Title: Controlling Birds On Your Property
1- 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.
2- 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.
3Controlling 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.
4- 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.
54. 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.
6- 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.
7- (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.
8Read 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.
94. 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