Overcoming Challenges with Bird Control in Food Facilities

Brandon Thorsell

Editor's note: Protecting the food supply is one of the most important jobs of a pest management professional. Of particular concern are food facilities, which provide their own set of challenges, including keeping pest birds out. Brandon Thorsell, district manager, Critter Control, Richmond, Ontario, Canada, explores this topic in the following feature.

Anyone in the food services industry knows that birds can be a nuisance and threaten food production and serving facilities. Certain species of birds can carry diseases that can be transmitted to humans through contaminating food with their droppings and feathers. In addition, when birds are present in large numbers, they leave behind a mess that is difficult to clean up by hand, and they may even damage roofs and other equipment on your property. 

All this to say, a bird problem is something that food facilities need to do everything in their power to prevent, and when it occurs, they need to take immediate action to remedy the situation. In this article, we’ll detail why this problem can occur, the nuances involved and how to solve it and prevent any recurrences. 

The Source. Birds are drawn to food facilities for various reasons, but the primary attraction is the food found inside. With their keen eyesight, birds can see the food from a distance and access the facility through open doorways where they can then be trapped inside. If your facility is equipped with receiving docks, this can also provide an entry area for birds. When birds set up nests in the rafters of your facility, this can cause serious health concerns for you and your customers. 

Bird control is essential in food production facilities inside and outside the building. These pests can carry diseases and pathogens that can be transmitted to humans once they contaminate food produced in a bird-infested property, quickly leading to food poisoning and other related illnesses. As mentioned earlier, birds can also cause physical damage to food products and production equipment, leading to financial losses for your facility. Not to mention the fact that if you have a customer-facing facility, people will be uncomfortable by the presence of birds throughout the store. Implementing effective pest control measures discussed below can help protect the safety and integrity of food products in your facility.

The Solutions. Bird control is a problematic issue for many businesses and mitigation can be a precarious issue in North America. The Migratory Bird Act between Canada and the United States protects and conserves native migratory bird populations, which limits bird control methods for certain species. Another limiting factor for food facility operators is the prioritization of taking care of pest issues in humane and sustainable ways and ensuring that whatever method you use will not just be temporary. In general, removing birds from inside a store is very challenging. In larger facilities, the birds are free to fly around, and there are many spots throughout the location to conceal themselves.

That being said, experts have developed removal methods which can be tailored to specific bird species and individualized characteristics of building interiors. 

Exterior Bird Control. If you have a bird problem outside your facility, chances are it won’t be long until this problem resorts indoors. To properly take care of this problem, install bird barriers, such as bird netting, to close off nesting areas. Birds often build their nests at high points in your building, such as eaves or chimneys, so install netting in these high-interest areas. The next thing you should install is bird deterrents to keep birds off ledges, pipes, and awnings. These deterrents include bird spikes, wiring, or reflective deterrent rods. 

Now that you have these preventative measures installed, you should also block the common entry points that birds can access in your facility - doors and windows. You can use screens, vents, and other physical barriers, to help keep your doors and windows more secure. Many food facilities also install automatically closing doors to ensure they are never left open, which is when birds will take the chance to fly in towards the heat and food. Whatever barriers you install, be sure to also go through regular inspections and maintenance in your building to identify and seal off potential entry points that have been breached.