Tips Of The Trade

Walk down any big city street and you will soon see which urban pest is the most visible and, in many cases, the most obnoxious. Pigeons are everywhere in our cities and towns so any building with a ledge is subject to roosting, loafing or nesting activities. The birds would not be so bad if they knew how to use a communal toilet, but they go where they are, so to speak, thus defacing buildings and exposing people to potential disease organisms.

Controlling pigeons and other pest birds is not easy. Solving bird problems on buildings requires creativity, hard work and often a complete lack of fear of heights. In the past five to 10 years, bird control as practiced by pest control companies in the United States has gone from use of baits (such as Avitrol) as a primary strategy to a burgeoning industry offering a variety of bird exclusion products. The time has never been better to offer bird control services.

Still, with all the choices currently available, failures often occur which require return trips and added expense. This article will discuss a few tips for avoiding common mistakes in using bird exclusion products.

THE PRODUCTS. A number of companies from Bird Barrier (800/503-5444), Hot Foot International (800/533-8421) and Bird-B-Gone (800/392-6915) to Bird-X (800/662-5021), Ecopic (888/248-6653) and InterNet (800/328-8456) offer a variety of bird exclusion products. Consult these manufacturers, your distributor or trade magazines for more information regarding the various products available (see company listing on page 66).

Exclusion products fall into several broad categories: (1) gels, (2) bird spikes and coils, (3) wires, (4) shock devices and (5) netting. A miscellaneous category might include such unique products as Bird Barrier’s Daddi Long Legs.™

PRODUCT SELECTION. Netting provides the most complete and long-lasting results in excluding birds, but it is the most expensive method and is not suitable for every situation. Likewise, a gel may be best in one case but may be a poor choice for another. The biggest mistakes made in bird control often involve the choice of exclusion method.

For example, say a restaurant hires a company to exclude pigeons from roosting on the sign in front of the building. The least expensive method, so it seems, is to place a bead of bird gel on the top of the sign. Should work, right? But if one were to stand and watch how many different birds alight on the sign during the course of a few hours, it becomes apparent that the gel is slowly being removed. After a time — weeks, maybe months — the gel is degraded to a point that it no longer serves as a deterrent. The mistake here is in using a gel in a high-traffic area for birds. Signs often serve as resting points for pigeons in between stops. Each bird landing on the gel is not likely to return and if hundreds of different birds use the sign and test the gel, the gel is removed. Another reason gels are not recommended for signs is that some gel products are not labeled for small birds. Smaller birds can become ensnared in the gel and die, thus creating a potential negative public relations issue. A better choice in this situation is a row of spikes which should provide years of relief.

What about long ledges? Should bird spikes or other spike-type products be used here? If you price it out, you’ll see that such products will be more expensive for a long ledge (extending 100 feet or more) than wire products such as Hot Foot’s Spring Wire.™ Properly installed, these wire products are less obtrusive visually and far less expensive for a long ledge. On the other hand, wires may not be as good a choice for short ledges.

Say a building has several ledges close together near the top where pigeons roost and nest. Should you install wire products? Spikes? Gel? How much labor might be expended installing such devices? Maybe enclosing all the ledges with netting would be easier and possibly less expensive when all of the costs and time are factored in.

What about air conditioning units on a commercial building’s roof that are bothered by pigeons roosting? A solid solution would be to construct a frame around each AC unit and attach netting. But construction of such frames would likely be quite expensive. In this situation, installing Bird Barrier’s Daddi Long Legs on top of each unit is likely to deter pigeons from roosting. This approach would be far less expensive than using other products. Of course, if sparrows were involved, the Daddi Long Legs would not be effective.

Examine each situation carefully and employ the one method or combination of methods sure to cover all of the avenues the pest birds might target as roosting, loafing or nesting sites. Selecting the proper method and devices to install is crucial to success and in making the service economically feasible to the customer.

THE PERSISTENCE OF PEST BIRDS. Don’t underestimate the persistence of pigeons and other birds to overcome the obstacles you place before them. The author has seen numerous situations where pigeons succeeded in finding the "weak link" in the exclusion system. Here are some examples:

• Bird spikes on a ledge were not installed close enough to the wall and pigeons were able to land behind them.

• In reverse, another situation revealed the spikes placed not close enough to the front edge of the roof and pigeons were able to land.

• In areas where paper and other debris can collect in corners may not be a good place to install bird spikes. In such a situation, the spikes catch the debris and provide a corner for pigeons to land.

• More mistakes are likely made installing netting than in using any other type of exclusion device. It is amazing how many net installations have the netting not pulled tightly. If any part of the netting sags too far, a pigeon may be able to land on the netting as it settles onto a surface below. For this reason, any netting that is installed horizontally or at a slight angle needs to be supported at least 8 inches above the surface, even if additional vertical support posts need to be installed (e.g., pieces of wood or better yet, metal pipe, bolted to a wall).

If the netting is attached to vertical support posts, the top of these posts are commonly overlooked as potential roosting sites. It is important to attach a bird spike or two to the top of such supports to discourage this activity.

In one situation, ¾-inch bird netting was installed over and around a patio to exclude sparrows and pigeons. Unfortunately, the pest control company discovered that pigeons have little difficulty landing on top of ¾-inch netting. In order to exclude both pigeons and the smaller sparrows, the horizontal portion of the netting must have a second layer of 2½-inch netting installed 6 inches above the ¾-inch netting. The ¾-inch netting keeps out the sparrows and the 2½-inch netting keeps the pigeons from landing on the netting and defecating on the area below. Another solution is to not install the ¾-inch netting in a horizontal position. Installed at a steep angle (30 degree to 45 degree angle), pigeons should not be able to land on the netting.

Beware of small openings that seemingly should not allow birds inside the netting. The birds will be able to find such openings eventually. After netting has been installed, examine all edges and corners carefully. Cables supporting the netting should be tight — having about 1 inch of play in either direction when pulled. Cables too loose inevitably allow the netting to sag in spots where birds might be able to enter. Another net installation mistake is to locate the cable retaining clips too far apart along the edge. Each eye-bolt or retaining clip attachment should be no more than 3 to 4 feet from the next to exclude pigeons and no further than 2 feet spacing for smaller birds.

TIPS FOR SUCCEEDING AT BIRD CONTROL. One of the biggest reasons a pest control company might not sell much bird work is they don’t pursue it as aggressively as they do other services, such as termite control. They do not plan how to find the work, how to market their services and how to sell bird work effectively and efficiently. Here are some suggestions to get more bird control work for your company.

• Look for the work. Birds are the easiest pest to observe infesting buildings because they are quite visible as one drives down a street. Every building in a city or town is a potential candidate for bird control work if one pays attention. Only the building owner’s tolerance for birds and their destructive activities will limit his or her desire to buy bird control services. To succeed once you’ve made an initial exploratory contact is to design the most cost effective and long-term control program for the situation at hand.

• Everyone in the company needs to be behind bird control services. The office staff needs to be knowledgeable and helpful and "speak the language." Sales professionals need to be as astute in the installation of the various exclusion devices as the person who installs it. Managers need to encourage the sales staff to bid bird work as often as they do termite and pest control work. Expect to sell bird work and the company will. However, if the attitude expressed around the office goes something like this, "Well, if the customer calls asking about birds, we’ll give it our best shot," then you’re unlikely to grow this potentially significant profit center.

• Start small. Never take on the $30,000 net job on the 10-story building as the initial foray into bird exclusion services. Start with bird spike installation and small netting jobs that might cost customers $1,000 to $2,000. Once employees become comfortable installing such devices, take on larger jobs.

• Use manufacturers as a primary resource for problem solving. After all, if you don’t sell the jobs, they can’t sell you their products. Some manufacturers have training videos and offer training classes. Ask them for their help.

To succeed in bird control services, your entire company has to be as committed to it as you might be for pest control and termite control. Selling and installing bird exclusion services must become part of the company culture. Big dollars and profit won’t happen overnight, but it will happen with the right attitude.