A tradie was left gagging from the conditions he found in an Australian resident’s home after birds were left to “have a party” for years inside the roof, with Christopher Moschella finally receiving a call after faeces started to drip down into the home.
The pest control expert recently visited the home in Belmore, in Sydney’s southwest, and told Yahoo News he was immediately confronted by a flock of pigeons nesting inside the large cavity.
“The residents had just left it unattended over a period of five or six years. The birds were left to run rampant and do whatever they want,” the owner of Roach Sniper Pest Control said. “There’s bird poo everywhere… There were babies crawling around and adults were all pooing and flying around.”
“It’s even leaking out of the ventilation and now coming down the walls inside the house.”
It’s believed 15 pigeons were nesting inside the large roof cavity. Source: TikTok/roachsniper
Pest treatment and repairs could cost upward of $7,000
Moschella said it would be an “extensive job” to rid the property of all the pigeons, with a lot of cleaning and repairs required to get the space back to a safe standard. The clean-out alone will likely cost $4,000, he explained, and bird lice treatment and fitting of a new installation could send the price soaring to around $7,000.
“There’s so much disease involved with bird droppings… On windy days, it comes out of the home and you can be breathing that all in,” Moschella said. “I had to go home and have a hot shower from all the bird lice when I put my head up the roof [to inspect it].”
Pigeons pose significant health risks when nesting inside properties, with the birds carrying diseases such as salmonella and histoplasmosis. They also can harbour parasites, meaning residents can often have several different pests on their hands when trying to get rid of them.
Moschella is now urging other Australians not to make the same mistake. Residents can save themselves a lot of stress and money if they call an expert at the first sign of pests in their home, he said.
“Just, please, consult with a pest technician straight away.”
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