C7. Pigeon Damage Control

Pigeons have settled on the balcony where the outdoor unit of the air conditioner is located. They always sing early in the morning, and it is too noisy that I cannot sleep.
We asked Mr. Handyman to come to our house to clean and disinfect the droppings and put up a net to prevent pigeons from entering.

~Ms. Y.N. of Thonglor, who asked us to take measures against pigeons

Pigeons have taken up residence in the outdoor unit yard, and they are noisy early in the morning.
It has been five years since I lived in my current condo, and pigeons started to live there about a year ago. At first, I thought it was nothing more than “pigeons are here.” However, the pigeons completely took up residence. Next to the balcony, there is a place to put the outdoor unit of the air conditioner, and here, two outdoor units are installed, one on the top and the other on the bottom. The balcony is separated from the outdoor units by a screen door. Did they think it would be safe here?
Pigeons are making noise from early in the morning. It disturbs my sleep. When I look at them, I see that their feces are piling up on the outdoor unit of the air conditioner and on the floor.
They are also scattered on the sides and walls of the air conditioner

I heard that there are viruses and pathogens in the feces.
I found out on the Internet that pigeon feces contain viruses and pathogens, and that when dried, they scatter and when inhaled by humans, can cause illness and allergies. Although it is rare, in severe cases, it can cause death. I am beginning to think that it would be bad from a hygienic point of view if these feces were to stick to the outdoor unit of the air conditioner.
I gradually lost patience with it.
I found the website of “Mr. Handyman” on the Internet and contacted them immediately. I also emailed them pictures of the situation.

Very courteous work!
We arranged a schedule and had them come on a Saturday. They came prepared with materials, but when they saw the pigeon droppings, they said, “The droppings are a little worse than we expected.”
They started the cleaning work using high-pressure washers, brushes, and cleaning agents. It looked like a lot of work. I was happy to see them doing their best.
The netting was also fixed to the wall by putting string around it and fastening it tightly so that there would be no gap between the netting and the wall. Overall, I have the impression that they were very careful in their work.
At the end, they sterilized the area.

The next day, pigeons came, but they gave up and left.
I was impressed with how “professional” they were.
The next day, a pigeon flew in and perched on the edge of the balcony to watch. I guess he gave up and left, thinking that the situation had changed, and it could not go inside.
Thanks to Mr. Handyman, I can now spend every day in a relaxed and pleasant manner.

Black stuff started falling from the air conditioner. We thought it was probably caused by dirt in the air conditioner, so we had “Mr. Handyman” come to our house. When we took off the cover, we found that the fan underneath was covered with mold. I was surprised.

~K.N. of Thonglor, who asked for air conditioner cleaning

Black stuff falling from the air conditioner
Something black was falling on the floor, and I wondered what it was, but then it started falling again. When I looked at it, I saw that it had fallen from the air conditioner.
We thought that the air conditioner was probably dirty, so we looked up on the Internet and had “Mr. Handyman” come to our house. When I took off the cover, I found that the fan underneath was covered with mold. I was surprised at this. It had been a year since I moved in, and I had been told that the air conditioner had been cleaned before I moved in.When I asked the handyman about it, he told me that the mold was more than two years old under normal use. I am beginning to wonder if they really cleaned it before we moved in.

Using a cleaning agent, it was completely clean.
I had not paid much attention to the cleaning of air conditioners before. But I was horrified to think that I had been breathing air from an air conditioner with so much mold. The handyman said that I should clean the air conditioner once every six months. I decided to do that next time.
The handyman staff cleaned it very carefully. When the cleaning agent was used on the part that cools the air at the top, black dirt was floating on the white foam. This was the dirt of the air conditioner. The moldy fan was also completely cleaned. Just when I was thinking, “Now I can live in peace,” the handyman staff called me.

Pigeons on the outdoor unit, to be taken care of by the management office.
The staff member who was cleaning the outdoor unit said, “There are pigeons here. The owner had put a net around the outdoor unit because pigeons were coming, but there are pigeons inside the net. I screamed out loud, “Oh my god.!I don’t like you!” I hate birds. I banged on the glass door from the inside, saying, “Go away ! Go away!” but it didn’t budge. It is sitting on the nest. It seems to be keeping its eggs warm. A male pigeon is also flying nearby.
When I told this story to my friends later, they all seemed to have a hard time with birds.
A Handyman’s Advice Solves the Problem
I told the management office of the condo, and they removed the pigeons on the same day. The netting to keep pigeons away also should be told to the owner and have it put up properly. The handyman told me to contact the owner and have it done soon. It was a terrible occurrence, but with the advice of the handyman, we managed to get over it.
I am using the air conditioner comfortably.

I have a condo room in Bangkok, but I am in Japan now. A friend of mine is going to Thailand, so I asked him to take a look while he was there, and he told me that the balcony was covered with pigeon poop. So, I asked “Mr. Handyman” to take countermeasures.

~Mr. O.H. of Rama IV, who asked us to take measures against pigeon damage

I am in Japan, so I didn’t know what was going on.
I like Thailand and often come here. Then I thought it would be even better, so I asked for the current Condo 8 years ago. I used to come here every time when I was on a long vacation. Unfortunately, I have not been able to visit Thailand for almost three years because of Covid19. I was worried about how my room would be. A friend of mine was just going to Thailand, so I handed him the key and asked him if he could take a look.
Then, my friend sent me a picture. He said, “The balcony is covered with pigeon droppings.” And when I saw it, I was also surprised. That had never happened before. There is a swimming pool on the same floor, and pigeons often came to drink water. I thought I had to do something, so I asked a Thai friend of mine to leave the key to my room for the time being.

He contacted me frequently.
I immediately went to the Internet to look for a company to do the job. I looked on the Internet, thinking that a Japanese-affiliated company would be better. There were companies that dealt with corporations and companies, but there were not many that worked on private homes. Finally, I found “Mr. Handyman”.
I set up a group online with my Thai acquaintance, myself, and the handyman, and we kept in touch. First, I sent pictures, explained the situation, and asked for an estimate. The price was not too expensive. Then we set up a work schedule to suit the Thai’s convenience. The Thai had to work, so he preferred a Saturday. Mr. Handyman contacted the condo and was told that they could not work on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays. So, they contacted the Thai people, and did it properly, which was very helpful.

They sent me pictures, status of the work, and results, which made me feel at ease.
The dirt caused by pigeons was actually very bad, but they cleaned up very well. They also installed a pigeon repellent net. They also disinfected the area. In addition, we also asked them to clean our air conditioner. They sent us pictures of the work and the results. I was able to ask them to do this work with peace of mind, even though I was in Japan. I am very glad I asked them to do this.