[Special Supplement: Bird Control] Bird Control Case Studies

Editor’s note: The following case studies were supplied by various bird control product suppliers.

Supplier: Bird-B-Gone
Web site: www.birdbgone.com

Bird Problem: 97-Year-Old Structure Proves Challenging

Adams Bird Control & Consulting performed a bird control installation on Colorado State University’s Construction Science Building. This unique structure was built in 1910 and has traditional Corinthian-capped columns. For years, pigeons had infiltrated the leaves of the cap, causing a tremendous mess and an unhealthy situation. Column caps are difficult to net to say the least, but what made this project even more challenging was the age of the concrete.
Concrete made at the turn of the century did not have the same adhesive properties that today’s concrete has; therefore, as it has aged, it has become brittle, making any type of construction-based bird control product difficult to attach to its surface.

Adams Bird Control used 2-inch black heavy-duty netting from Bird-B-Gone with a cable tension system. Understanding load principles and the age of concrete, Adams knew that its technicians could not drill or Hilti pin into the columns themselves. Instead, Adams made a hanging loop around the base of the cap, then attached 1/16 cable to the hanging loop and ran the cable over the four corners of the leaves and up to the top plate slab. It was at that point that Adams drilled into the middle of the slab top plate underneath the engraving lip at one point, and again 1½ feet away, and sunk concrete net spikes into the holes. Adams then attached the netting taut with a low profile four-wall system.

“We enjoy a good challenge, and this one was a fun one to solve,” said Ben Adams, president of Adams Bird Control & Consulting. “We appreciate the quality products and technical support that Bird-B-Gone gave us on this project. They are a great partner in bird control.”

Supplier: Bird Barrier
Web site: www.birdBARRIER.com

Bird Problem: Rooftop Renegades Run Roughshod Over Office Building

The facility manager for a California office building recently had a problem that was both unexpected and quickly becoming costly. Pigeons and sparrows were nesting both on and under the HVAC equipment in a rooftop pit. At first, the building management didn’t realize the extent of the problem, as it was all out of sight on the rooftop. Eventually, an odor began to creep through the building’s air systems. When the facility manager sent for a HVAC specialist to diagnose the source of the problem, they discovered a bird problem that had grown out of control. Dead birds were scattered among nesting live birds and the droppings and nesting material buildup were awful. It was so bad that the HVAC repairmen refused to enter the pit because they were concerned about the health risks, as mites had descended through the air system and were biting office workers.

The facility manager realized this was a large-scale bird problem and contacted the bird control team at Southern California Building Services for help resolving the situation. Southern California’s Mike Wiley worked with Mark Thorsell, Bird Barrier sales manager, to determine the best bird control product. Thorsell recommended installing StealthNet bird netting to seal off the entire HVAC pit, as this would completely deny the birds any access to the area.

“It was a real mess down there in the pit,” Wiley said. “There was a large buildup of bird droppings several inches thick and a lot of nesting materials. We thoroughly cleaned and disinfected the site before we began to install the products. With all of that bird mess there was a potential that bacteria and parasites would remain if we didn’t clean the area properly.”

“The 3/4-inch StealthNet was a logical choice as they needed to completely exclude the birds from the entire rooftop area,” Thorsell said. “Our StealthNet bird netting is guaranteed to withstand the elements for a minimum of ten years and it seals off the entire area. They installed net zippers or clips wherever they need access for maintenance, which makes for a perfect solution to this problem.”

The StealthNet installation included a stainless steel perimeter cable system that attached to the parapet cap surrounding the HVAC pit. The rooftop was divided into six problem areas and each was enclosed with netting. Sectioning the roof made it easier to stretch the bird net taut across the area to deny birds access as well as ensuring no gaps were left along the perimeter cable through which birds could squeeze.

“The project only took us about a week from start to finish,” said Wiley. “They were really happy with the results, and I know they haven’t had any more problems because we’ve followed up with them to make sure no birds squeezed through the netting.” The building management got a long-lasting deterrent system that will keep all birds locked out of that property for years to come.
 
Supplier: Bird-X
Web site: www.birdx.com

Bird Problem: Vamoose to the Goose

The surge in the Canada goose population has become a noticeable problem from Washington state to Maine, as more and more of the “pretty” critters find much to like at lakes and ponds in corporate and residential complexes, municipal parks, upscale resorts, and laid-back golf-course communities. This gives grief to property managers everywhere.

Jim Bland, owner/director of Integrated Lakes Management in Gurnee, Ill., said that a single 100-acre lake in northern Illinois was home to an estimated 12,000 Canada geese as a part of a winter time “super-flock.” Experts now measure the goose population in terms of “resident days” and number of animals on location. Bland doesn’t mince words. “Lawns can be carpeted with feces,” he says, noting that clean-up costs can be substantial. The need to address the issue is growing as suburban and rural areas collide. The retention ponds built by developers to handle storm water run-off and control flooding are often irresistible attractions to a flock of geese seeking breeding grounds.
Bland recalls that a single pair of geese took up residence near the entrance of a stylish corporate center. The geese, classically territorial and assertive, were chasing employees and visitors away. It wasn’t especially good for business or for employee relations.

Bland tells his clients up front: “There’s no surefire method that works all the time in all places.” He operates on the assumption that while no one can solve the goose problem 100 percent, he can certainly keep it under control by applying a variety of management techniques in different combinations.

For example, control techniques need to be varied, depending on the life-history phase of the invading geese, the severity of infestation, the condition and type of property, the time of year, and the cost of deterrence. In compliance with the law, property owners are entitled to deter migratory birds by harassing them without harming them. Major methods of control fall into five categories.

Habitat modification. Introduce barriers to entry. For example, erecting fences or establishing tall grasses and thick vegetation at water’s edge around the perimeter of a small lake can serve as useful deterrents. Another method is to construct grids or place netting over entire ponds, reservoirs and similar bodies of water to prevent geese from landing in the first place. But this is not aesthetically acceptable in many circumstances and can be costly to install and maintain. Also, post signs saying “Please do not feed the geese.”

Frighten geese with visual objects or noise-makers. This includes using reflective tape, flapping flags, scarecrows, water sprays, big-eyed balloons, fake owls, propane “cannon shots,” and programmable sound-producing devices that broadcast bird distress cries to scare away the scouting geese. Dogs can be employed to chase geese, and especially vulnerable goslings, but not in situations where unleashed dogs pose a threat or inconvenience to human inhabitants.

Disrupt and discourage entry, nesting, and breeding by using decoys and competitors. Since swans are natural enemies of geese, swan decoys can be used to ward off intruders. Better yet, try a pair of real swans to drive off encroaching waterfowl. “But,” warns Bland, “the care and maintenance of swans is not so easy and it can be expensive.”

Employ birth control or death control. Egg depredation is often used to control geese. That is, fertilized eggs in the nest are shaken to destroy the embryos. This method requires a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bland says, and must be timed impeccably. A similar method is to coat the eggs with vegetable oil, which suffocates the developing embryos. Hunting — in season and where sanctioned — helps keep geese populations down, but obviously cannot be undertaken in urban and suburban locations.

Repellents. In recent years, repellents such as GooseChase, made by Bird-X, have proved to be effective deterrents. GooseChase is a concentrate made from extracts of grape parts found to be most distasteful to geese. A solution of one part GooseChase to 30 parts of water is sprayed on the grass and vegetation where the geese normally forage. The solution irritates their palates, which sends them away to “greener pastures” elsewhere. “Geese find it noxious,” Bland says. Bland, who founded his consulting and lake management business in 1987, recommends using a backpack sprayer to distribute the GooseChase solution evenly and widely. “It produces better distribution over the lawn. Our crew members use the same precautions as with any chemical: protective gloves and Tyvek suits,” he adds.

Supplier: Fly-Bye Bird Control
Web site: www.flybye.com

Bird Problem: Free-Flying Birds Roosting and Nesting in a Grocery Store

The grocery store in question requested a  service technician come out with the intention of removing unwanted sparrows and starlings that have learned how to enter the building through loading dock doors and open windows.
Removal guidelines given by the customer were simple. Remove the pest birds without harming the birds.

After assessing the situation and evaluating products, the service technician chose Fly-Bye Bird Control’s Capture Kit. The kit contains the essentials for safely and humanely removing unwanted pest birds from inside structures.

Knowing that the capture kit is just one component of a comprehensive bird management program, the pest management firm insisted on performing an on-site evaluation. The evaluation included recommendations for the store to eliminate as many staging areas outside the store as possible. The pest management firm arrived the following day at first light to begin its bird removal. The bird’s biological clock typically gets them moving just after day break. The job involved removing about 12 birds using Capture Kits. Each kit contained two telescoping extension poles with attachments that could be hung from the ceiling beams. Also included was a mist net and small laser pointer as well as an instructional video.

Before the kits were removed from their carrying cases, the technicians watched the birds fly from one end of the store to the other. Distinguishing their flight patterns is a must; simply raising the nets in random locations does not guarantee that the birds will fly into them. Sometimes early in the morning or late at night it’s a good idea to bang around the beams to get the birds moving. If they are hunkered down on a roost they might not see the laser beam; however, the noise the poles make when hitting the beams gets their attention and starts them moving.

One valuable aspect of the Capture Kits is that most customers in the store did not even notice the pest management firm and the ones that did thought it was great that they were not harming the birds, but rather capturing them and removing them from the store. After only a few minutes the first bird was captured. The telescoping poles were retracted and the pest bird was carefully removed. Within a few moments, the net and poles were extended back along the ceiling ready for another catch. After two hours all but two were safely captured. Captured birds typically will be put in an open trap and situated close to the capture nets. This helps to attract more birds into the area. The capture nets were taken down to try a new location; within 20 minutes the two remaining birds were captured.

Supplier: Nixalite
Web site: www.nixalite.com

Bird Problem: Raptor Air Strikes Controlled at Travis Air Force Basee

John Horton is operations supervisor for Wildlife Control Technology (WCT) in Fresno, Calif. He’s been with the company for more than 13 years. Horton recently was called upon to solve a bird problem at Travis Air Force Base, located in the Delta region of California’s San Francisco Bay.

Large raptors, including red-tailed hawks, were landing on taxiway signs and near runways and striking large aircraft during daily training. Among Horton’s client contacts at Travis AFB was Master Sergeant Edwin F. Allert, flight safety NCO/BASH manager. “We were experiencing bird strikes from large birds, including the red-tail hawk. The hawks were perching in and around the airfield because of rodent and insect populations and it was a nice habitat for them. Because of the large birds — particularly their size and weight — the impact would cause damage to the aircraft flying in our local pattern,” Allert said. “Thankfully, no one was injured in any of the strikes, but the potential was definitely there.”

According to Horton, contracts with U.S. military consume time from the bid process to the detailed installation. “You need to be sure your company has all the proper credentials required by our military. For example, background checks are required of employees, proper insurance and registration for all vehicles is mandatory, and you have to provide such documents daily.

“In a nutshell, if you don’t have good reliable employees, your company will not be doing work for our military.”

WCT installed 1,300 feet of Premium Model S Nixalite in 4-foot strips to the top of the taxiway signs. The installation called for 1,200 of Nixalite’s proprietary glue clips. 

“Using Nixalite’s glue clips allows for the option of removing the spikes for cleaning or maintenance, which is preferable to gluing down the strips directly. The clips are made of marine-grade stainless steel and one clip can join two Nixalite spike strips together. We used adhesive to fasten the clips, which can also be fastened with nails or screws,” said Horton.

According to Horton, Nixalite provides six types of clips for their company’s bird control strips, which accommodate virtually any type of installation — on masonry, wood, sheet metal, steel, iron, and 1- and 3-inch pipe.

According to Allert, the installation was a success. “Based on observations from the contract falconers, airfield management and my personal observations, the problem was resolved as soon as the spikes were installed and the birds realized that they were uncomfortable,” he said. “This can also be proven by the fact that we do not see bird droppings on the signs like we did before.”