by Alex A. Kecskes
Pest birds can become a hugely expensive problem for commercial building owners. Initially, you may only have a few birds on your building, but the scent of birds roosting and nesting will quickly attract other birds. Before you know it, you’ll have a swarm of birds laying claim to your rooftops, AC units, junction boxes and other elevated areas on your building.
The nests and feathers will eventually clog your rain gutters, rain spouts and vents. The birds will cover your skylights with bird droppings and debris. Over time, the bird droppings will jam up anything that slides or moves on your roof, windows and doorways. Bird droppings will have to be cleaned off skip loaders, power dollies and pallet trucks. Expediters and shipping crews will have to remove bird droppings from product labels and boxes. And they’ll have to avoid bird droppings on walkways and loading docks to keep from slipping and falling.
Bird droppings can also obscure and eventually eat into your signage. Birds nesting inside electrical signs can cause a short and possibly a fire--the last thing you need in this economy. Birds can even damage your roof over time. This can lead to leaks and expensive damage to products and computers inside the building.
As you can see, the headaches and expenses associated with pest birds go on and on. And they won’t stop until you implement an effective bird proofing strategy.
Bird Spikes are one way to solve the pest bird problem. They simply won’t allow large birds to land wherever they’re installed. That means they can’t gather to perch, roost or nest. In which case, they will move on.
When you order bird spikes, they come in spiked strips in your choice of stainless steel spikes or plastic spikes. The stainless steel spikes are extremely durable and will last many years. The plastic spikes are less expensive, non-conductive, virtually invisible, and they even come in a variety of colors-- including crystal clear, brick red, light grey, brown, black and tan.
If you go with the plastic bird spikes, choose the ones made of rigid U.V.-resistant unbreakable polycarbonate. They resist weathering and sun exposure. By the way, bird spikes are blunted at the tips, so they won’t harm birds or installation crews. They have been approved by virtually every humane group in the world--including The Humane Society of the United States and PICAS.
If your commercial building is being invaded by large birds like gulls, cormorants, turkey vultures or raptors, you might want to invest in a product called the Mega Bird Spike. These massive 7-inch spikes will convince even the most stubborn birds to move on. Made of marine-grade stainless steel, Mega spikes are designed to last for years.
To keep pest birds out of rain gutters and drain spouts, you’ll need Gutter Bird Spikes. They’ve been especially designed to keep seagulls, crows, and pigeons out of gutters. The best Gutter spikes have adjustable clamps that allow them to easily attach to the lip of a gutter.
With proper instruction, your maintenance crew will be able to install bird spikes fairly quickly. The spike strips can be glued down, nailed or screwed into most any surface. The best bird spikes are already pre-drilled with holes or glue troughs for easy mounting.
Before installing bird spikes, your maintenance crews should first thoroughly clean the surface. That means removing any loose rust, peeling paint, bird droppings, feathers and nesting materials. The use of commercial disinfecting cleaning agents is recommended to prevent exposure to any of the 60 known airborne diseases carried by birds. It’s also advisable to provide eye and respiratory protection if the area is heavily contaminated with bird droppings.
