Need a Loading Dock Bird Deterrent? Consider Bird Netting.

If you operate a loading dock or warehouse, you know the problems pest birds can create. These problems seem all the worse if you load and unload food products. Birds are drawn to the scent of food and will fly into your loading dock or warehouse. Unless deterred by effective bird control measures, pest birds will roost and nest in the lofty spaces in your loading dock and warehouse. Once inside, they’ll continually distract workers who operate forklifts and other equipment. The birds can also contaminate packaged and stored food products. Their droppings can carry any of 60 known diseases like salmonella. Bird droppings can even create dangerous slip-and-fall hazards for your workers.

If you’ve tried pellet guns and bird poisons to get rid of these bird pests, or simply made some loud noises to scare birds, you’ve probably come to the conclusion that these methods are largely ineffective. What you need are some professional level bird control measures that get the job done.  Here’s what the bird control experts at Bird-B-Gone recommend:

No-Knot Bird Netting Blocks Out Bird Pests

This high strength barrier deterrent denies pest birds access to your loading dock, warehouse or any other exposed areas where birds often sneak in. The low-profile, 3/4-inch mesh netting blocks out all manner of birds—including sparrows, pigeons, gulls, starlings and crows. Available in several stock sizes and custom cuts, No-Knot Bird Netting is surprisingly light, yet it has a break-strength of 50 pounds. The non-conductive netting is made of a flame resistant, multi-strand polypropylene fiber, which resists the damaging effects of many industrial chemicals. No-Knot bird netting is ISO 1806 Protocol Mesh tested and will not rot, absorb water, or mildew. Impregnated with UV inhibitors, the netting can withstand years of direct sunlight and wide temperature swings without degrading. It comes with a full 10-year guarantee. Easy to handle, No-Knot Bird Netting is virtually invisible when installed. Bird-B-Gone recommends that prior to installing the netting, all surfaces should be free of bird droppings, nesting materials, loose rust, peeling paint and other debris.

Birds Already in Your Warehouse? Get the Super Talon!

A heavy-duty hand-held net launcher, Bird-B-Gone’s Super Talon Ultra Net Launcher captures bird pests quickly, efficiently and humanely for later release. Instead of wasting time chasing birds with a broom, the Super Talon fires a two-inch mesh net up to 60 feet to snare even the most elusive bird. Ideal for catching all types of birds like sparrows and wrens, the Super Talon has proven its worth worldwide by animal control agencies and research scientists, including the USDA, US Fish & Wildlife and APHIS. The Super Talon Kit comes complete with 10 air cartridges, multiple bird capture net launchers, accessories, and a carrying case.

Top 3 Bird Control Devices for Car and RV Sellers

If you own or manager a car or RV sales lot, you need to keep your overhead to an absolute minimum. One big expense is keeping your cars clean—and that means no bird droppings on roofs, windows and doors. Besides being unsightly, bird droppings can damage your cars or RVs—clogging up AC vents and awning controls, and jamming up doors and windows. Your maintenance crew can be working day and night to keep your RVs clean and safe from bird damage. Washing off bird droppings takes time. And repairing bird damaged cars or RVs costs you money. These are expenses you don’t need right now.

The solution is to implement some effective bird controls, proven bird deterrents that will keep your maintenance staff working on other much-needed projects and jobs. Here are three bird control devices the experts recommend:

1. Bird Scare Visual Deterrents

You may already have banners and balloons tethered to your RVs. But adding professionally designed Visual Scare Bird Deterrents will keep pest birds away. Choose Flash Tape and Reflective Banners, which are specially designed to snap in the breeze and reflect sunlight to intimidate birds. Or get Scare Eye Diverters and Bird Scare Balloons, which feature large mock eyes to convince birds a huge predator is eyeing them for their next meal. All are easy to hang just about anywhere, and they can be moved around wherever pest birds have become a problem.

2. Bird Chase Super Sonic

Designed for deterring pest birds from large outdoor areas like car lots, the Bird Chase Super Sonic System covers a full acre with intimidating sounds birds hate to hear. Additional portable speakers are easily added to extend the effective range to a full five acres. Unlike ultrasonic systems that send out signals birds can’t hear, the Bird Chase Super Sonic broadcasts predator and distress calls within the hearing range of birds. The sounds resemble normal bird calls so they won’t annoy your customers. You can program the system to turn off at night and on in the morning when birds become most active. The Bird Chase Super Sonic emits distress and predator calls for 22 types of birds, so your car lot is protected against virtually any type of bird.

3. Red-Tail Hawk Decoys

Pest birds are keenly aware of their natural predators. Some birds will actually post “lookouts” to warn their flock of imminent danger. Red Tail Hawk Decoys exploit this fear, which is why they are so effective in deterring pest birds. Hawks hunt during the day when most pest birds are active, so hawk decoys are better than owl decoys. These decoys work best when they’re realistic looking and moved about frequently. Birds are clever little critters and won’t be fooled by poorly made imitations or those left in once place for too long. Your decoy should also be well made (heavy duty plastic) to last for years in sun and rain.

Four Things That Will Keep Pest Birds Out of Your Vegetable Garden

Birds will soon be hovering around your vegetable garden. Just when your veggies are ripening and ready to eat—birds will beat you to them. They’ll peck and eat and, yes, poop on your prized crops.  If you’re like most gardeners, you won’t have the patience or the time to stand guard over your garden with a hose to disperse the birds. Nor will you have the cruel indifference to use poisons or other lethal means to harm the birds. What you need are humane, effective bird deterrents. Here are three bird control measures the pros recommend that will keep birds from eating what you worked all year to grow:

Sonic Bird Deterrents

Ideal for larger gardens, the Sound Bird Deterrents will intimidate any bird within earshot. The device emits bird distress and predator calls that make birds believe their safety may be threatened. The sounds broadcast are perceived as natural enemies of most birds (peregrine falcons, for example). While these sounds may strike fear in the hearts of most birds, they resemble normal bird calls to humans and pets. If your garden is being attacked by a variety of bird species, the Bird Chase Supersonic “covers all bases,” emitting distress and predator calls for 22 different species of birds. By the way, bird control experts suggest you stay away from ultrasonic bird deterrents. Birds can’t hear them and they are mostly ineffective.

Garden Bird Netting

Virtually invisible and easy to handle, Bird-B-Gone Garden Bird Netting will block birds from specific patches of your garden.  It provides effective bird barrier protection for your prized fruit trees, berry bushes and vegetables. The netting comes in 14 x 100-foot and 14 x 200-foot rolls and can easily be cut and shaped over plants and small trees. Garden netting comes in three different mesh sizes—1/4" mesh, 1/2" mesh and 3/4" mesh—depending on the specific bird you want to exclude. Unlike some netting, Bird-B-Gone high quality netting is made from a durable, UV-protected polypropylene. This is why it's so strong and light.

Visual Bird Deterrents

Birds avoid areas that are noisy and visually distracting. They hear better and react faster to danger than we do. That’s why Visual Bird Deterrents can be so effective—if they are frequently moved around so birds don’t get used to them.  Bird-B-Gone Visual Bird Deterrents include Flash Tape and Reflective Banners, which snap and crackle in the breeze and reflect sunlight. Equally effective are Scare Eye Diverters and Bird Scare Balloons, which twist and bob in the breeze to make their lifelike mock predator eyes appear threatening to any bird.

Red-Tail Hawk Decoys

Another highly effective visual bird deterrent, Red Tail Hawk Decoys are feared as predators by most birds. The Bird-B-Gone Hawk Decoy is made of heavy duty plastic to remain realistic looking through season after season of rough weather.  Just remember to move them about from time to time, or birds will eventually get to used to them.

Crows Attack Police in Seattle

As recently reported in The Huffington Post Green, crows have been attacking Seattle-area police in the parking lot of an Everett Police Department precinct station.

The aggressive black birds have been swooping down and dive-bombing officers on their way to and from their cars. One officer who was attacked by a crow, noted that the birds were behaving like velociraptors. In an effort to scatter the crows, officers turned on their sirens to frighten them. Not only did this strategy of bird control fail, the crows “decorated” police cars with droppings.

A wildlife department biologist noted that the crows are merely protecting baby crows that were ejected out of their nests and learning to fly. It’s a known fact among bird experts that crows are highly intelligent, so much so that the birds can actually recognize the individual features of people. Crows have also been known to hold grudges. So it stands to reason that if these crows perceive police officers as threatening to their young, they will attack them—or anyone else wearing a similar uniform.

Clearly, what the Everett Police Department precinct station needs to do is implement an effective bird control strategy. Fortunately, there are a number of effective and humane bird control deterrents currently on the market. Here’s what the pros recommend:

Stainless Steel Bird Spikes

Large birds like crows simply can’t get their wings around Stainless Steel Bird Spikes. The spiked strips are easy to install and can be glued down, nailed or screwed onto most any surface. They come in a variety of widths --1”, 3”, 5” and 8” --to match the area you want protect. The best stainless steel bird spikes are made in the USA and will have their spikes securely embedded in UV-resistant unbreakable polycarbonate. Approved by the US Humane Society and PICAS, the spikes are blunted at the tips and won't injure crows or installation crews.

Bird Chase Super Sonic

Easy to place on precint buildings, garages, and similar open areas, the Bird Chase Super Sonic exploits a crow’s alertness to sound threats. The device continually broadcasts pre-recorded bird distress and predator calls. These sounds resemble natural bird sounds, so humans won't be bothered by them. Because of the socail nature of crows, they will hear the distress and predator calls and send the message along that there is a threat, and the birds will flee the area.  The quality-constructed device is weather resistant and designed for outdoor use. It's easily programmed for day or night operation.

Bird Jolt Flat Track

A low-profile, electrical bird deterrent track system, Bird Jolt Flat Track imparts a mile electric shock to the feet of crows (or any bird for that matter). Birds are quickly “instructed” to avoid the surface and will move on. The shock produced is harmless to crows, yet it creates an inhospitable area to the birds. Flat Track is made in the USA and comes in six colors to match the surface onto which it is installed. The track can be easily glued down to most surfaces.

How to Choose Visual Bird Deterrents for Your Home

by Alex A. Kecskes

As a homeowner, you’ve no doubt had your run-ins with pest birds. Maybe it was geese trampling your garden and frightening your kids and pets. Or perhaps woodpeckers gave you grief, turning your nice new siding into Swiss cheese. Or swallows leaving those ugly mud nests under your eaves—the eaves you had to repaint last year because the mud nests ate into the paint. Then again, you could have been troubled by pigeons pooping all over your new patio set and BBQ—they left a disease carrying, smelly mess you had to clean up almost every week. 
No matter what the bird, your bird problem called for time and money to be spent. Time you should have spent with your family.  And money you could have used for a thousand other things.

If you’re like most homeowners, you don’t have a lot of money to spend in these tough economic times. You can’t afford to hire a pest control company to completely bird proof your home. Which means, you’ve got to find an economical way to get rid of pest birds, or at least keep them away from your home. After all, pest birds can do a lot of damage to your home.  Their nests and feathers can clog your expensive  AC unit (and you know how expensive repairs on that can be). Bird droppings can also cover you solar panels, which can drastically reduce their efficiency. And bird nests can stop up your rain gutters, causing water to overflow and your roof to leak (more expense).

The solution? Visual Bird Deterrents.

Fortunately, today’s bird control companies offer a variety of products in this category that are both humane and effective in keeping pest birds away from your home. Here are some simple guidelines in choosing the right Visual Bird Deterrent:
Flash Tape, Banners, Diverters & Balloons

These catch a pest bird’s eye and make him feel uncomfortable enough to leave. Flash Tape and Banners reflect sunlight and snap in the breeze. Scare Eye Diverters and Bird Scare Balloons feature large predator eyes to frighten pest birds. These visual bird deterrents area  inexpensive and attach easily to any elevated  point around your home or patio.

Hawk Decoys

Hawks are feared by most birds. They hunt during the day when birds are active. Hawk decoys can be very effective for both small and large pest birds. The goal here is to get the
most realistic looking decoys you can afford. Look for a sturdy, quality decoy made of durable plastic that’s designed to stay realistic looking after hot summers and winter rains. When using hawk decoys, place them in high visibility areas in plain sight of pest birds.

When using any visual bird deterrent,  be sure to move them around once a week to make birds believe they represent a real threat.

Bird Control to Keep Grackles Away from Your Home

by Alex A. Kecskes

In pairs of one or two, grackles can be entertaining to watch and fun to feed. But they often arrive in flocks of hundreds, even thousands, occupying trees and large bushes, making quite a racket and leaving a huge mess in droppings.

Grackles are blackbirds with iridescent purple-blue feathers on the back, neck and head. They have black legs and heads, yellow eyes, and a long tail. They’re not exactly small birds, either, measuring up to 13 inches in length with an 18-inch wingspan.

Most grackles are usually found in open or urban areas, in orchards and savannas, as well as suburban and agricultural settings. They prefer to gather in scattered trees. Grackles will eat insects, small fish, mice, small bats, seeds, grains, acorns, and some fruits. So if you have a fruit tree on your property, a flock of grackles can consume or destroy your fruit in a very short time.  All the more reason to use some proven bird deterrent methods to discourage them.

That doesn’t mean resorting to firecrackers, pellet guns, even poisons, for these are simply temporary measures that won’t achieve the long-term results you need to keep them away from your property. Not to mention the fact that poisons and pellet guns are inhumane and dangerous to pets and children. Fortunately, there are several effective and humane bird deterrents you use.

They include:

Sonic Bird Deterrents Encourage Birds to Leave

Grackles, like most birds, are easily alarmed. But unless you plan on banging pots 24/7, the birds will come back minutes after you leave. One solution to this problem is to install a Sonic Bird Deterrent. This device will broadcast distress calls of other grackles as well as the predator calls of a grackle’s natural enemy—hawks or falcons—day and night until grackles get the message that your property is unsafe for them. By the way, don’t bother with ultrasonic deterrent devices. These only irritate pets and birds can't hear them.

Reflective Eye Diverters  Scare Birds

These things are classified as visual bird deterrents and can be very effective against grackles when you hang them in trees and large bushes. They will scare pest birds away from trees, patios, gardens, and other areas of your property. Each diverter features a large “mock” predator eye on its shiny reflective surface. Grackles take one look and they become convinced that a big predator is sizing them up for a meal. Result: they head off to someone else’s property.

Hawk Decoys Deter Birds

Most birds fear the sight of hawks, which is why Hawk Decoys can be so effective against grackles. Strategically placed in trees and other lofty structures, Hawk Decoys can convince grackles that your property is too dangerous to occupy. The best decoys are made of heavy-duty plastic to remain realistic looking for years outdoors. For best results, move the decoy around often to convince grackles that your hawk is real.

How to Prevent Swallows from Nesting Under Your Eaves

by Alex A. Kecskes

Swallows like to build mud nests on many different kinds of surfaces. These bowl-shaped nests are built from mud mixed with saliva and grass. They are lined with soft feathers and hair. The nests can damage and deface the eaves of homes, office buildings and other structures.

Mud nests built by swallows are often insect infested, and if they are not removed in a timely manner, they will stain the surface onto which they are attached. To make matters worse, the bacteria, fungal agents and parasites found in swallow droppings and nests can carry such serious diseases as histoplasmosis, encephalitis, salmonella, meningitis, toxoplasmosis and more.

When swallows permanently leave, their nests are frequently invaded by sparrows. And when these birds leave, insects will move in and eventually enter your home or building.
If you already have swallows nesting under your eaves, you’ll first need to legally remove their nests before installing any bird deterrents. Keep in mind that you are prohibited from removing swallow nests if they are occupied by swallows or their eggs. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 makes it illegal to intentionally kill, injure or take any migratory bird, or to intentionally damage or destroy the nest, eggs, or young of a swallow while the nest is being built or in use.

Fortunately, there are a variety of humane bird deterrent products one can use to prevent swallows from nesting under eaves. Chief among these is a product called Bird Slope. Installed along the underside of your eaves, these angled, slippery PVC panels make it impossible for any swallow to gain a solid footing. They just slip and glide right off. After a few unsuccessful attempts, they give up and will look for a better place to build their nests. Bird slopes come in different colors to blend in with a building’s exterior. The panels install easily using glue, nails or screws and they're essentially maintenance free.

Another type of netting, plastic bird net, can also be used to deter swallows. This lightweight plastic mesh netting excludes swallows from eaves by creating a physical barrier that blocks the birds’ access to eaves. Easy to work with and made from durable, U.V. protected polypropylene, it comes in a 1/4-inch mesh size to stop swallows. To keep birds out of eaves, temporarily install the netting using specially designed ultranet clips. You can also use a staple gun to secure the netting around the perimeter.

Used in conjunction with other measures, consider hanging a few visual scare bird deterrents under your eaves. Included in this category of deterrents are Bird Scare Balloons, which come with reflective decals, flash tape and twine. The balloons feature large predator eyes that make swallows too nervous to nest. Bird Scare Diverters use the same principle. They feature a giant predator eye and can be hung under eaves to frighten swallows. When using visual scare devices, it’s important to move them around occasionally to prevent swallows from getting used to them.