The Deniliquin Council’s general manager Des Bilske said the pigeon plague was a major problem with the birds leaving smelly reminders at their roosting spots in the centre of the city.

“It’s unsightly and it’s a hazard, Mr Bilske said.

“You don’t want to walk through pigeon droppings.

He said the end of the drought had meant there was much more grain around, the perfect conditions for pigeons to multiply to the point were there are now thousands of them.

And he said a man who had ran a business trapping the birds died years ago, giving the birds more free rein.

The council has been pressure-washing footpaths and expects to receive pigeon traps this week that it will hire out to businesses for a refundable deposit.

“We want an eradication program during harvest to reduce numbers,” Mr Bilske said.

Dean Irwin, who runs Rocket Sports in Napier Street, said the problem had escalated.

He said the problem was at its worst in vacant shops where there was no one to clean up the mess.

“If you leave for a week it builds up,” he said.

“It really is unbelievable.

“What do you call them? The rats of the sky.”

He said his shop had installed bird wiring to keep the birds off signs and pillars and it had worked.

“The bird wire seems to get rid of them,” he said.

“Most of us have got hold of this bird wire which moves them on to somewhere else.”

Mr Bilske said pigeon droppings did not pose a health risk.