It may s ound like pigeons are being tortured inside the Bathurst St. subway station but they’re not.

Those screechy, squawky pigeon distress sounds, which TTC riders and staff are hearing with annoying regularity (every 10 minutes, for two minutes), are coming from a device the transit system has bought for a test run and installed on a wall.

The Bird Chase Super Sonic is made by a U.S.-based company called Bird-B-Gone , which sells a slew of products designed to do what its name says.

The Bathurst station pigeons have already got the message, says Brad Ross, TTC communications director.

The dozens of pigeons that used to get into the station and hang around, probably drawn by the smell of the bakery inside the terminal and the tendency of some to share their crumbs, are gone, says Ross. They’ve retreated outside, since the TTC started using the Bird Chase about six weeks ago.

And that’s meant a huge drop in the incidence of pigeon poop, an eyesore and possible hazard to health, not to mention your hat and parka.

In addition, Ross says there are now posted signs asking people not to feed the pigeons and the TTC has installed spikes in areas where pigeons might nest.

The pigeons may not have gone far — Ross says they seem to be hanging around outside on telephone wires — but the distress sounds seem to be keeping them from coming back inside.

Of course, the sounds are also loud enough to be irritating to some transit users and employees, he admits. The TTC is monitoring the situation.

“We need to make sure the volume is right . . . there is a balancing off with the irritation of the noise versus the cleaning and health hazard’’ related to the pigeons, says Ross. The noise isn’t harmful to people’s hearing and there is some relief for TTC employees who are in glass booths, which buffer sounds, he says.

It’s possible the product could be used at other subway stations where pigeons are a nuisance, like Islington, says Ross, although no decision has been made yet.

Bird-B-Gone’s Brown explains that there are no ultrasonic noises that will frighten off birds because they can’t hear them.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...