“We will not die of coronavirus, it will be the bird poop that kills us,” said a fed-up Southbourne resident who is ready to skip town because of birds that deliver their droppings in her yard.
Violet Gaca said life was difficult after a colony of birds moved into her neighbourhood to make the most of the trees opposite her home.
Gaca said the birds which perched in the trees in front of her house had become a health hazard because of the excrement they leave everywhere.
“The rocks are completely white, you would think we had poured paint over them.”
Gaca said since the birds moved in she has had to stay indoors because the excrement stinks.
“The fumes from the excrement are a health hazard. Every time I have a sore throat all I think about is those birds.
“If you walk outside you will, in all likelihood, get a dropping. Even if you drive a car there will be poop on it. There are feathers everywhere. I have to hire someone to clean my yard every day, but by the afternoon it does not look as if anything was done.”
Daphne Nepgen who lives next door to Gaca said when it rained the smell was even worse.
“The poo is everywhere. When it rains the smell is horrid. We have to keep the doors and windows shut all the time.
“We cannot even sleep at night because they make a strange loud noise. If I could I would just burn down everything,” added Nepgen.
Both the neigbhours said they had approached the municipality about the cutting down of the trees in front of their properties, but were frustrated because they were sent from pillar to post.
Gaca said she had approached Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality (EMLM) but was sent to three other places before the municipality confirmed it would deal with the problem.
“I was sent around using my petrol before going back to exactly where I started. Now they keep saying next week. The last person who came here just said this was ‘a big job’,” said Gaca.
The frustrated resident said she now wanted to leave town because she worried about her health.
“No one wants to buy the property because they can also see the bird poop. I ran a preschool here and the parents complained because they were worried about their children’s health.”
While the Waverly Street residents said they brought their complaint to the municipality’s attention months ago, before lockdown, EMLM spokesperson, Lonwabo Kowa, said they received the complaint this week.
“The complaint was indeed received this week from community members in that area. Due to lockdown regulations, the Parks section of the municipality is currently not working as they do not form part of essential services.
“A team will visit the area tomorrow (Thursday) to determine the extent of the problem. Should the matter seem critical or dangerous, an intervention will be made,” he said.
At the time of going to print The Rep had not ascertained whether a team had visited yesterday.