IT'S IN THE DETAILS

Are you considering starting a bird control program? One expert advises that you start small and think carefully before bidding your first job.

So, you’re driving down the road and you notice numerous pigeons roosting on the front of a hotel. Their droppings are staining the walls of the building. They are even roosting in the gutters along the roof’s edge. A perfect sales opportunity!

You call on the hotel’s manager and yes, they don’t like the pigeons and would like something done about something done about it. How much? Well, the first thing to know about bird work is that the price is in the details. Second, the customer will come to understand that bird work is often more expensive than they might think. Third, if you’re experienced in bird work, you know the customer’s decision regarding purchasing the service may take awhile, usually because money must be appropriated in the budget to cover the expense. You are going to do a lot of work up front knowing the payoff might be months down the road. If you want to be a major player in the bird control market, however, you have to play the game and invest your time and effort. The payoff can be significant in terms of both revenue for your company and for your profits.

This article will not attempt to demonstrate the pricing of an actual bird job. The cost of labor, equipment rental, a company’s preferred profit margin, etc. are too varied from region to region of the country. The factors affecting the decisions as to what bird control methods are used and subsequent considerations will be offered by examining on fictional bird control job on a hotel. It will be up to you to work with your distributor or bird control product supplier to develop the pricing for materials and equipment rental and for you to decide on your margin of profit. By examining the following factors, you may come to appreciate the involved nature of bird work and thus, realize the effort and rewards of competing for such work.

WATCH THE BIRDS. It’s not enough to just spend a few minutes looking at where the pigeons are roosting on the hotel. At this particular moment in time, you don’t know if you’re seeing the majority of the pigeons or if most of the flock is elsewhere feeding. You can, however, see where pigeons spend most of their time by noting the location of droppings on the building, nests and birdfeathers trapped behind grates, in alcoves, etc.

It is a good idea when developing your bird control plan to visit the building at different times of the day and observe the number of pigeons, where they sit and their activity – e.g., are they feeding on the property or flying elsewhere? You also want to determine the commitment level of the flock and also the specific sites on the building where traffic is heavy or to which birds appear committed. Heavily committed birds will be difficult to displace and, in some cases, may have to be trapped and removed.

Commitment can be determined often by the amount of droppings, nests and bird-related detritus (feathers, old nests, etc.). Large numbers of birds may also indicate that the building is a preferred roosting site especially in conjunction with the previously mentioned signs.

DIAGRAM THE BUILDING. Each site needing bird exclusion devices must be carefully measured and diagrammed. This information is critical for determining the amount of equipment (netting, wire, etc.) necessary and for estimating the amount of time to complete the work. If you cannot reach a ledge or another site to accurately measure it, you may need to "guesstimate." It is best to overestimate the measurements to avoid possibly underestimating the cost of the materials and labor.

You will also decide if a lift is necessary and the height of lift needed. If a lift is not feasible (e.g., installing netting on a 10-storybuilding), will some of the work need to be completed by persons in bosun chairs or harnesses? During this inspection, you must also decide if you have the personnel to do the work. You may have to hire part-time workers who are qualified for such work and who are comfortable working at heights.

DECIDING THE METHODS. This step is the most important because many mistakes are made in the selection of exclusion method. For example, bird gels are often used on ledges, tops of signs, etc., where bird traffic is high. Such a choice usually results in failure because the gel is degraded by continual "testing" by numerous birds. Other, more permanent devices, such as bird (or spring) wire, coils or an electric system, should be used in areas of heavy traffic.

Another consideration is whether simply netting the entire affected area is more efficient and aesthetically pleasing than wire, gel or other devices on numerous ledges on the face of a building. Cost and customer preference may play a role in this decision. You may offer the customer options and show them the advantages/disadvantages and let them make the call (as long as both strategies offered will be effective). Here are some ideas to keep in mind when evaluating potential bird control use.

Take Pictures: You will run into situations where you are unsure of the method to use. Also, if you’re relatively new to bird control, you will need to consult experienced people for help. A digital camera is a must for taking pictures so they can be e-mailed to someone else in your company or to a bird product company. These companies are more than happy to assist in devising strategies to exclude birds for specific situations. If you don’t have a digital camera, a conventional camera will do, but will slow down the process because of development, mailing, etc.

Ledges: Let’s examine the choices for excluding birds from ledges. A couple of factors are important — specifically, the length of the ledge and the width of the ledge.

Short ledges, such as windowsills or narrow decorative ledges above windows and doors can be protected with bird gel in low-traffic areas. Gels are not as permanent, however, as spike wire products. If the ledge is wide, several rows of wire may need to be installed. Some customers may not like the looks of numerous rows of spike wire or coil on a wide ledge. In this case, rows of a spring wire product may be less visible, although a bit more time-consuming to install. In other cases, such as an inset window or a recessed vent, netting may best protect the opening.

Long ledges are best protected using an electric track system or spring wire product. Such products are less expensive per linear foot than others and take comparatively less time to install. Again, wide ledges will require more than one row of a spring wire product. Properly placed, electrical systems can get away with a single row for most situations. Highly committed birds, however, may still roost on wider ledges and avoid the electrical system. Such birds may need to be trapped or you may need to install a second row (if trapping birds is unacceptable to the customer or their neighbors).

Signs: Birds are best excluded from the tops of post-mounted signs using spike wire products. Large block letter signs on the front of buildings may be protected by spike wire products or by installing netting over the face of the sign, where feasible. You may want to take pictures and forward them to a bird product manufacturer for suggestions or recommendations.

Gutters: Wire devices designed to fit in gutters are available to exclude birds and are relatively easy to install.

Balconies, Alcoves, Garages and other Large Spaces: Pigeons especially love balconies, roofs, parking garages, etc. The best solution is to net off the entire access to the area. This effort may require installing metal poles to which the cable supporting the netting must be attached or similar labor-intensive tasks. In these situations, creativity is often in order to ensure the netting is installed so that it looks neat and professional.

A parking garage is best protected from birds by netting off each opening into the garage, expect, of course, the entrances and exits. In some cases, the customer may only want birds excluded from certain areas of the garage.

For example, at one hospital, the ledges over the area where the doctors parked was netted. In another case in California, netting was installed over a large open area parking lot on the second level of a hotel. In this case, a "net box" was created, forming walls and a roof, over the lot. From a distance, the net was not visible. Needless to say, this project took considerable planning and effort.

Netting requires strong support to be kept taut and straight. Sagging net can permit birds to enter or actually land on the net to roost. It is important to outline the entire perimeter of the space to be netted with cable and to use enough turnbuckles (cable tensioners) and cable hooks to keep the cable held tight once the netting is attached. Consult the supplier for directions on the exact hardware and installation instructions.

Air Conditioning Units, Tanks and Similar Small-to Medium-Sized Structures: There are a variety of products designed specifically for such smaller spaces. Keep in mind, however, at sites with heavily committed pigeons, this approach may not be 100 percent effective. It may be necessary to trap and remove as much of the flock as possible. The devices should then discourage new birds from choosing the site as a roost.

In some cases, however, tanks or A/C units may be located inside courtyards or be surrounded by two or more walls, which may permit the installation of netting to totally exclude birds from access to the units. Netting is the preferred and more permanent solution.

Other Situations Where Netting May Be Used: Birds can be excluded from courtyards by installing netting at the top of the building over the courtyard. Larger courtyards require crossing support cables spaced about 30 feet apart. Loading docks, strip malls and warehouses often have birds roosting in the beams and ledges in the ceiling or overhangs. Such areas are best protected by installing net under the beams. Zippers will need to be installed to permit maintenance workers to reach pipes, light fixtures, etc. Some cities have even had netting installed beneath street overpasses to exclude pigeons.

Netting can be used for a wide variety of situations. Ideally, net is most efficient when used to cover large surfaces such as the face of a building or the I-beam tower protecting pipes at an industrial plant. Even a window opening can be fitted with netting and may be the choice of the customer despite the added expense over another method. The use of netting is limited only by the imagination and skill of the installer to make the installation functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Other Considerations: Before installing bird products on ledges, it is important to first clean off the ledges. You need to include the cost of this work into the bid. Safety is important when cleaning away bird feces and detritus. Workers should wear a disposable protective suit, unvented goggles, disposable gloves and a respirator equipped with an HEPA filter.

In situations where netting must be installed at a 45 degree or less angle, it may be necessary to install spike wire product along the edge of the3 ledge to keep pigeons from roosting on the netting at the edge.

If netting must be installed above an angled (e.g., a roof) or horizontal surface, enough supports must be installed to hold the netting up at least six inches or higher above the surface. Pigeons may otherwise be able to sit on the netting.

For situations involving both sparrows and larger birds, use ¾- inch netting. If the netting is installed horizontally (e.g., over a courtyard), you likely should install ¾-inch netting about a foot lower, then install 2-inch netting above it. Pigeons can land on and roost upon ¾-inch netting so the 2-inch netting is necessary to force the pigeons elsewhere. Unfortunately, pigeons may still land on two inches, so if there are a lot of birds, population control methods may be needed. Eventually, birds will leave a 2-inchy net, but they will definitely continue to annoy the customers, so methods like angling the net or population control could be necessary.

Your bird products supplier is your best source of information regarding the choice of products and possible solutions. No two-bird jobs are alike and most require two or more different methods for the best results. A variety of other bird exclusion devices are available so pest management professionals should acquire product catalogs and other literature from their distributor or directly from the suppliers. In addition, purchase the training videos offered by the various suppliers. These tools demonstrate the steps for proper installation. They are also very useful in demonstrating the process for your prospective customers.

DRAW UP YOUR BID. Once you know the methods you will use, you can calculate the cost of materials. You then need to factor in the number of man-hours needed to complete the installation. It is recommended you overestimate the man-hours needed because something almost always occurs that causes the job to take longer than expected. Two-day jobs often turn into three days and week-long jobs may take 10 days instead. The more experience you have, the easier it will be to estimate the time, but it’s not an exact science.

The cost of renting lifts can be a huge factor in determining the amount of profit you realize. Try to minimize the number of days a lift will be needed and do that work first. Then, work on the areas that can be accessed by ladders. Also, if you think the lift might take two full days, consider renting it for three just to be sure and include the added cost in your bid.

If you are installing netting for the first time, you will need to purchase installation tools and extra hardware. If the job you are estimating is large enough, you may be able to include the cost of such a kit into your bid.

Once you have estimated the cost of the materials, tools, lift rental, sales commission and labor, you will need to add your profit margin. Most companies multiply the total cost by a percentage (30, 40 or 50 percent) to arrive at the final cost of the bid. It is up to each individual company to decide how much above the fixed costs they need to charge to achieve their own desired profit level. Keep in mind, though, some bird jobs may run tens of thousands of dollars. You can price yourself right out of the work; however, you also don’t want to cut it too close and be caught short if completion is delayed. Experience is definitely a plus.

It is often best to look for smaller jobs when getting into bird work and then work towards the large jobs. You’ll likely need reverences anyway when bidding for the big jobs, so every job you do helps establish your reputation.

SUMMARY. Bird work is rewarding and profitable but it's not termite work or pest control. It requires mechanical skills and an ability to be creative in developing solutions that will be both effective and look good. Remember that the bigger jobs may take many months for a customer to make a decision so be patient and persistent. The good news is that excluding birds from one building often displaces them to a nearby building. Looks like another lead coming in! Good luck!

The author is a board certified entomologist, a registered sanitarian and manager of technical services for Terminix International, Memphis, Tenn., and can be reached via e-mail at shedges@pctonline.com.