Bird Proofing for Electric City homes and businesses

Electric City is a tight grid of family homes on the Blue Downs side of the Cape Flats, where most yards hold a main house, a backyard room and a washing line within a few metres of the boundary wall. A rat problem here is rarely one household's problem, so we usually end up talking to the neighbours as well.

Birds in Electric City: what we see

Pigeons squeeze under loose roof sheeting where extensions meet the main house. Once they leave, bird mites can drift down into rooms, so we close the gap only after the nest is cleared.

The original houses are small brick units, and over the years most have grown sideways and backwards with extra rooms, carports and wendy houses. Every add-on leaves a join between old and new roof sheeting, and those joins are where roof rats and pigeons find their way in. Wendy houses sitting straight on sand give rats a dry floor to tunnel beneath. With walls almost touching, a cockroach colony in one kitchen does not take long to reach the next.

This is flat, deep Cape Flats sand, the kind that drains fast in summer and then turns soggy in low spots once the winter fronts arrive. Summer wind lifts litter and sand into corners against walls, which is exactly where rats like to dig. Open veld strips and stormwater ponds on the edges of the Blue Downs area give rodents somewhere to live between raids on the houses.

Norway rats burrowing under outbuildings are the call we take most, with mice a close second once it gets cold. Kitchens in older units often carry German cockroaches that have been there through several tenants. In summer it turns to fleas, house flies at the bins and ants marching across the stoep.

Something most people miss

Fake owls and shiny CDs work for about a week. Pigeons are not stupid, and once they realise the owl never moves they sit right next to it.

When we survey a building, the first thing we look for is where the droppings land. That tells us the roost spot, which is often not where the owner thinks it is.

What gives them away

1. A sour smell around a roof area where birds have been nesting for a long time.
2. Blocked gutters and downpipes full of nesting material.
3. Cooing, scratching or flapping in the roof space or behind the gutters early in the morning.
4. Droppings building up on ledges, walls, windowsills or under solar panels.
5. Tiny mites crawling on walls or bedding near a nest site.
6. Birds regularly perching in the same spots over doorways or walkways.

How we handle bird proofing in Electric City

We start by watching where the birds actually land and nest, because proofing the wrong ledge is a waste of money. Ledges and beams get bird spikes or tensioned wire systems that stop birds settling. Larger open areas such as courtyards, loading bays and light wells get bird netting fixed to a frame so birds cannot get in at all. Gaps under solar panels and roof tiles are closed with mesh or panel skirting so pigeons cannot nest underneath. Old nests and droppings are removed first, and if bird mites are present we treat the area as well.

Want the full step-by-step? See how our bird proofing service works.

Keeping them out afterwards

• Close off broken air vents, missing tiles and open eaves as soon as you notice them.
• Fit mesh skirting around new solar panels at installation, before birds discover the gap.
• Clean gutters before winter, and check for nesting material at the same time.
• Do not feed pigeons near your home or business. A reliable food source keeps them coming back.
• Keep refuse bins closed and clean up spilt food around outdoor eating areas.

Pricing, honestly

The cost depends on how many areas need proofing, how high they are and how much access equipment is needed. Netting a large courtyard or a warehouse roof is a bigger job than spiking a few ledges. Clean-out of heavy droppings and any mite treatment are included in the free quote once we have done the site survey.

Pigeons breed throughout the year in Cape Town, so proofing is a year-round job. We see a rush in late winter and spring when birds start nesting heavily, and again before the winter rains when people find their gutters blocked.

Questions we get asked in Electric City

Bird Proofing nearby and related