Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
A pigeon problem has come up in Tekoa.
Mayor John Jaeger has found a solution of a kind, referring citizens to a couple pigeon catchers who have offered their services.
“We got a hundred of them in town,” said Jaeger. “People are trying to board up buildings. Main Street’s got a lot of old buildings and if there’s a way for the birds to get in, they’re in.”
Last year, a man came through town and trapped a bunch of pigeons in Tekoa to take over to the coast to train hunting dogs. He told the mayor he thought he got about half of them.
“I wish I’d had his name, I’d see if he’d come and do it again,” said Jaeger.
Meanwhile, the mayor said that he found another pigeon catcher. Tekoa residents with problems with the birds may call Randy Hinderer and Nikki Jacobsen with Pigeon Getters in Pullman.
Their work often comes at no charge because they sell the birds they capture.
The two catch the pigeons in evening operations.
The birds tend to settle down at night. Hinderer and Jacobsen arrive at the location, use red lights to shine on the pigeons and snatch them up. In regular light, the birds would get spooked, but they stay in place when illuminated by an LED light with a red screen.
Hinderer and Jacobsen use ladders and put the pigeons in sling-neck mesh shoulder bags. The bags have an inner tubing with a lid and can hold 20-25 birds at a time.
“We don’t overstuff our bags because that stresses the birds,” said Jacobsen.
Then they transfer them to cages.
“I love it,” said Jacobsen. “I’m not one that likes to sit behind a desk. And we like to help people. I know pigeons are a huge problem.”
There are no pesticides or weapons used.
“We like to say we’re green,” said Jacobsen. “We don’t use anything but ourselves.”
If birds can’t be reached, for example, high in a barn, Hinderer and Jacobsen set up live traps in cages, using grain to lure the birds.
Hinderer has been in business for 20 years, with Jacobsen joining him in the past two years.
A typical operation may take an hour or two, depending on the number of birds that need to be caught. Jacobsen and Hinderer use ladders and wear coveralls, gloves and painter’s masks.
“We pretty much become monkeys when we get inside somewhere,” Jacobsen said.
Based in Pullman, Pigeon Getters have ventured to Toppenish, the Tri-Cities, Othello and the Moses Lake area to do their work.
They catch as many as 150 to 350 birds at a time. Once caught, the birds are relocated. Many go to the Seattle area with some used to train pups in bird-tracking.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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