Sparrow droppings

Konrad Zehnder <zehnder [at] arch__ethz__ch> writes

>The painted stones of the main portal of the Berne cathedral
>(Switzerland) are affected by excrements of pigeons and sparrows. A
>wire fence has been installed which keeps off the pigeons, however,
>it is not efficient to keep off the sparrows which are still soiling
>the oil painted figures.

In answer to your question about the sparrow problem, *do not use
sticky repellents*!  Hot Foot, Rid-A-Bird, and Tanglefoot are
formulations which may repel small birds, but they will ruin
anything on which they are placed.  In time they will collect all
sorts of dust and debris and will turn black.  In addition, they
will bleed into and onto whatever porous surface to which they are
applied.  They are very difficult to remove and usually require
solvents and/or sand blasting.

An additional wire or wires set at a lower height will effectively
prohibit small birds from landing on the ledges above the paintings.
They are quite effective and fairly permanent.

Another solution is the use of a barbed wire product called
Nixalite.  It is a series of stainless steel long barbed wires which
form a fan shape in cross section.  This material comes in 3 foot
lengths and can be fairly easily installed above the paintings. This
application would give long term results.

The final method would be to use bird netting which is treated to
resist the effects of ultraviolet light degradation.  This system is
effective for large areas, but does require periodic maintenance.

Thomas A. Parker, PhD
Pest Control Services, Inc.
14 East Stratford Avenue
Lansdowne, PA 19050
610-284-6249



                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:19
               Distributed: Thursday, September 21, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-14-19-005
                                  ***