# Need help with Roberto



## Roberto The Pigeon (Jul 31, 2015)

Hi everyone,

Roberto is the pigeon who seems to live permanently on our patio. He's all black, and the first time I saw him I thought he was a falcon. We first started calling him "death pigeon" out of jest, but then eventually some of my housemates started feeding him. Now he's quite comfortable with us, and lets us pet him from time to time. Things were just getting good -- we got him to perch on our arms and let us touch him consistently.

But one of us discovered he has fly like bugs on his back that crawl between his feathers. I did some searching around on the internet and it seems like they might be pigeon flies. Any idea how to get rid of them (permanently)? We considered Frontline but haven't tried it yet. Please advise, this has been ruining our relationship with him. Now everyday he's waiting outside our porch, but no one wants to play with/feed him after we spotted those bugs. We're definitely not interested in actually making him our pet -- he's more of our patio neighbor and friend. 

Thanks for your help!


----------



## beatlemike (Nov 28, 2009)

Sevin garden dust should do the trick but if you have a ranch and garden store close by you can put on lice and flea powder for chickens. Make sure you powder its bottom half and spread its wings and powder under them. It most likely also has lice and mites.


----------



## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Does he have a safe place to go into to protect him from predators...cats, raccoons, dogs, coyotes, hawks, owls?


----------



## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

You can buy a lice and mite spray at a pet shop, or buy Sevin garden dust 5% at hardware stores, Walmart, or feed and grain places.
If you use sprays, spray it under the wings and tail feathers (do not spray over head, eyes or nostrils).
As far as the Sevin, you can apply it with a cotton ball or puff , and put it under her wings and tail. Put some on back and tummy, but keep it away from the face.


----------

