Guano clearance across Maidstone
Maidstone’s warehouses, industrial units, shopping streets and older town centre buildings all give pigeons somewhere to roost. Inside a building they settle on roof steelwork, beams and racking, and outside they use canopies, ledges, signs and gutters. The droppings build up out of sight until they foul stock, block an outlet or make a walkway slippery.
Locus Services clears pigeon guano across Maidstone and the rest of Kent. We remove the droppings and nesting material safely, clean and disinfect the area, take the waste away with full paperwork and can fit bird proofing afterwards.
Guano clearance: our work
Where we find guano in Maidstone
Maidstone sits on the M20 and the River Medway, with business parks and industrial estates around the edge of the town and a busy, historic centre. These are the places we’re most often called to:
| Where | What we usually find | How we deal with it |
|---|---|---|
| Warehouses and distribution units | Droppings on roof steelwork, lighting and the top of racking | Cleared from MEWPs one aisle or zone at a time, so the rest of the building keeps working. See warehouse and factory cleaning |
| Loading docks and canopies | Fouling on canopies, dock shelters and the yard below | Worked at night or at weekends, so the docks reopen on time |
| Shopping centres, car parks and town centre buildings | Birds roosting on ledges, signs, beams and parapets above walkways | Cleared out of hours, then proofed. See bird proofing |
| Factory roofs and gutters | Nests and droppings blocking box gutters and outlets | Cleared at the same visit. See gutter cleaning |
| Plant rooms, roof voids and lofts | Thick layers of guano around motors, tanks, pipework and insulation | Removed under dust suppression, then the area is washed and disinfected |
Ragstone and older buildings
Much of old Maidstone is built of Kentish ragstone. The town’s Parish Church of All Saints on Mill Street, listed at Grade I, is built of Kentish ragstone ashlar. English Heritage’s fact sheet on feral pigeons says pigeon droppings are corrosive to stone and to metals, so leaving them on ledges, sills and parapets does lasting damage. We clean older stonework by hand, with methods chosen to protect the surface.
If you want bird proofing fitted to a listed building, check with the council first. Under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, works that would affect a listed building’s character need listed building consent.
Who to call about pigeons in Maidstone
Maidstone Borough Council’s wildlife advice says the council cannot help with removing wild animals, and points people to a pest contractor. It also says a build-up of droppings where lots of birds gather is treated as a public health risk. So for business premises, the clean-up is down to the owner or occupier. That’s where we come in. We clear the guano, deal with the cause and leave you with the paperwork to show the job was done properly.
The risks of leaving guano in place
English Heritage’s fact sheet sets out why droppings need dealing with:
- Health: diseases such as psittacosis can develop where droppings and nests build up, and the dust can be breathed in when it’s disturbed.
- Food safety: pigeons can carry bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter. Food businesses must have adequate procedures to control pests.
- Slips: wet droppings are slippery on walkways, fire escapes and loading bays.
- Insects: nests can bring in fleas, bird mites and other pests.
Our crews wear full PPE, including respirators, use dust suppression and keep each area closed off until it has been cleaned and disinfected.
Active nests
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it’s in use or being built. Maidstone Borough Council’s advice makes the same point about pigeons. Feral pigeons can nest at any time of year, so we check for active nests at the survey and plan the clearance around them.
How we clear guano
- Free site survey: we look at the affected areas, check for nests, work out safe access and agree timings around your shifts and deliveries.
- Quote and RAMS: you get a written quote, risk assessments and method statements before any work starts.
- Removal: droppings, nesting material and contaminated insulation are bagged up under dust suppression.
- Cleaning: surfaces are washed down and disinfected, and any lingering smell is treated.
- Paperwork: the waste goes away with a registered waste carrier, and you get the waste transfer notes.
Stopping the birds coming back
English Heritage calls prevention the only long-term solution that has proved effective. On most buildings that means proofing the ledges, beams and roof spaces the birds use, closing gaps at the eaves and keeping roller doors shut when they’re not in use. Clearing up food waste around yards, bins and break areas helps too.
We can fit bird proofing such as netting, spikes or wire once the clean is finished. Read more about our pigeon guano removal service, or see our commercial cleaning in Maidstone.
Accreditations
Locus is SafeContractor-accredited, Constructionline Silver and a BICSc corporate member, and our operatives hold IPAF and CSCS cards. We’re registered with the Environment Agency as a waste carrier (CBDU320327).