Every year, pest birds take their toll on property, public and private. They cause millions of dollars of damage, defacing our most noble statues, eating our food, damaging expensive equipment and even downing our aircraft. Perhaps the most unusual incident involving pest birds occurred just outside Geneva, where the super-cooled magnets in sector 81 of the Large Hadron Collider began to dangerously overheat. (The cooler's particle accelerator must maintain a temperature colder than deep space.) When scientists rushed to diagnose the problem, they discovered that a passing bird might have dropped a chunk of bread on an electrical substation above the accelerator, causing a power cut. Just goes to show you, there's no limit to what pest birds can do. Which is why so many have adopted the use of bird repellants.
Bird Repellents Can Stem Losses
Homeowners across the country have sought relief from pest birds. Birds have damaged their roofs and contaminated their pools and spas. Bird nests have clogged their gutters and bird droppings have eaten into paint and siding. As a result, bird repellents are now seen as a necessity for most smart homeowners.
As for building owners and facilities managers, they're taking a pro-active approach to pest birds, installing bird repellents wherever they can. They're tired of writing big repair and maintenance checks for bird damaged air conditioning equipment. And who wants to invest in solar panels when pest birds just poop all over them, ruining their efficiency and, in some cases, damaging them permanently? Outdoor lights, security cameras, and other electrical equipment can quickly fall victim to the ravages of bird droppings. In today's tough times, deterring pest birds is a matter of survival.
Bird droppings can present a particularly acute problem for the food and restaurant industry. Bird droppings on outdoor tables and chairs can be a real turn off at the local bistro. Birds, while fun to watch and feed, have been known to carry any of 60 diseases--including the West Nile virus. In this area, bird repellents can serve a life-saving function.
Even before food is presented for consumption, pest birds can take their bite out of profits. Birds can and have invaded warehouses, packing plants and food preparation areas. They have eaten through cardboard and plastic packaging to contaminate all types of food products. This is where bird repellents can really stem food losses.
The New Breed of Bird Repellents
Bird repellents have come a long way since the days of shotguns and poisons. Today's bird repellents are humane and highly effective.
Perhaps the most economical and easy-to-use bird repellents are the Bird Scare devices currently on the market. These are basically foil and flash tape banners that you can affix to your patio, boat or other outdoor area. They flagellate in the breeze, creating a visual and auditory distraction that alarms pest birds and convinces them to stay away. A step up from banners is the Bird Scare Balloon, which works quite effectively with its typically large predator eyes. You can even use balloons to float "eyeball up" in pools and spas—just fill the one-fourth with water and they'll gently skim the surface.
Probably the most popular bird repellent out there is the Bird Spike. These clever devices employ threatening-looking stainless steel or rigid unbreakable polycarbonate spikes to keep pest birds from landing. The blunted spikes won't harm birds or humans. Bird spikes are an ideal bird deterrent for a wide range of birds and work quite effectively on rooftops, signs, building ledges and other outdoor areas.
Next up is the Bird Spider. Like the bird spike, it prevents pest birds from landing. Unlike the bird spike, a spider's arms move in the breeze to add an extra level of bird repellent. You can get spiders in different sizes (different length spider arms) to cover increasingly wider diameters to deter different bird sizes.
Shifting gears to a more inanimate approach, there's the Bird Slope. This simple device, basically PVC panels that present a super slippery angled slope that birds just can't get a grip on, has proven quite effective over the years. Easy to install, bird slope is an ideal bird repellent for use on eaves, ledges, beams and other 90-degree areas.
On the other hand, pest birds have no problem getting a foothold on our next bird repellent--Bird Gel. Of course, once they get their footsies on this stuff, they can't wait to leave. That's because this sticky chemical bugs the heck out of birds. It's safe for most birds and is easily squeezed onto virtually any flat surface using a standard caulking gun.
If you're a grower or vintner, you probably already know about Bird Netting. This bird deterrent now comes in a number of different mesh sizes to deter many species of pest birds--including pigeons, sparrows, starlings and seagulls. Your better netting is flame resistant, U.V. stabilized, and rot and waterproof. Consider non-conductive netting for areas near electrical power lines, or where communication antennas are present.
Another highly effective bird repellent--Fogger/Misters--have proven themselves in a wide range of applications. These systems dispense a food-grade, non-lethal aerosol of methyl anthranilate to blanket an area with a bird-irritating mist or fog. The chemical won't harm birds, animals or people. Birds fly through it once and they won't come back.
Zapping pest birds with an unwelcome shock, Electric Track Repellents are both humane and effective. The jolt of juice they get when they land on these electrified tracks is harmless but convincing. Ideal for pigeons, seagulls and larger birds, the better electric tracks feature a flow-through design that won't allow water to pool around them to damage surrounding areas.
Last on our list of effective bird deterrents are the Audio Bird Repellents. These create sonic predator and distress calls to convince pest birds that danger is near. Sonic repellents have been used quite successfully to deter pigeons, sparrows, starlings, and seagulls other types of birds.
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