A six-unit apartment building located in the residential neighbourhood of Greenfield Park, on the South Shore of Montreal, contacted our services after several tenants reported incessant noises coming from the walls and ceiling, as well as foul smells in the common corridors. The building manager, who had initially thought it was a plumbing problem, quickly understood by inspecting the attic that a colony of starlings had been living there for at least two seasons. The presence of numerous nests stacked on top of each other, a large quantity of excrement and young birds still unable to fly made the operation particularly delicate. It is in this context that our starling extermination team intervened with a protocol adapted to multi-dwelling buildings.
Initial assessment and coordination with residents
The management of an occupied building requires rigorous coordination with the tenants, especially when the work involves access to the common attic and interventions on the roof. Our technicians met with the building manager and conducted a complete inspection before planning the work, in order to minimize the nuisance to the residents. In Greenfield Park, as in the neighbouring areas of Saint-Hubert and Longueuil, rental buildings built in the 1970s and 1980s frequently have unprotected ventilation openings under the eaves, as well as spaces between the roof and the façade walls that provide easy access for starlings. The inspection identified six distinct entry points used by the birds, spread over three different facades of the building. Our exterminators in Greenfield Park are familiar with this type of building and have established a two-phase intervention schedule so as not to excessively disrupt the daily lives of tenants.
Removal of nests and decontamination of attics
The first phase of the work aimed at the safe removal of all the nests present in the attic. Our technicians, equipped with protective suits, respirators and heavy-duty gloves, manually removed the nests in accordance with protocols for handling potentially contaminated biological materials. Starling droppings can harbor pathogenic fungi whose spores are released during drying and can cause serious respiratory infections. Once the nests were removed and the birds were safely relocated, a thorough decontamination and disinfection of the attic was carried out. Enzymatic disinfectants were applied by misting to all contaminated surfaces, followed by a broad-spectrum biocide treatment to eliminate bacteria, molds and parasites associated with droppings and organic matter. A portion of the thermal insulation, too damaged to be remediated, was removed and disposed of in accordance with biological waste management standards.
Installation of permanent exclusion devices
The second phase of the work involved the implementation of a permanent exclusion system designed to prevent any return of starlings. Our technicians installed galvanized metal mesh on all the air vents, fixed with stainless screws to withstand the harsh weather conditions of the South Shore. The wider gaps were filled with rigid expansion foam covered with a durable exterior sealant. Along the cornices and roof edges, strips of anti-perch spikes have been strategically attached to discourage further landings. These measures, combined with an exclusion net stretched over the particularly exposed rear roof area, created a complete physical barrier against starlings. To learn more about all of our services, visit the website of our extermination company, available everywhere on the South Shore.
Results and post-intervention follow-up
The inspection visit carried out three weeks after the end of the work confirmed that the building was completely free of starlings. The tenants no longer reported any abnormal noise or smell. The manager particularly appreciated the speed of execution and the discretion of our team, which had been able to intervene without causing significant disruption to the daily lives of the residents. A comprehensive report documenting each entry point processed, the methods used and the results obtained was provided to the building management. We also recommended that he examine our achievements on another intervention in a residential building and on a case of nesting birds in an urban building to illustrate the consistency of the quality of our interventions.