are not native to the area and are actually chasing children at Hillside Elementary school. Black vultures are much more aggressive then the turkey vulture. You say the noise resident make trying to scare them is annoying. Imagine having them scratching at your roof every morning waking you up and then having to clean up behind them because they are getting sick because they are poisoning themselves. Their vomit is not just a stress reaction as you like to think but it is also comes when they poison themselves as they like to eat the caulk on roof lines and around windows. While the caulk will not kill them it does make then very sick and unable to eat their natural diet thus rendering them useless to what they are here for in the 1st place.

    While I sympathize that these birds are just doing what they are here to do. That does not mean that residents do not have a right to not want them on their property. Moving them to a different location is not only better for individual home owners but also for the safety and wellness of the vultures. By allowing them to stay in their present roosting location we would actually be helping them destroy their own well being. I do not think these birds need to be out of Broadlands, but they do need to be in an area where they and residents have less interaction.

    Staci
     
  5. napper

    napper New Member

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    I understand the reasoning behind not wanting them on your roof, believe me! That's why I was trying to offer a helpful suggestion. Maybe I just didn't write it the right way. It's been shown that the methods being taken are only temporary. This solution will help both the vultures and the residents. Steve Kohl reports that a motion-activated sprinkler system seems to be very successful in deterring vultures from rooftop roosting.
    This product, marketed as a deterrent for yard-invading animals, can be mounted on a rooftop with a simple bracket system. As Kohl reports, "if you can seal the connections properly, leakage doesn't occur."
    One company that markets this product is Contech. They call the product "Scarecrow." As soon as Kohlmoos installed his "Scarecrow," his vultures disappeared. At last report, he had not seen them for 6 weeks.
    You can visit Contech on the web at http://www.biconet.com/critter/sprinkler.html

    If no other methods work, and the residents are really concerned about their property, then they should give this a try. I certainly would. My dad has the motion activated scarecrow and it works!
     
  6. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    But don't rub it on you to avoid swine flu.

    Heh heh.
     
  7. msflynn

    msflynn New Member

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    Sorry napper I was not trying to mitigate your solution. I did understand you were trying to add an alternative which I am sure would be useful in some circumstances here, however since most of these homes are 3 story TH's I am not sure how they are going to get a water supply that high in the 1st place let alone one that has enough pressure to be of any great deterrent. While I agree any method that is used is only temporary unless neighbors are relentless with it (and most people do not have that kind of energy for it) I know these birds to be very intelligent and after a while it is just not worth their effort to deal with the harrasment.
    While I am glad to see the neighbors working together in a way that is helpful to both themselves and the birds I am not sure all streets/ sections in the community have this kind of tenacity so the vultures will soon find themselves another home somewhere else in the community - just hopefully somewhere that they do not have as easy access to the caulk that is sickening them.

    Staci
     
  8. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    Even if you could get a sprinkler up there (maybe a low flow soaker hose along the peak?) this wouldn't be practical now that we are moving into winter.
     
  9. hornerjo

    hornerjo Senior Member

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    I'd love to be there when the modifications committee got that request.

    "They want to do what!?"

    :)
     
  10. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    I would possibly approve it on a short-term basis.
     
  11. napper

    napper New Member

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    Why not? What harm can it do. (Although, I guess in the dead of winter it wouldn't work.) But it's been proven to work, if you had read my above post. You want to get rid of these "pests, one way or another", but won't hear of something that has actually been proven. At least they'd be off your roof!
     
  12. hornerjo

    hornerjo Senior Member

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    Do you have any idea how much a hose with water weighs 1 story up, let alone 3? I do. I run one up on our deck every summer. I'm not doing something this idiotic on top of a townhouse, I'll stick with what the professionals from the USDA suggest to us to do. And it is working, there has been a drop in the number that have stuck around the roofs. Now all it takes is a slap or two of the wood and off they go. If I'm spending that much money to install a hose line up the side of my house, with a motion-sensored sprinkler system I'd rather spend the money on the next option from the USDA which is killing one of these pests and hanging it in their nesting tree. That's a proven method as well. But right now, we don't need go to that step. The banging is working whether you want them here or not.
     
  13. napper

    napper New Member

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    This thing you say is idiotic is from the USDA professionals. And I also know about the hanging of a dead one as a last resort. By the way, that wouldn't be smart. Why? "A dead vulture will create a very unsanitary environment, and will attract scavengers such as coyotes and foxes, which would pose much more of a risk to your family. The carcass might even attract a replacement population of new vultures."

    Hopefully, the banging will work for you. I was just trying to be helpful. I don't care if they are right here or not, because they will always be around. As long as they are not harmed, it doesn't bother me. But there will be NO hanging of a dead one. I WILL fight that.
     
  14. hornerjo

    hornerjo Senior Member

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    Yes, that is a last resort. None of us want to go to that method unless absolutely necessary. By the way, there are dead animals all around us all the time. Just in the last few days we've had, what, 3 dead deer within a mile or two? I'm not worried about a dead bird hanging up fifty feet in a tree attracting coyotes and foxes. They weren't here on our roofs for the first 8 or so years I've lived here, isn't any reason for them to be here now.
     
  15. KTdid

    KTdid Well-Known Member

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    After reading all the posters suggestions, I think birds spikes are the MOST practical solution.
     
  16. cmbm

    cmbm New Member

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    Just be careful underneath them. Wolf Trap has them and when I worked there, we used to have birds impale themselves and blood would drip down to the seats. Every once in a while we would have a very upset patron.
     
  17. redon1

    redon1 aka Aphioni

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    i would support this method for humans as a deterrant to violent crime, but not for birds. :) and YES i have these big ugly intimidating vultures near my house!

    human head on a pike... how midievally delishish!!!!
     
  18. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    Well there is a difference.

    Your opinion is that of a random person... their's is the opinion of a professional.

    I didn't know coyotes and foxes could climb up into trees. And a carcass wouldn't be any different from the dozens a dead deer we have every week.

    So... why don't we listen to the professionals rather then the paranoid.
     
  19. KTdid

    KTdid Well-Known Member

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    The original ones are metal - these are plastic and bendable but will still deter birds from hanging around.
     
  20. hornerjo

    hornerjo Senior Member

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    The problem with that is installing them and especially the cost of that. They not only need to be installed all the way across the rooftop, but also on top of every one of the heat vents. Plus for our townhouse section we would need everyone to buy into it. Not saying it couldn't happen, it is a solution that was brought up. I thought many times about putting just 1 spike up on all the heat vents with a metal tie and see how that would work but its easier said than done. And again, I still think the loud noises can work in the long run. Just a couple slaps of wood and they scatter now. When we first started it took a lot more effort.
     

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