Imagine walking outside and discovering your pristine neighborhood being ripped to shreds. Tree branches scattered in the roads, shingles hanging loosely from your roof, and your car's paint melted off. Would you ever guess that this destruction could be caused by a small group of birds? Vultures have been proven to be important to our ecosystem, but when they are found in neighborhoods they can cause massive problems that can only be solved by removing them.
   In recent years, vultures have been detected roosting where they should not be. People have reported sightings of vultures nesting in neighborhoods. Previously, vultures had been known to roost on the side of a cliff, or in large trees. According to Compton’s by Britannica, "Old World vultures build large stick platform nests in trees or on cliffs, sometimes in large colonies.” So as you can see, when people found vultures roosting in neighborhoods, it was quite a shock. “At first, they were just a disturbing sight, but as the days passed, they became aware of the damage the birds were inflicting,” writes the author M.E. White in his article Vultures Make Life Difficult. And now a similar scenario has happened in a town in Northwest Roanoke. Vultures have created nests and roosting sites and have begun causing many dilemmas in this small town. Vultures may be important to our ecosystem, but they are not a natural part of the environment in these neighborhoods!
   This vulture predicament has affected all of the people in these neighborhoods. Surprisingly, the biggest problem that these vultures are creating is NOT eating the dead animals but instead eating caulk on houses, rubber tires, and practically anything soft. On several occasions, the birds have been seen to leave feces on cars. Since the droppings are so acidic they have been known to melt the paint! “...the feces they leave behind have been a nuisance to homeowners for years,” states the Roanoke Times. In fact, the melted paint on cars is probably the least of their worries. Now that vultures have been roosting in smaller trees that aren’t adapted to hold such weight, trees branches have broken. Since such large pieces of the tree are being ripped off, some of the trees have even died. The pests have also been seen eating the shingles right off the house! Carol Bannerman admits that “vultures will start to pick at anything that's rubber or soft.” So it’s not surprising that other things such as rubber tires, weatherstripping, and caulk have been eaten by the birds. All things considered, these pests have created big problems that have influenced all of the people living in these communities.
  In the long run, it would troublesome to have the vultures continue to live in these neighborhoods, so the town must scare away the vultures and take precautions so they cannot return. In Roanoke, officers made a last-ditch effort to remove the vultures from the town. Roanoke Times writes, “Bedford Police Chief Milton Graham said animal control officers have killed a handful of vultures in recent years to try to get them to disperse.” But usually, to remove the birds they must shoot cannons that make a lot of sounds. According to Vultures Make Life Difficult, “They shot the pyrotechnic bullets in the air and the noise and lights made the vultures fly away and stay away. It is the best way to get rid of vultures once they've settled in the trees.“ Once the vultures are gone, officers must set up precautionary measures so that the birds cannot return. In the past, they have placed wires on top of roofs so that the birds can’t land on the roofs and inflict further damage. People also have protected the trees. “One thing residents can do is to spray water up into the trees. Keeping the area constantly wet will keep the vultures from roosting,” states M.E. White. Although vultures are necessary, officers must scare the vultures away from the neighborhoods so that the town stays safe.
   As you can see, these vultures have created numerous problems that will be hard but not impossible to solve. These vultures must be removed, or many neighborhoods in Northwest Roanoke will be damaged beyond repair. Towns may be permanently ruined, and homes will be destroyed. Although this task may seem insurmountable, the United States will be able to fend off these birds so that neighborhoods will be vulture-free once more.
