A pigeon loft looks clean long before it actually is, because the places disease organisms spread from — the damp patches under perches, the corners nobody sweeps — are not the ones a visual check catches.

Harkers Loft Treatment is a dry powder disinfectant built to inhibit the spread of those disease-causing organisms, which are often carried in the droppings. It is not lime or chalk based, which Harkers say matters because those bases can dry out the natural oils in a pigeon's plumage — a trade-off a lime-based treatment does not have to disclose. The powder carries a quaternary ammonium biocidal agent in a finely divided, absorbent base that traps and neutralises bacteria as it is spread.

• 1.8kg pack
• Dry powder disinfectant
• Not lime or chalk based
• Sprinkled around nesting and perching areas
• Particular attention needed for damp patches
• Compatible with all loft systems

On application. Harkers describe where to sprinkle it — nesting and perching areas, especially damp patches — but this card carries no frequency or reapplication interval, so build that into a routine loft-cleaning schedule rather than a one-off treatment.

Who it's for: pigeon keepers running a routine loft hygiene programme who want a powder that will not strip the natural oils from feathers the way a lime-based product can.