Why ducts attract pigeons here
On a coast with strong winds and heavy rain, a duct shaft is a perfect refuge: enclosed on most sides, shaded and dry. In dense blocks in MVP Colony, Seethammadhara, Dwaraka Nagar and Akkayyapalem, and in the newer towers of Madhurawada and PM Palem, shafts fill with nests quickly.
Residents notice cooing at dawn, droppings on bathroom ventilators, blocked exhaust fans and a damp smell in humid weather.
Two approaches
Building-wide. A net across the top of each shaft, arranged by the association. Best long-term solution.
Flat-by-flat. A net across your own ventilator or the open side of the shaft beside your flat.
Materials
UV-stabilised HDPE or nylon bird net (50 mm), a tensioned border and stainless-steel hooks. Shafts near the coast are damp and salty, so ordinary iron rusts fast. An access panel is always included.
How we install
- Inspect the shaft and decide where to net.
- Plan safe access.
- Clear nests at the fixing points.
- Fix stainless hooks.
- Run and tension the border.
- Lace the net, sealing around pipes.
- Fit the access panel.
New towers
If your building is new, ask the association to net every shaft before pigeons settle. In a tall tower, a nesting colony across twenty floors is very hard to clear.
After the job
Ask plumbers to close the access panel after every visit.
Before we come
Send photos of the shaft from your window and, if possible, from the roof.
For the full picture, visit duct area safety nets. The guide on why apartment duct areas need nets may help as well.
Central areas versus new towers
In MVP Colony, Seethammadhara, Dwaraka Nagar and Akkayyapalem, many apartment blocks are a few decades old, and their shafts may have hosted pigeons for years. Clearing the fixing points and closing the top usually ends the problem.
In Madhurawada and PM Palem, newer towers have tall shafts that pigeons discover within months of occupation. Netting them early, as a building, is far easier than clearing them later.
Talking to the association
Photos of nests from different floors, a list of affected flats and a note that each shaft keeps an access panel for plumbers usually help a committee agree to a building-wide job. The cost is then shared across all flats.
Smell after the rains
Droppings in a shaft stay damp in the humid coastal air and smell worst after the rains. Once the shaft is netted and cleaned, the smell fades within weeks.
