Controlling Birds On Your Property

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• Controlling Birds On Your Property
• Source https//www.pestrol.co.nz/blog/birds-contr
  ol-in-your-home/
• They might seem harmless, beautiful, and even
  majestic out there in the wild, but birds can be
  a real nuisance when they invade your property.
• Although they are not directly harmful to humans
  (mostly) and will generally coexist peacefully
  with us, they can cause a lot of problems when
  present in large numbers near human
  inhabitations. It is these problems caused by
  birds that make us forget their beauty and
  splendour and regard them as pests that need to
  be gotten rid of.
• A number of problems are associated with an avian
  infestation. Here are the major ones
• 1. Property damage. Birds will damage your
  property with these two things
• Droppings. Bird poop causes the most damage to
  property mostly due to the uric acid (of pH 3
  3.5) it contains which corrodes numerous
  materials including steel, paint, and stone.
  Birds will also plaster the area they infest with
  guano causing the structure or building to lose
  its aesthetic value.
• Nests. Birds will construct nests on your
  property for shelter using grass and straw.
  These nests can clog gutters and roof drainage
  resulting in a damaged roof. Nests constructed
  in vents will also hinder air circulation in
  buildings while those constructed near
  electrical installations pose a potential fire
  hazard.
• Health risks. Bird droppings contain bacteria and
  fungi that when introduced to the human body
  through inhalation or ingestion could cause
  serious illnesses.
• Noise. Birds are very noisy when they gather in
  large numbers which could make for less than
  ideal working conditions as well as interrupt
  other activities.
• Accidents. Fresh bird poop is very slippery and
  could cause slip and fall accidents that could
  result in serious injuries. Accidents in your
  business premises could also expose your
  business to liability suits that could prove
  costly.

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• Bird pests common in New Zealand
• Some of the common bird pests in the country
  include
• Feral pigeons or Columba liva Once domesticated
  for food, these birds later turned wild and have
  increased in population and now account for most
  of the bird-fouling of buildings and statues
  today.
• Red-billed Gull. These are large and aggressive
  birds mostly found in coastal towns and cities.
  The noise, mess, and smell they bring to the
  areas they inhabit make them a great nuisance.
• Sparrows. Nicknamed the flying mice these birds
  cause a lot of damage to stored food. They also
  pose a big health risk as they contaminate food
  for both humans and livestock.
• Starlings. These have a tendency to gather in
  large numbers and build nests in roofs and
  eaves. They bring dirt, odour and noise to the
  buildings they infest.
• The life cycle of a bird
• Shortly after fertilisation, the female bird
  identifies a place where she can lay her eggs
  depending on the species, this will either be in
  a nest or a hole in the ground. A great number
  of birds prefer to build nests shaped like
  plates, mounds or domes to live and breed in.
• The eggs require to maintained at a certain
  temperature (or incubated) for them to develop.
  Incubation begins immediately after the female
  bird lays her last egg and will last until the
  final one hatches.
• Incubation duties are shared between the two
  parents in monogamous species while one parent
  takes the responsibility in species that practise
  polygamy. The warmth passes from the bird to the
  eggs through patches of bare skin on the birds
  breast and abdomen called brood patches. The
  eggs will take between 10-80 days to hatch
  depending on the species.
• Chicks are either brought up by a single parent
  or both in polygamous and monogamous species
  respectively.

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Controlling birds Prevention is the first step
for controlling any pest and birds are no
exception. Like most pests, birds are attracted
to your property by food. Make sure you dispose
of your garbage in covered bins and that there
is no food littered on your property. Although
getting rid of food sources around your property
is a good way of reducing the chances of a bird
infestation, birds could still invade your
property requiring more targeted control
methods. Because of their importance to the
ecosystem (and sometimes legislation), only
humane bird control methods that dont harm the
birds can be used to keep them at bay. The most
used include bird control spikes and bird
repellers that use audio, visual or physical
stimuli to scare away birds. Bird control spikes
Bird spikes are a very effective, humane bird
deterrent, lso called roost modifications,
anti-roosting spikes or simply bird spikes. They
can either be made using UV resistant
polycarbonates, stainless steel, or a combination
of the two materials. Bird spikes consist of
upward projecting rods (or spikes) attached to a
solid base.
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• Anti-roosting spikes prevent bird infestations by
  making it impossible for birds to land on
  buildings and structures. The length and density
  of the spikes are determined by the size of the
  bird you want to protect your property against
  with larger birds requiring long sparsely packed
  spikes and vice versa for smaller birds.
• Bird spikes can be used to protect street
  lighting, building ledges, pipes, commercial
  signage, roof apex among other bird roosting
  sites.
• Installation
• Bird spikes are very simple devices which makes
  them pretty easy to install. For spikes with a
  polycarbonate base, specialised adhesive is used
  to attach them to the structure to be protected
  while fasteners are used for bird spikes with a
  steel base.
• Benefits of using bird spikes
• Using bird spikes for controlling birds is
  beneficial in the following ways
• Discreetness. Bird spikes are very hard to see
  from a distance which makes them good at
  preserving the aesthetic of the protected
  building or structure.
• Easy installation. Because they are not
  complicated devices, installing them is quite
  straightforward and can be done by the user.
• Low maintenance. Bird spikes require minimum
  maintenance once they have been installed. All
  you need to do is check periodically whether they
  have come undone.

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4. Humane solution. Bird spikes do not cause any
harm to the birds they are protecting
against. Read about our bird spikes gt
Other bird repellers and deterrents Although bird
spikes are very effective, they are mostly
limited in the areas they can be used which
mainly consist of buildings and structures. Other
repellers and deterrents for other situations
include Sound repellers These use either
ultrasonic sound (inaudible to humans) or
normal audible sound to scare away invading
birds. The devices either use motion triggers for
activation when birds come around or go off at a
set time interval. Ultrasonic bird repellers
produce a high-frequency sound ranging between
15kHz and 25kHz. This high-frequency sound is
inaudible by humans but disorients, confuses and
intimidates birds. But other than making them
uncomfortable, the sound does not harm the birds.
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• These devices are designed to be weatherproof
  because they are meant for outdoor use. A
  combination of solar and rechargeable batteries
  is used to power them so that they can work
  without the need to plug them into a power
  source.
• Sound repellers are good for protecting large
  outdoor spaces such as marinas, farms, gardens,
  orchards, and yards. Audible sound repellers are
  limited for use in areas where short bursts of
  loud noises can be tolerated.
• Installing bird sound repellers is easy and does
  not require any technical knowledge or skills.
  Just position the device in a good location with
  access to sunlight and you are done.
• Benefits of using sound repellers
• These are
• Protection for large areas. Sound can travel for
  quite a long distance which makes these
  repellers ideal for protecting expansive areas
  such as orchards and farms.
• Easy installation and use. Sound repellers are
  easy to install and use. They require very
  little user intervention after the initial setup.
• Additional protection from other pests. These
  repellers will also scare away other intruding
  pests such as feral cats, dogs, and possums.
• Round the clock protection. Because they have
  batteries, sound repellers although reliant on
  solar will work effectively even at night.
• Read about our audible bird repellers gt

Visual deterrents These exploit the birds
eyesight to frighten them. Some resemble
predatory birds like owls, others human beings,
while others like holographic tapes reflect
light dramatically to a scare birds off your
property.
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• (A bird scarer resembling an owl)
• Visual deterrents can be used to protect beaches,
  ponds, balconies, farms, and gardens. Because
  they need to be seen, visual deterrents are not
  effective after the sun goes down.
• As for installation, no special skills or
  equipment are required to install them and can
  be done DIY style.
• Benefits of using visual deterrents
• Visual deterrents are
• Quiet. These deterrents unlike sound repellers
  dont emit any sound and are
• ideal for places where silence is required.
• Humane. Visual deterrents are humane and dont
  cause any harm to the birds.
• Low maintenance. After you have installed them,
  visual deterrents dont require any other
  alteration just a periodic check to see if they
  are still in place.
• Cheap. These are cheap to buy and install.

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Read about our visual bird repellers gt
Physical repellers This kind of repellers use a
physical medium like a water jet to startle birds
off your property. Similar to sound repellers,
these also rely on motion detectors for
activation and use a combination of solar and
rechargeable batteries.

• (A water jet bird repeller)
• They work well for small areas such as vegetable
  patches and yards. Some like those that use a
  water jet are limited to areas where moisture is
  not a problem.
• These bird deterrents are designed for consumer
  use and will therefore not require specialised
  skill to install.
• Benefits of using physical repellers
• Physical repellers are
• Environmentally friendly. Physical repellers
  dont use or emit any substances
• that could harm the environment.
• Safe. These are safe for humans pets and the
  birds they are scaring away.
• Effective. A deterrent that touches the bird is
  more effective than those that dont.

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4. Good at keeping other intruders away. A
physical deterrent will be set off by any other
intruding animal making them quite good for broad
pest control. Read about our physical bird
repellers gt
Each of these options will only work well if
deployed in a suitable situation. Analyse
carefully the area or property you want to
protect before settling on one to ensure that
the control method you select is effective for
that particular circumstance. www.pestrol.co.nz