The Foreshore is office towers, hotels, the convention centre and the freeways, all built on land reclaimed from Table Bay. It is almost all commercial work here: food courts, hotel kitchens, parking garages and building basements.
Foreshore: what drives birds here
Pigeons are everywhere on building ledges, signage and parking garages, and gulls scavenge from bins. Netting, spikes and wire systems keep ledges clean.
Big office blocks, hotels, apartment towers and the CTICC dominate, along with the station precinct, parking garages and service lanes. Basements, service ducts and refuse rooms link entire buildings, so rodents and cockroaches can travel floor to floor without being seen. Food courts and hotel kitchens need constant attention. Residential conversions add flats to the mix.
The whole area sits on flat reclaimed land between the city centre and the harbour, with the sea and the docks right next door. The South-Easter rips through the streets between the towers in summer. Old stormwater and sewer lines run underneath, and that is where most of the rodent pressure comes from.
Rats from the harbour and sewers, German cockroaches in commercial kitchens, and pigeons on building ledges are the main issues. Bed bugs are a hotel and residential concern.
Something most people miss
Bird proofing involves no poison at all, which makes it a good option for homes with children, dogs and cats.
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.
Signs to look for
- Tiny mites crawling on walls or bedding near a nest site.
- Birds regularly perching in the same spots over doorways or walkways.
- A sour smell around a roof area where birds have been nesting for a long time.
- Droppings building up on ledges, walls, windowsills or under solar panels.
- Cooing, scratching or flapping in the roof space or behind the gutters early in the morning.
- Blocked gutters and downpipes full of nesting material.
Pigeon droppings are acidic, mark paintwork and roofing, and become slippery underfoot on walkways. Accumulated droppings and old nests can carry fungi and bacteria, and cleaning them up dry raises dust you do not want to breathe. Nests block gutters and cause water damage when winter rains back up into the roof. When birds leave a nest, their bird mites often wander indoors looking for a new host, which leads to itchy bites.
How the treatment works
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.
- Site survey
We look at where the birds roost, nest and enter, and which surfaces need protecting.
- Proposal
We recommend the right mix of netting, spikes, wire or mesh for each spot and explain why.
- Clean-out
Nests, droppings and debris are removed safely before anything is fitted.
- Install proofing
Netting, spikes, wire or mesh is fixed so it is neat and secure against the south-easter.
- Mite treatment and report
If bird mites are present we treat the area, and you get a written report.
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.
- Do not feed pigeons near your home or business. A reliable food source keeps them coming back.
- Deal with the first nest quickly. Pigeons that breed on a site get attached to it.
- Clean gutters before winter, and check for nesting material at the same time.
How much will it cost?
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.
A few spikes on a low windowsill is a fine DIY job. Netting and solar panel proofing at height is not, both for safety and because poorly tensioned netting sags, traps birds and ends up looking messy. I would rather do it once and do it properly.
Bird Proofing questions from Foreshore
Do bird spikes hurt the birds?
No. The spikes are blunt and simply stop birds from landing comfortably. They move somewhere else.
Why am I getting bites after the pigeons left?
That is often bird mites leaving an abandoned nest. They do not live on people, but they bite, and we treat the nest area to stop them.
Do rats on the Foreshore come from the harbour?
Some do, but most come through the sewer and stormwater network under the reclaimed land. Basements and refuse rooms are the usual way in, so that's where we focus.
Do you come out to Foreshore for bird proofing?
Yes. Foreshore is part of our regular City Bowl & Atlantic Seaboard route, along with City Bowl, De Waterkant, Woodstock, Green Point. Most bookings are done within about 48 hours, and after-hours visits can be arranged.
Do you use poison on pigeons?
No. Bird proofing is about physical exclusion, which is safer and lasts longer than trying to kill birds.
Can you treat our Foreshore restaurant kitchen after trading hours?
Yes. After-hours and weekend visits are available on request, and you get a post-treatment report for your records.
Office 021 012 5825 · WhatsApp 074 697 2254