Massive Poop Problem: NJ Trying To Stop Thousands Of Crows From Defecating Everywhere

TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- A terrible green, white and brown tapestry is covering everything below the trees along South Warren Street in Downtown Trenton.

That's right it's bird poop and residents are not happy.

"It's nasty and then when it rains it gets all over your shoes and it's gross," says Briana Radice.

The culprit for all the crud is a massive murder, that's the proper term for flock of crows, and wildlife experts believe there could be as many as 30,000 crows roosting downtown.

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While many people plow through the poop going to and from work, nearby resident Samara Lentz says living with the droppings is unbearable.

"There's no way to keep up with it, wash your car every single day and then every single night it's completely covered," explains Lentz. "It has come out the car vents and so it just smells like crow feces in the car."

Lentz says for more than a year she and her neighbors have implored local officials for help with little relief.

Now it's time for some real crow combat.

Starting on Tuesday night, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Service is using a variety of tools to scare off the birds which roost large masses to stay warm from October through March.

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They're using laser pointers which experts say look like lightsabers to crows, as well as screaming flares and car-mounted speakers to amplify crow distress calls.

"Our goal here is to not allow them to settle into the roost but to harass them out before they get into the area," says Kimberly Clapper from the USDA Wildlife Services.

She says the methods for harassing the crows are common in wildlife management.

"They are non-lethal, they are all approved methods and they are safe," says Clapper.

Around 6 p.m. Tuesday, the first of the flares went up.

"It worked pretty well," said Clapper, "The goal now is to kinda move out and figure out where the crows have gone and continue to harass them into smaller and more tolerable groups that aren't going to pose such an issue."

Since there is a good chance of the crows returning, USDA officials will continue with the scare tactics from 4 - 9 p.m. for no more than four consecutive days through Feb. 23.