Chiang Mai Municipality’s clean-up crews have moved into Tha Pae Gate, disinfecting the area that was once a magnet for pigeon flocks after vendors and tourists persistently fed them there — despite repeated complaints from residents about the mess it caused.
Steady enforcement has paid off: the area is now pigeon-free and looking clean again. Municipal officers now patrol the site daily from 8am to 8pm, watching for anyone selling or handing out bird feed. Crews are also spraying a natural coconut-oil-based deterrent to keep pigeons away, along with disinfectant on walls and floors to guard against avian flu, while Menglai sub-district staff handle regular pressure-washing of the plaza.
Pigeons can carry serious diseases transmissible to humans, including cryptococcosis, avian-linked pneumonia and bird flu, and often carry mites and ticks that can cause itchy rashes or skin infections.
