Well, it's done.
We've been aggravated by those pigeons who keep roosting on our roof, pooping in our gutters and over our solar panels. We've also suspected them of leaving bird mites to bite me leaving horrendous welts that take several weeks to heal.
We were talking to another neighbor, Steve who didn't like the pigeons stalking his dogs, eating from their food dish and sitting on his roof also. Before he retired, Steve's company had a problem with pigeon mites too.
Well... Art and Steve decided to take the difficult step to confront that pigeon feeding neighbor. It was really, really hard. You just HATE telling anybody not to feed birds or not to do something that might be giving them so much pleasure.
Today Art and Steve decided to go ahead and do it. They planned out the most tactful way of stating their case, walked down the street and met Jim who turned out to be the nicest fellow. Jim said that his wife fed birds as a child and still loved to do it, but he most certainly understood our concerns. In fact, he said they were noticing bug bites on their children as well.
What a wonderful feeling! After months... years... of being unhappy about the pigeons, the problem was remedied just by talking to our friendly neighbors in a non-confrontational, neighborly way.
Now then, I wonder how long it will take the pigeons to realize there are no more free hand-outs in this section of the neighborhood.
We've been aggravated by those pigeons who keep roosting on our roof, pooping in our gutters and over our solar panels. We've also suspected them of leaving bird mites to bite me leaving horrendous welts that take several weeks to heal.
We were talking to another neighbor, Steve who didn't like the pigeons stalking his dogs, eating from their food dish and sitting on his roof also. Before he retired, Steve's company had a problem with pigeon mites too.
Well... Art and Steve decided to take the difficult step to confront that pigeon feeding neighbor. It was really, really hard. You just HATE telling anybody not to feed birds or not to do something that might be giving them so much pleasure.
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| Art and Steve walking toward the pigeon feeding neighbor's house |
Today Art and Steve decided to go ahead and do it. They planned out the most tactful way of stating their case, walked down the street and met Jim who turned out to be the nicest fellow. Jim said that his wife fed birds as a child and still loved to do it, but he most certainly understood our concerns. In fact, he said they were noticing bug bites on their children as well.
What a wonderful feeling! After months... years... of being unhappy about the pigeons, the problem was remedied just by talking to our friendly neighbors in a non-confrontational, neighborly way.
Now then, I wonder how long it will take the pigeons to realize there are no more free hand-outs in this section of the neighborhood.
Oh, I hope that tactful conversation worked. It would be wonderful for your property to be pigeon-free, wouldn't it! I'm glad the neighbor was so easy to deal with.
ReplyDeleteGood for Art and Steve, it's always so much better to deal with things face to face, then you can gauge the other person's reactions and adjust your stance accordingly. Letters or emails don't leave any wiggle room and can so often sound damning and confrontational when you don't mean them to. Here's hoping that their friendly approach works.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right about being able to gauge another person's reaction face to face. It makes it more friendly and you can adapt your discussion so there are no hard feelings.
Deleteso glad it went well, good neighbors, some times don't always gos as smoothly as that, we confronted neighbors once and wished we never had, ha ha , have a great day Kay,
ReplyDeleteprobably the easy part is over, convincing the neighbors now for pigeon talk...lol! good luck!
ReplyDeleteWe had pigeons on our roof in Boulder, and we finally had to put big brushes into the gutters to discourage them from nesting there. (It doesn't rain a lot in Colorado.) Our windows would be streaked with their poop. They are the most unsanitary birds. There are also things you can put where they like to roost that will deter them without harming them. I'm not sure what they are, but I know people told me that.
ReplyDeleteIt was a good idea that 2 people confronted your neighbor. I am glad the result was positive.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. I do think having two neighbors really added weight to our request.
DeleteGood for you! You guys did the right thing and talked it out. Much better than those neighbors hearing it from someone else what has been bothering you. Hope you can get rid of the pigeons!
ReplyDeleteGreat news. You're right, it is very hard to confront someone when there's a problem. Usually we go to great lengths not to confront and wind up making the situation worse. I'm happy for you. Once when I was showing guests downtown Portlad, OR a constipated pigeon flying overhead decided to go for relief. The messy glob of poop ran all down the front of my guest's shirt!
ReplyDeleteIt's that first step to talk to a neighbor that is the hardest.
Deletewhat a wonderful lesson today Kay this may well be the solution to world peace, on a larger scale!
ReplyDeleteNow, if only the pigeons don't keep hanging around in the hope of free food...
ReplyDeleteWell, done, Art and Steve.
K
Wonderful news! And what a good way to approach the problem.
ReplyDeleteGood news!! Wish everyone could be as respectful and constructive in their approach to resolving differences. But this was a problem with real negative consequences, that had to be discussed. I'm all for respecting differences, different strokes for different folks, and I personally hate it when others don't allow others to be themselves...but this was not that.
ReplyDeleteL. from W.
Nice diplomacy! Is there a place, like a bird section at the zoo, where the lady can feed and watch birds? Makes me wonder where she grew up, and what kind of birds she fed as a child. I think there's a pigeon problem at the Jackson Square statue in New Orleans. Might take a week or so for the word to spread amongst the pigeons that their old restaurant is closed. DrumMajor
ReplyDeleteI don't think the zoos want you to feed the pigeons either. There are signs in other parts of Hawaii asking people not to feed the birds. The thing is you don't have to feed them! We don't have winters here. There's always food for them someplace and that's what they should be eating.
DeleteI think it's going to be a while before the pigeons give up. They've been swarming over their house and on the street all day. I see about 10 of them roosting on their roof in the shade right now.
Well that was easy! Although your first photo and opening sentences reminded me of two men walking toward a gunfight at O.K. Corral. LOL A verbal duel, of course.
ReplyDeleteI just told Art what you wrote and he got a great chuckle. It wasn't easy though. Well... once they went there and talked about it, it was easy. However, to actually get together and walk down there was very, very hard.
DeleteYeah, I meant getting the neighbor to agree, once the talking started, was easy.
DeleteHOW is SHOULD be! glad-
ReplyDeleteAloha from Waikiki,
Comfort Spiral
> < } } ( ° >
Can sympathize with you regarding the problem with sharing your home with birds, since we have a trio here that insist on building and rebuilding their nests atop the supports of our covered porch. Suppose they see our house as one huge tree . . . :~)
ReplyDeleteBut how awful to have been bitten by the critters in bird poop - Yuuch!
So glad that it worked out beautifully - likely you've a better relationship with your neighbors now than before!
I am a huge believer in head on discussions. How wonderful that the problem was so easily solved. Now if only countries with problems would learn talking and compromise can solve a lot of grievences. Well done.
ReplyDeleteI think countries have other agendas like oil or strategic ports or whatever. Sigh... wouldn't it be great if everybody could just talk it out?
DeleteI'm glad the men had a discussion about the problems that resulted from their bird feeding. It funny they kept feeding them regardless of their childrens lice bites. ~L.
ReplyDeleteThey really didn't know it was the bird mites. I can't be absolutely positive either. It's what we strongly suspect. The problem isn't over for them because I can see about 10 birds on their roof roosting in the shade right now.
DeleteThere are things that can be put up that discourage roosting. Some people use a fake plastic owl. Other folks use what looks like a bed of nails with the pointed ends up making it uncomfortable to roost but not harming the birds. You could buy these sort of things but you could also construct some homemade ones. ~L.
Deletethe wind picks the mites up and the mites end up in the house. There are a 'few' authorized pigeon feeders who spike the feed with non-reproductive drugs (same with feral cats), but the other pigeon feeders are either clueless or lolo people.
ReplyDeletethere are disadvantages not having an official neighborhood organization as there are in the newer subdivisions. Even living in a highrise building as I do, it's a huge step illuminating neighbors that something they're doing is causing a problem to the other tenants.
Art should run for county council!
ReplyDeleteWell done! Courteous but direct is the best way!
ReplyDeleteYou all are nice neighbors to each other.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! Some of their kids had bug bites!? Number one, feeding pigeons is illegal in Hawaii, I believe. Number two, it's like feeding rats. They will survive on their own, you bet.
ReplyDeleteUnlike some of your correspondents, I have a huge problem with confronting the obvious. I guess I'm a big chicken, so don't feed me either.
Beware the Java sparrow or Java Rice Bird. They will get into your attic if they and they increase the size of their nest. My old house had a nest, so I asked my son to go up and remove the nest. Seventeen garbage bags later, he had cleared out the whole huge nest. What a fire hazard.
Actually, Hank. It's not illegal. I did call the Land and Forestry Service of Hawaii. They said it's really, really unwise to be feeding the birds, but it's not illegal. I do have another friend who used to call pigeons "feathered rats".
DeleteThe Java sparrow is awfully pretty. I had no idea they were such a problem. I guess their diminutive size fooled me. I'll be careful.
Thank you so much for checking in with me at this difficult time, Hank. I'm thinking about you.
Such a difficult situation for sure. I hope it works out well and the pigeons go bye-bye. (We used to have racing pigeons in our other backyard, briefly. I should The Hubby did. I did not like them and they ran away from home!)
ReplyDelete