[Bird Control] Sky’s The Limit?

More customers are becoming aware of the need for bird control and the jobs up for grabs are more numerous. As a result, more companies are getting into the business of bird work. But those jobs are becoming smaller — and paying less — than jobs in the past, which can hinder some companies’ ability to make a successful run at this growing niche market.

MORE PEOPLE, SMALLER JOBS. Scott Steckel, vice president of operations, Varment Guard, Columbus, Ohio, said customers — especially places like supermarkets and food plants — used to concern themselves with bird control only when product was damaged or spoiled. But now, more people are aware of the health risks posed by birds and their droppings. So awnings, garages and warehouses are seen more as liabilities and potential harborages for birds.

“Everybody is now concerned,” said Steckel, who also serves as a director at large of the National Pest Management Association and chairs its wildlife division.

What used to be a service reserved for the wealthy now is becoming available for more and more consumers. A typical job used to be big, involved and cost anywhere from $30,000 to $80,000, Steckel said. Now, with more companies entering the market, and more awareness of the industry as a whole, the typical job is smaller — even a single-family house or one store in an outlet mall — and costs about $6,000, he said.

And what used to be about a dozen regional companies offering bird control work has expanded into many smaller pest control companies offering some form of bird work. “It seems, as an industry, more providers are saying, ‘I can do that,’” Steckel said.

Bird work comprises 12 percent of his firm’s revenues, and Steckel has seen revenues from bird control grow from $500,000 to $800,000 last year. He expects about $1.2 million for 2008.

QUESTION OF PROFITABILITY. But as more companies enter the market, and the cost of jobs drops, the question is whether the work can remain as profitable. Steckel said material costs are remaining fairly flat, but the costs for labor and unknowns — like rental fees for boom lifts, overtime for clients who want service during off-hours and lost revenue from pulling technicians off their daily pest and termite control routes — are going up.

With a slow economy, many of the jobs from big clients get put on hold. Add to that the fact that most companies don’t have the volume of bird work to dedicate an entire division to it, and the whole operation doesn’t look as appealing, Steckel said.

“The work is hard to schedule and can be inefficient,” he said. “That’s not changing.”

Stuart Aust, president of Bird Doctor, Paramus, N.J., said he has been surprised by the growth of the residential side of the bird control industry. Ten years ago, he said, he would never have thought the company would expand into residential work.

“There’s a big need out there. I think people are getting hip to the fact that there is a company that can take care of your problems,” Aust said.
The growing awareness of bird work also has led to more involvement of companies on the front end of building projects. John Livingston, Varment Guard’s vice president and operations director, said he sees a lot more new construction orders coming in.

“Mostly now it’s already in the specifications. We are getting the bidders and contractors. More architects are calling (and) asking for input when building the specifications,” he said.

TRAINING DAY. And while many more companies are entering the business of bird control, firms in this niche industry will need more specifically trained technicians to succeed.

“The need for major work is going to become much more…training will be at a maximum,” said Ed Herron, owner and CEO of Freedom Specialty Services, Pittman, N.J. “To do work on the high level needed these days…you’re going to have to have people out there that are well-trained in the business. Companies are demanding higher skills.”

Firms that don’t have highly skilled people, he said, “will fall by the wayside. Those that are willing to (invest in quality employees) will prosper.”

Herron’s company covers New Jersey, Delaware and the Philadelphia area, and provides power washing and duct cleaning services; it does not perform other pest control work. Herron has been in the bird control industry for 30 years, and said he has seen an increase in interest in his services.

Aust said he also sees a need for more training for bird control technicians. Much of the work done is up high, usually on a lift, which requires its own training and certification. Bird Doctor subcontracts for 10 other pest control companies, including some large, nationwide firms. These contracts bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars, he said, and it’s just a matter of time before larger companies develop their own divisions to keep that work in house.

“A lot more people are jumping in,” he said. Smaller pest management companies call him, too, so they can offer bird control services to their customers. “They’re not sure what to do, but they know there’s an opportunity here.”

But Livingston, who also manages Varment Guard’s Northwestern branch in Bellefontaine, Ohio, said many companies jump in without fully evaluating the requirements and demands such a service offering will present.

“I don’t think they realize the real cost in doing the work,” he said. “They don’t realize how much it takes from their business.”

SPLIT ON LETHAL CONTROL. Aust said more of his clients are seeking non-lethal control options, and predicts governments will continue to ban certain lethal control methods. His company is performing more and more residential work, and managers at condos, co-ops and apartment complexes are getting pressure from their residents to exclude before killing, he said. “People are looking for a friendlier solution to bird problems.”

Varment Guard’s Steckel said about half of the states across the country have mandated companies use exclusion and live trapping.

But Tim Julien, owner of A and T Wildlife Management, Indianapolis, and president of the National Wildlife Control Operators Association, said he has seen a growing interest, especially by his commercial accounts, in lethal control.

“As an owner of a wildlife control company I am very happy being able to actually solve a customer’s immediate problem and implement a maintenance plan,” Julien said. “It’s more acceptable to do the right thing and not the politically correct thing. The general public themselves want the problem solved.”

He said he gets positive feedback from customers when he lays out their options in a forthright and straightforward manner. 

“Generally, people overall want the right answers. And they want a real answer. If that includes killing an animal, they’re OK with that,” Julien said.

The author is assistant editor of PCT magazine.