Jan 26, 2024 | Commercial, Wildlife
When left unaddressed, birds can wreak havoc on your business. As a business owner, protecting your reputation and bottom line is crucial to your success. We breakdown the dangers nuisance birds can be to your business if invaded and bird control methods you can place to deter them away.
Problems Birds Cause to Businesses
Birds can cause many problems for your business and property. It’s crucial to understand the issues birds can bring so you can effectively deter them.
- Health risks: Birds and their droppings can spread more than 60 diseases, including Salmonella and E. coli. They can also attract other pests, including rats and insects, that pose additional health threats to your team and customers.
- Property Damage: Bird droppings can be corrosive and cause damage to roofs, balconies, equipment, and more. The cost to repair their damage can be costly and disrupt your regular business operations.
- Safety Risks: Bird droppings can create a slippery surface, especially on walkways, stairs, and entrances. This can lead to customer or employee slip-and-fall accidents.
- Food Contamination: If you’re in the food business, a bird infestation can pose a risk of food contamination, which can lead to food poisoning and other health issues for your customers.
Bird Control Methods for Your Business
One of the best ways to deter these nuisance birds away is to create an environment that’s less attractive to them. Check out these humane preventative tips to keep birds from invading your business.
Bird Netting
This method can act as a barrier to keep birds away from your building. The netting is often made of polypropylene and has stainless-steel hardware, which can be invisible to your customers’ eyes. It can best protect your business from smaller birds like swallows and sparrows. Bird netting can protect areas such as loading docks, rooftops, courtyards, storefront signs, balconies, open beam structures, and more.
Spikes
Spikes are harmless deterrents that work great to deter birds, such as pigeons, away from a structure. Spikes are made from stainless steel or plastic and are placed upward to make it difficult for birds to land or make it uncomfortable to roost. Spikes can be placed on ledges, parapets, gutters, signs, and more.
Visual Deterrents
Visual deterrents or decoys are a great tool to utilize around your business property to deter birds. Decoys that resemble owls or other predators can scare birds away. Other deterrents include holographic and reflective materials like optical gel, scare tape, and more. This method can be a great addition to other bird control methods you have already placed at your business.
If you’ve seen more bird activity than you’re comfortable with around your business, call your local professional wildlife control team for assistance. These bird experts will provide you with the best options to prevent the nuisance birds, deter them from your property, and control them to avoid a future bird infestation.
Jan 26, 2024 | Commercial, Wildlife
As much as birds are necessary, they can become a nuisance once they begin invading and damaging your business property and causing health concerns for your customers and employees. Whether it’s a restaurant, warehouse, commercial building, or store, these wildlife creatures can threaten your business’s bottom line. One of the best bird control methods to keep these birds from invading your business property is to create an undesirable environment for them. If you’re experiencing an influx of bird activity, there are several methods you can utilize to safely deter them from your business.
Common Bird Prevention Tips
Reduce Nesting Options
Create an environment less inciting to birds by removing limbs and branches from your business property. Additionally, look to routinely trim any surrounding trees around your property and if you have a lawn keep it mowed.
Utilize Deterrents
Consider mounting a plastic hawk or owl decoy on the roof of your building to scare nuisance birds away. Bird spikes and optical gel are another great tool to place on top of the building to encourage birds to perch and nest elsewhere.
Exclude Areas
Many birds are known to create nests around or under HVAC units because of the availability of water and shelter. To avoid this, consider netting or blocking off the area around your HVAC unit. If larger areas need excluding, it’s best to contact your local pest management company for assistance.
Remove Food Sources
Birds will continue to visit your property if there’s access to food sources. It’s crucial to make food and water sources inaccessible as much as possible by promptly removing all food debris and standing water. Likewise, discourage customers from feeding birds if they happen to land around your business.
Call a Professional
There are state rules and regulations on controlling birds from properties, so it’s best to contact your local wildlife control company to assist with any bird nuisance. These bird control professionals will provide you with a thorough inspection of your business and recommend the best methods to remove and prevent these birds from your property in the future.
May 19, 2022 | Pest Control
Did you know birds can be just as much of a nuisance (and potential health threat) as roaches and rodents? Common nuisance birds include pigeons, woodpeckers, sparrows, starlings, and Canadian geese.
Birds can cause a whole host of problems around your home and property. They can fly into your home and windows. They can build nests on or near your home, causing damage to your house or just being a noisy pest. Nests can clog gutters, downspouts, drains, vents, and chimneys. Bird droppings contain uric acid and can eat away at paint and building materials on cars and homes.
Birds and their droppings are known to carry over 60 diseases including E. coli, salmonellosis, and cryptococcosis.
Anytime you’re dealing with birds it’s important to remember that many species are protected by federal and/or state regulations, as is bird nest removal.
Here are 9 of our favorite DIY bird deterrents:
#1. Bird Deterrents
Visual bird deterrents are products designed to scare off birds or prevent them from landing or roosting where you don’t want them to. Their efficacy depends on the type of bird you are dealing with and the type of deterrent you are using. There is a wide range of choices when it comes to these deterrents. Many include gel because its reflective surface looks like fire to birds. It also feels sticky if birds land on it. Some of these deterrents are also scented, many with peppermint oil, to also help deter birds from getting near them.
#2. Predator Decoys
Predator decoys can be effective for a short period of time but aren’t usually good for long-term use. It is important to choose a realistic predator for the bird species you are dealing with. If owls aren’t a natural predator of the bird you are dealing with, a decoy owl won’t work very well. It is also important to rotate or move the decoy frequently so birds don’t realize it isn’t real.
#3. Reflective Deterrents
There is a wide range of products you can use as a reflective deterrent, from prefabricated spirals to DIY aluminum foil strips. The most important thing to remember is to use something highly reflective that also moves with the wind. It also helps to move it around frequently or even take it down for a while to trick the birds into thinking it’s real.
#4. Bird Spikes
These are narrow spikes that attach to window sills, roofs, eaves, or any other large areas you want to keep birds off of. They can attach to concrete, wood, or other surfaces with screws or glue. The spikes can be metal or plastic. These deterrents are most effective against pigeons, crows, and gulls and are less effective against smaller types of birds.
#5. Bird Coils
Bird coils are similar to spikes. They are extendable stainless steel coils that stretch along ledges to deter birds from landing on them. If they do, the coils move and make the bird feel unstable, making them less likely to perch and roost.
#6. Bird Wire
Bird wire is a tension wire system that creates an unstable landing area to deter birds from landing. Bird wire is more low profile compared to spikes or coils and can be used on exposed ledges, beams, and pipes. The negative to bird wire is that it can be time-consuming and difficult to install.
#7. Bird Netting
Bird netting is commonly used in gardens or on fruit trees but can also be used under roofs and around eaves. Bird netting is less expensive than other deterrent methods. It is important to remember when installing bird netting that you don’t cut out sections of the net to fit around obstructions; instead, cut a slit in the netting, slide the obstruction through it, and then reseal it when it’s above the object. One negative to netting is that birds can get stuck in the net.
Eliminating Food and Water Sources
Birds usually come to your home or yard in search of a nesting site, food, or water. Eliminating these things will make your property less appealing to them. Install bird netting over gardens to keep them from getting to your fruit. Keep trash cans covered. Clean your gutters to prevent standing water or install gutter guards. Don’t use birdfeeders in the warmer months. If you do use birdfeeders, don’t use suet or corn in them. Instead, replace with whole peanuts, safflower seeds, or sunflower seeds in the shell.
Exclusion
The best way to keep birds out of your home is to make sure they don’t have a way in. Carefully inspect the exterior of your home or other outbuildings and seal any openings you find, especially those that lead to the attic. Block any openings to eaves or vents with 1/4″ wire mesh or netting.
Bird and bird nest removal can be a difficult (and sometimes illegal) job. If you have a problem with birds this season, contact your local pest control company who can properly identify the types of birds you are dealing with, along with the most appropriate elimination and prevention methods for you.
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Jun 18, 2021 | Pest Control, Wildlife
As the weather starts to warm up, you may see an increase in bird activity around your home. Birds will often leave a mess on your patio or deck and can even be found taking a dip in your swimming pool. Nuisance birds will build nests in the most inconvenient places putting you and your family in harm’s way. Here are a few tips on how to prevent birds from taking over your outdoor fun this summer.
Protect Your Pool
There are several things you can try to keep birds away from your pool and deck. One of the easiest is to install a decoy bird near your pool. Owl statues are the most common but hawks and falcons will also work well. These statues make other nuisance birds think a predator has already claimed that territory and they will take up residence somewhere else. Remember to move the statue occasionally, especially if birds get used to it or start ignoring it.
You can also use automatic pool vacuums in your swimming pool to help deter birds. Automatic vacuums are constantly moving which discourage birds from landing in the water. Leaving brightly colored toys and floats in the pool can also help keep these pesky birds away. Keep your pool covered if possible. You can even use a simple solar cover instead of a traditional cover to help protect your pool from droppings and feathers.
Guard Your Grill
Birds will often nest in your grill or in the eaves around your patio. To protect your grill in between uses, invest in a high quality cover and use it any time the grill is not in use. If that’s not an option, cover your grill with bird netting when it’s not in use. Clean the grill after use and make sure there is no food residue left over. Birds will keep coming back if they continue to find food in the area.
Defend Your Deck
If you’re finding birds flocking to your deck or patio area, try installing bird spikes on fences or in gutters. It is difficult for birds to land on them, making it undesirable for birds to nest. You can also try wind chimes or ultrasonic noise machines which are also helpful and driving nuisance birds away. The noise machines give off a high-pitched sound that is undetectable to humans but will annoy any lingering birds.
Prepare Your Property
Taking preventative measures against birds will help in your bird control efforts. Discourage people from feeding birds in and around your home. Clean up any spilled grain or birdseed from feeders daily. Block any openings in your home (lofts, vents, eaves, window sills, etc.). Change your ledge angles to 45 degrees or more to prevent birds from roosting on them. Screen the underside of rafters with netting or wire mesh screening.
While birds aren’t usually a dangerous problem, they can become quite a nuisance, especially when you are trying to enjoy time outdoors. If you have a problem with birds or any other pests, contact your local pest control company who can provide you with a thorough evaluation and treatment plan.
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Apr 23, 2021 | Pest Control, Wildlife
Most of the time birds are fun to watch, singing their cheerful songs as they fly around our yards. Birds can also be productive by producing down feathers, helping control pests and weeds, and giving us plenty of opportunity for birdwatching. Some birds, however, are referred to as nuisance birds and can actually be detrimental to both our health and our homes by damaging buildings and monuments, contaminating our food sources, and transmitting serious diseases to humans.
Three of the most common nuisance birds are starlings, sparrows, and pigeons.
Starlings are found in both urban and rural areas. They travel in flocks that can have thousands of birds in them. They can often be found nesting in trees, vents, ledges, lampposts, and even signs. Starlings will eat seeds, fruit, food scraps, fruit, vegetables, and insects, making your home and yard a very abundant source of food for them. When starlings aggregate in large numbers, they can cause problems to homeowners due to the sheer volume of feces they generate and the cacophony of noise they produce. Their feces can deface and deteriorate buildings and structures and cause surfaces to become slippery. It can also contaminate livestock and kill trees. Their nests often clog machinery and drainage systems, leading to moisture buildup and the risk of fire. They are also known to transmit diseases like histoplasmosis.
Sparrows can be found in urban and rural areas, as well. They are known to build extremely messy nests using any materials they can find, including string, twigs, paper, and grass. They usually nest in areas that are covered and elevated, such as warehouses, stadiums, and airport hangers. They usually eat grain but will also eat fruit, seeds, food scraps, and even insects when necessary. Sparrows are able to reproduce extremely fast, making them difficult to control. They are an aggressive species and will often drive off other species of birds. Sparrow nests can cause fires and electrical shortages. They can also cause contamination and are associated with over 25 different diseases and parasites.
Pigeons are arguably the most common of the nuisance birds and are also responsible for some of the worst public health issues caused by birds. They usually nest in small, flat, elevated spaces like air conditioners, window sills and ledges, and pipes. They eat anything from grain to food scraps and even manure. Pigeon feces can deface buildings and other structures and cause slipping hazards on surfaces like sidewalks, stairs, and fire escapes. Their feces can also clog gutters and downspouts. Pigeons are also known to carry diseases like histoplasmosis. Pigeons are easily adaptable to their environments, making them difficult to control.
Any nuisance bird population can be difficult to control once they have established themselves in your area. Prevention is key to helping control these populations. Check out these bird prevention tips you can use to help deter these problem pests from your home and yard.
- Discourage people from feeding these birds in public areas.
- Clean up any spilled grain or feed daily.
- Make food and water sources as inaccessible as possible.
- Block building openings such as lofts, vents, eaves, window sills, and steeples) with wood, metal, glass, masonry, wire mesh, plastic or nylon.
- Change ledge angles to 45 degrees or more as this discourages roosting.
- Place netting over ornamental architecture.
- Screen the underside of rafters with netting or wire mesh screening.
- Install a permanent mechanical bird repellent like bird spikes to help eliminate roosting.
If you have a problem with nuisance birds, contact your local pest control company who specializes in bird control for a comprehensive evaluation and elimination plan.
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