[Bird Control] For The Birds

Let’s face it, people like birds. There are bird feeders in homes and parks, bird watching is an increasingly popular pastime, and birds are even kept as pets by many Americans. Most people don’t want birds to be harmed. Yet bird management is something that is both needed and profitable.
However, being a business that can bring hefty fines, severe illnesses and high start-up costs, bird management is not something everyone is jumping into, nor should they. As people already involved know, it’s a complicated business, but it can pay big dividends for your pest control company if done properly. That’s why Frank Meek, technical director with Orkin Pest Control, Atlanta, Ga., made the risks — and opportunities — perfectly clear when he spoke at PestWorld 2005 in Nashville, Tenn.
“It really is a tricky business, more so than killing cockroaches or killing ants,” Meek said during his presentation, titled Building a Bird Control Business. “We really have to know what we’re doing, and really want to go into this business, before we get into this business.”
While Meek was upfront about the challenges of bird work, he also was upfront about its benefits.  Much money can be lost, but money also can be made. Inadvertantly killing a protected species of bird may cost a PCO a fortune in fines, but managing such risks and performing quality bird control work also can produce significant profits for PCOs, while providing a valuable public service. As you can see, the bird management business is full of contradictions.
 
PREREQUISITES AND HAZARDS. No matter how much some people like them, bird management is needed because birds sometimes create significant problems. They can cause health risks, secondary pest introduction, property damage and product contamination.
However, no matter how necessary bird management may be, there are still laws that must be followed. In fact, Meek said there are only three birds that are not protected by some law or act somewhere. They are the common pigeon, the English sparrow and the European starling. Even seagulls and geese are protected, which means that a special permit is usually needed to remove them — though it will probably be relatively easy to secure. Ignoring any of the various laws protecting birds and their habitats can lead to fines up to $500,000 and/or jail time.
“These laws are serious,” said Meek. “They are seriously enforced, and you have to know what’s inside these laws, rules and regulations if you’re going to be in the bird business.”
Learning about and understanding a region’s laws regarding birds is an early step in starting a bird management business, but an essential one. Checking once isn’t enough either. The best thing to do, Meek said, is to check the laws every time a new job is taken on — unless the bird is a pigeon, sparrow or starling.
Another prerequisite to offering bird control is having the ability to correctly identify birds. Misidentifying a bird can mean having to pay fines instead of getting paid. Not only does the business owner have to be capable of this, but employees also must have this ability in order to avoid, for example, removing a bird that looks like a sparrow, but is a protected species.
“You’ve got to know which bird you’re going after,” Meek said. “Positive ID is the difference between success and heavy fines.”
People interested in bird management also must be aware of the health risks involved, disease being one of them. Birds are not the cleanest of animals, and they can carry many bacterial and viral agents. Therefore, disease transmission can be a serious problem for both customers and employees. Personal hygiene is very important in avoiding illness. Employees must wash their hands, especially after handling birds or droppings. Otherwise, they could contract one of the many familiar and potentially fatal diseases (salmonella, E. coli, listeria, etc.) that birds are capable of transmitting to humans.
“There are many disease organisms that come off birds,” Meek said. “They’re found inside the droppings, the feces. They’re found inside body parts, the feathers and so forth.”
Falls are also a big concern for PCOs involved in bird control work for two primary reasons. First, it frequently requires technicians to work high off the ground on roofs and ledges. Second, when servicing these locations technicians are exposed to potentially slick bird droppings. Together, these things can add up to hazardous working conditions and dangerous falls if proper safety precautions aren’t followed. “If your worker’s on a rooftop doing work for any pest, and that rooftop is covered in bird droppings and it’s a little bit damp, your technician can slip and fall very easily,” Meek said.

GEARING UP. After accepting the potential monetary and health risks, there are many other things to think about before starting a bird management business. There are start-up costs (licenses and equipment), specialized training (identifying birds), and a new environment to adapt to (up, not down).
The safety gear needed to perform bird work can be costly, and having it is an absolute necessity. Employees need breathing protection, eye protection, dermal protection, foot protection, head protection and harnesses. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration has specific rules regarding worker safety, and they must be followed.
“The one thing that I will string someone up over is if safety issues are not followed,” Meek said. “Safety has to happen. OSHA has to be a concern and a consideration.”
Aside from safety gear, bird management companies must be prepared to either rent or buy access equipment such as cherry pickers, which can be costly. Depending on the job, employees also will need, among other things: binoculars, cameras, tape measures, ladders, bucket lifts, scissor lifts, scaffolding, battery-operated drills, power hammers, basic hand tools, compressed air sprayers and any bird control products they’ll use. Specialized training is needed for technicians and salespeople. Technicians must learn how to use some equipment they may have never used. They also will need to know about different types of construction, such as aircraft hangars and other unique structures. And, of course, they should know how to tell whether a bird is a sparrow or a Carolina chickadee. Fortunately, many product manufacturers will provide training for employees at bird management companies if asked, Meek said.
Salespeople need to be very thorough, very creative and very patient — thorough to complete extensive surveys; creative because no two bird control jobs are alike; and patient because sometimes selling a bird job can take months. Meek said he had one job where 11 months passed from the time the customer called to the time he finally began the work.
“Bird work doesn’t necessarily happen today,” Meek said. “It’s not a cockroach job where you can make the proposal today and start the service tomorrow. There’s a lot of time involved in doing all the things that go into putting together a good management program.”
The new environment that comes with bird management is not going to appeal to people who are afraid of heights, which is a common fear. “There’s no bird work done on the ground. All bird work is done where the birds are. Up high, in the air.”

SERVICE OPTIONS. While it’s true that doing bird management requires working up high, the business can be tailored to fit people’s preferences in other ways. There are, for example, several types of services that bird management companies may choose to offer. 
Bird abatement is what companies usually think of first, which is removing birds that are presenting problems for current or new customers. However, maintenance of the initial work is a service that Meek said is virtually untapped. Technicians can earn money by checking to see if old work is holding up, and even making modifications if birds have changed their habits. “If you do bird work…make it a recurring maintenance sort of thing,” Meek said. “You can go out and check your work periodically, and charge for that inspection.”
Repairing old work or work done incorrectly by someone else is another option. This can be hard (removing product from concrete isn’t easy), but very profitable. New construction is another option that Meek said is untapped. If a lot of development is happening, it might be possible to contract with business owners and do work to prevent problems with birds before they ever happen.
Cleaning is another service to offer, and one Meek thinks could be either a business in itself or an extra billable service. Birds are messy, and many of the diseases they carry come from their droppings. Additionally, Meek said a lot of people will perform bird work but don’t want to clean. “You can do cleaning all by itself, without offering all the control,” he said. “You can still make some money in bird management by doing that.”
 
COMMITMENT. Bird work requires a lot of careful planning and decision-making, from the initial decision to offer it, to the products to use, to the specific services to offer. It also requires extensive research into local policies, laws and procedures. Lastly, it requires a lot of money all around, both from the business and from the customer. All of these are reasons for people to not enter the business unless they’re certain they want to do it. 
“Don’t go into the bird business unless you’re into the bird business,” said Meek. “Don’t do it halfway. Commit the resources and do it properly, or don’t do it at all.”

The author is a contributing writer for PCT and can be contacted at mpeters@giemedia.com.