Unruffled Evictions

What has changed drastically, however, is the dramatic shift away from elimination toward bird-proofing and exclusion. Today, much more emphasis is placed on making bird control techniques non-lethal. “There are a lot more options available to the PCO other than relocation or death and destruction,” said Pete Markham of A-Mark Pest Management in a presentation at the 62nd Purdue Pest Control Conference held this January in West Lafayette, Ind.

Much of this transition has come as a result of the increasing scrutiny placed on bird control by various activist groups. One of the most vocal activist groups has been the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). For instance, the group recently led the public outcry made when chickens were slaughtered in Hong Kong to prevent the spread of an avian-borne flu virus. “It is pitiful that human greed causes so much animal suffering...more than a million chickens killed in Hong Kong over avian flu fears,” states PETA literature. Though not directly related to urban pest bird control, PETA’s reaction illustrates the type of activism that PCOs must be aware of. As one bird management veteran put it, “the activists are in control today.”

In a bird control manual he developed for the Maryland Department of Agriculture, Dr. Richard Kramer wrote that “a growing number of individuals do not want any bird control, particularly if it involves using a toxicant.” Whether or not you agree that it is preferable to exclude birds rather than eliminate them, public opinion has pushed the industry toward non-lethal control techniques. “You can go out and kill cockroaches all day long and nobody is going to say anything about it,” Markham said. “But birds are near and dear to most people’s hearts.”

Experts say the most important thing you can do is to be aware of various activist groups and take their views into account when planning a bird-proofing job. “Before undertaking any bird control work, the effects that it will have on public opinion must be considered...reactions are rarely based on the pest management technique being employed, and can come from virtually any individual or group,” Kramer wrote. Kramer suggests educating customers and the general public on the hazards associated with birds. Furthermore, Kramer suggests emphasizing with these various groups the fact that your company employs IPM strategies “which are designed in most situations to dislodge, exclude and relocate the birds, rather than kill them.”

When installing bird control devices on visible, public buildings, Markham said PCOs should request letters of approval from city council members to avoid causing a public controversy over a control plan. “They’ll put pressure on the right people,” Markham pointed out.

KEEPING BIRDS OUT. Since increased pressure has been placed on companies to bird-proof rather than eliminate birds, both new and old techniques for excluding birds have been receiving more focus. One such new bird-proofing technique has been the use of a new product from Ecopic, called Ecopic Volt. The product is a bird deterrent device that uses both electric shock and sound to repel birds from buildings. The product comes in a roll and can be rolled out on building ledges and fastened to the ledge with silicone. No drilling is required to install the product, said Doug Willard of D&S Specialty Products, Kirkland, Wash.

Willard said stainless steel rods running through the roll deliver a continuous pulsing shock that does not harm birds but irritates them enough to keep them from returning. When pulsing, the product also emits a sound that deters the bird. Furthermore, Willard said the birds associate the sound with the unpleasant shocking, and thus eventually are deterred by simply hearing the sound of the Ecopic Volt.

A shock box installed on a structure is then attached to the roll with connecting wire. The product, Willard says, can cover a 2-foot section of a 14- to 18-inch wide ledge for around $4. Further saving costs, Willard said, the shock box uses a 9-volt battery, so it is not necessary to hire an electrician to install the wiring or box. The 10-yard rolls have a PVC base and can be connected together.

Willard recently used the product with success at the Boeing Company of Seattle, Wash. Pigeons were landing on a ledge above a huge sliding door used for bringing out manufactured 737s. The area below the ledge had actually become slippery with droppings, Willard said. Birds were also flying inside the building and disrupting operations. Willard installed the product on the ledge above the door, and no pigeons have since returned to the area.

Ecopic also used the product in a trial control program for deterring birds from a rooftop swimming pool. The swimming pool was atop a high-rise apartment complex, and was being visited by pigeons and seagulls. According to Ecopic general manager Solange Dubeauclard, Ecopic Volt has not only deterred birds from the swimming pool area, but also caused them to avoid the entire building.

Another manufacturer of bird control products, Bird Barrier America, Inc. of Redondo, Beach, Calif., has also introduced a bird-shocking product to the market. Bird Barrier’s Bird Shock employs a track system that delivers a harmless electrical shock similar to that of static electricity. The tracks are glued or screwed into a building ledge and the shock is transmitted through the bird’s feet when it touches a hot and ground wire, thus completing the circuit. The solar-powered charger unit is mounted to a wall near the start of the track. It is designed to power up to five miles of Bird Shock track. The charger unit sends an intermittent pulse down the track every three seconds. Each track is ½ inch high, 2 inches wide and 4 feet long. Tracks easily connect together with male/female interfaces, much like a toy train track, making the unit fast and easy to assemble.

Lon Martin, a vice president of service for Wildlife Control Technology Co. in Fresno, Calif., said his company has been using a new netting technique for keeping swallows from nesting on buildings. For best results, he suggests hanging netting vertically from eaves, extending down about 9 to 16 inches. According to Martin, this technique keeps swallows from building their mud nests on stucco walls. Martin said the swallows build the bottoms of their concave nest out of mud, but need to use an existing structure such as a roof for protecting the top of the nest. Hanging the net about 4 inches out from the wall is particularly effective. While residential customers may be reticent to have a net hanging down from their eaves, Martin has had particular success using the technique in commercial structures.

Martin cautions that it’s important to use an extruded net product such as polypropylene versus a knotted net that tends to collect moisture, allowing birds to form mud nests on the net itself.

Roger Snow of Hot Foot America said his company has developed two new techniques for securing bird netting to buildings. Snow discovered the first new technique on a job at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. To help solve the base’s sparrow and pigeon problem, netting had to be installed in areas constructed of special grade steel that actually bent or “bounced off” nails being driven into the steel. As a result, Snow developed the Clipset Steel fastener and used it in conjunction with a special ballistic-point nail. When inserted into the clipset and fired into the steel, the nail embedded itself fully, thus attaching the stainless steel clip.

For areas where only small sections of netting have to be fitted, Hot Foot developed a self adhesive fitting called Netlock. With this two-piece system, one piece has an adhesive back for attachment to the surface. The second piece then attaches with velcro, “sandwiching” the netting in place.

Increased public pressure has forced companies to focus on bird-proofing. As a result, exclusion techniques such as netting are being used more often.

TIME-TESTED TECHNIQUES. While new products are frequently introduced for the bird control market, many of the techniques and products used for bird proofing are improvements on techniques that have been used for decades in the industry. Anthony D’Amato Jr. of D’Amato Bird Control Company in Philadelphia, Pa., said his company has used many of the same techniques for nearly 25 years — cleaning and disinfecting followed by netting and screening of infested areas.

“When it comes to birds, they’re so tough to control that the tried and true methods usually stick,” said Bruce Donoho of Bird-B-Gone. As a result, many of the new product offerings in the market are improvements on classic bird-proofing ideas. For instance, Donoho said, while his company’s Bird-B-Gone Spikes have been successfully used for years, the company is now offering the spikes pre-assembled to save labor and installation time. Product development is focused on improving established methods, Donoho said, because “you always want to stick with something that works.” Whether you are using newly developed products or time-tested techniques, bird control can still be a challenge. “When you’re doing bird work, be prepared for anything and everything, because there is always going to be something you didn’t expect,” said Markham.

The author is assistant editor of PCT.