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Title: That's Smart! CDs As Guaranteed Pigeon Repellents
Chillin' on a petite, verdant balcony in Vienna-Penzing, you'd find a horde of weathered CDs strung up like some sort of aural junkyard ornament. My casual associate swore by 'em as a pigeon deterrent, promising me they'd make the squab interviews cease. This gal had tried every possible animal-repelling gizmo on the market and had endured an array of nightmarish setups: an anti-pigeon ultrasonic device, once made her balcony resemble a strobe-lit disco, a batch of essential oils labelled "anti-pigeon" turned her outdoor haven into a scent museum of olfactory confusion, and an owl figurine giveaway that was supposed to deter birds only left her feeling like she lived in the smoking yard of a women's prison. Despite installing a pigeon net for a brief spell, she couldn't shake the unsettling feeling it was reminiscent of a medieval torture chamber. But those CDs? They seemed to be putting the birdie boot-a-loo on the city's resident flock.
Turns out, the gray city gulls have finally bid adieu to balcony territory, and it ain't because of their disdain for Milli Vanilli or the push-and-pull of chalets and Ballermann beats. Nope. The real secret sauce behind the CD's pigeon-chasing abilities? Birds don't fancy their own visages. So it's a hard "no" if we're supposed to consider Donald Trump was a pigeon in a past life. Unless reincarnation is a mumbo jumbo that always sends you into the opposite species.
The CD tactic is just another example of human innovation in a pinch. When we're swimming in scrap and scrounging for solutions like a castaway on a deserted island, we've got some outlandish skills on our resumé. To name a few, car antennas morphed into hang-on coat hooks, beer mats transformed into table leg stabilizers, and kitchen spatulas moonlighted as back scratchers.
Flashback to one of my teenage memories: a car breakdown with my uncle asking my aunt to dress like MacGyver for the occasion, whippin' out her pantyhose to double as a temporary fan belt. I was mortified and cowering in the back seat, only to learn that my family was quite literally holding down the fort. Our history is full of such improvised solutions, so it's no surprise that I still kiss my first Walkman goodnight. Maybe one day it'll lead humanity to world peace.
The Genius Brain Behind This Mind-Bending Tidbit is a cabaret artist and author. Keep an eye out for her upcoming shows: globe.wien
Tidbits of Knowledge:
- CDs reflect sunlight, creating blinding flashes that disorient pigeons due to their sensitivity to bright, moving lights. This tactic effectively discourages pigeons from roosting or nesting in the area.
- Pigeons have an innate fear of their own reflections and any reflective surfaces. While the idea of pigeons hating seeing themselves on CDs isn't scientifically proven, the reflective nature of the CDs tends to keep them away.
- Using a combination of CDs, strategically placed bird spikes, and ultrasonic devices can create a multi-layered approach for effectively deterring pigeons from infesting specific areas.
The home-and-garden lifestyle touts the unconventional use of CDs as a pigeon repellent, capitalizing on the birds' fear of their own reflections. In an unexpected twist, these shimmering discs, originally designed for audio storage, have become an innovative solution for bird-proofing outdoor spaces, similar to the repurposing of car antennas, beer mats, and spatulas seen in resourceful problem-solving.
