LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – A Central Lubbock business owner says thousands of birds are creating a messy problem right at her front door.
Hairdresser Holli Baker owns The Socialite Salon on Glenna Goodacre off University. She says grackles have been leaving droppings on the sidewalks outside her business, creating health concerns and embarrassing situations for clients.
“Last winter, it was horrible. Nothing was ever done. Bird poop all on the ground,” Baker said. “Our clients constantly would talk about it, kind of complain, honestly. And it was kind of embarrassing, too, for all of us, because we can’t really do much about the situation.”
Baker has been posting about the issue on social media for several days. She says the problem occurs regularly from October to April each year.
Baker is not the only one dealing with the droppings. Texas Tech students walking near the area also expressed frustration with the situation.
“With all the birds around, that wouldn’t be great to get pooped on while walking or something like that,” said Junior Cole Cross.
Another student, Christian Winiewicz, said “It sucks. Nobody likes it. It just sucks.”
Student Daniela Amuebie described the smell as particularly problematic. “I hate it. It stinks. It smells really bad,” she said.
Baker says city crews have been trying to help alleviate the problem, but cannot clean the sidewalks fast enough, with areas clean one day and covered the next.
“I know more about birds now than I ever thought I would know about birds. But from what I’ve read, they like going back to the same place to roost,” Baker said.
Baker’s main concern involves potential health risks from the bird droppings.
“This year, I decided I’ve got to do something about it because it’s gross. It’s not good for our health. And after I made one TikTok about it, I realized how unhealthy it is and how many diseases you can get from these birds,” Baker said.
Baker has emailed city staff and started a petition to address the problem.
“I did receive an email back. I’m very hopeful from reading that email. And they are in the works of getting something, getting like a solution pretty quickly,” Baker said.
The City of Lubbock provided KCBD with this statement concerning the issue:
“The City is actively working on both a short-term, and long-term, solution to this natural, but unsightly, bird waste issue. Representatives from a few City departments have been in discussions with residents, business owners, and customers; and we are committed to helping with this as it negatively affects quality of life aspects for the citizens in that area.”
Baker says she wants to focus on helping clients in her salon instead of protecting them from the bird droppings outside.
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