Solutions by Bird
Birds are smart, very stubborn, and extremely mobile.
You must be smarter and more persistent to defeat them.
For all types of birds, your goal is to make your property uncomfortable
for them using the CREAM method.
The most important part is to maintain this bird-unwelcome status continuously. If you just scare the birds away, another flock will happily land on the same spot tomorrow.
So, your goal is not to work with the birds only. Work with your PROPERTY to make it unpleasant for birds to be there – this is how you get
a long-term, consistently bird-free environment.
Each type of bird has its own specifics, but the overall approach stays the same: you have to make your property bird-proof, not only attack the birds you have today.
You must be smarter and more persistent to defeat them.
For all types of birds, your goal is to make your property uncomfortable
for them using the CREAM method.
The most important part is to maintain this bird-unwelcome status continuously. If you just scare the birds away, another flock will happily land on the same spot tomorrow.
So, your goal is not to work with the birds only. Work with your PROPERTY to make it unpleasant for birds to be there – this is how you get
a long-term, consistently bird-free environment.
Each type of bird has its own specifics, but the overall approach stays the same: you have to make your property bird-proof, not only attack the birds you have today.
Pigeons
Pigeons can turn roofs, ledges, loading docks, parking structures, apartment complexes, warehouses, and commercial entrances into heavily soiled roosting and nesting areas. They are able to turn a nice retail store, restaurant, or hotel into a messy nightmare in a matter of days. They like to nest in store signs, on the beams of warehouses, and in any possible structural openings where they can get into.
Their droppings stain and deteriorate building surfaces, contaminate equipment and goods, create slippery walkways, and add recurring cleanup and maintenance costs.
Pigeons are especially persistent because they adapt extremely well to commercial buildings, breed readily in urban environments (any environment, actually), and often return repeatedly to established roosting and nesting sites.
Their droppings stain and deteriorate building surfaces, contaminate equipment and goods, create slippery walkways, and add recurring cleanup and maintenance costs.
Pigeons are especially persistent because they adapt extremely well to commercial buildings, breed readily in urban environments (any environment, actually), and often return repeatedly to established roosting and nesting sites.
What to do with pigeons:
- Close all openings where pigeons can enter your buildings with physical barriers, mesh, nets, etc.
- Remove all existing nests and clean the area of bird droppings, feathers, and other bird-related mess and dirt.
- Remove the possibility for pigeons to sit on the beams, ledges, and structures under the roof. Use netting, spikes of the proper size, bird slides, shock systems, or gel to prevent pigeons from landing, resting, and nesting.
- As much as possible, remove or cover everything that attracts pigeons on your property: food, water, places for shelter, etc.
- Protect edges of the roof and store signs from pigeons with spikes, bird wire, or electric shock systems.
- Use bird hazers and smokers with behavior-affecting chemicals: Methyl Anthranilate, Eugenol, Thymol, and/or Allyl Isothiocyanate (according to the product instructions).
Sometimes Peppermint Oil works specifically on pigeons, too, but we wouldn’t rely on that.
You can also spray the area if the product instructions allow it. But dispersing small particles in the air with hazers is always most effective.
- Use Ozone deterrents at the entrances (particularly for loading docks) to prevent pigeons from entering the building.
- Prevent pigeon nesting under solar panels by closing the under-panel space with physical barriers: nets, wire mesh, Solar Stixx, etc.
Geese
Geese (particularly Canada geese across the U.S. and East Coast) can quickly overwhelm golf courses, corporate campuses, resorts, business parks, retention ponds, residential communities, and other commercial properties with large quantities of droppings.
They foul lawns, sidewalks, parking areas and ponds, damage turf through grazing and trampling, and nesting birds can even become aggressive toward employees, customers, golfers, or guests.
Properties with open grass and water are especially difficult to keep goose-free because the same features that make them attractive to people also make them highly attractive to geese.
They foul lawns, sidewalks, parking areas and ponds, damage turf through grazing and trampling, and nesting birds can even become aggressive toward employees, customers, golfers, or guests.
Properties with open grass and water are especially difficult to keep goose-free because the same features that make them attractive to people also make them highly attractive to geese.
What to do with geese:
- Remove bird droppings and bird-related mess, as much as possible. They contain pheromones that may attract other birds to the area.
- Spray or haze nerve-affecting and behavior-affecting chemicals (according to their instructions): Methyl Anthranilate, Eugenol, Thymol, and/or Allyl Isothiocyanate.
It is always more effective to use hazers because they produce smaller particles that affect the birds way better. But if the product label for a specific product allows spraying on the grass, you can do that, too.
- Spray the area with the digestion-affecting chemicals, such as Anthraquinone (according to the instructions for the specific product). They will make the food sources unpleasant for geese.
- Get a dog. Seriously. The regular and permanent presence of a hunting dog on the site will quickly discourage the geese from hanging out on your property. The most important part of this – the dog should always be nearby and ready to chase the geese away as soon as they appear. One-time treatment by external contractors may not be enough.
- Use UV dyes and sprays as a visual reinforcement for other treatments. Spray on the turf, passages, etc. This will make the grass and ground look unusual for birds while staying completely normal for human eyes. This won’t work alone, but it may dramatically increase the effect of other treatments – the geese will quickly learn that they are unwelcome here.
Gulls (Seagulls)
Gulls create serious problems for waterfront properties, hotels, restaurants, shopping areas, warehouses, waste facilities, airports, and large flat-roofed commercial buildings.
Rooftop colonies produce droppings, dirt, and nesting debris, can clog roof drains and contribute to water damage, while breeding gulls may aggressively dive at employees or contractors working near nests.
Gulls are opportunistic, highly mobile birds that readily exploit roofs, open food sources and waste, making established populations particularly difficult to displace from profitable locations.
Unlike pigeons, seagulls can be really aggressive toward people when they see food, seriously disturbing restaurant diners and people relaxing on beaches or around pools.
Rooftop colonies produce droppings, dirt, and nesting debris, can clog roof drains and contribute to water damage, while breeding gulls may aggressively dive at employees or contractors working near nests.
Gulls are opportunistic, highly mobile birds that readily exploit roofs, open food sources and waste, making established populations particularly difficult to displace from profitable locations.
Unlike pigeons, seagulls can be really aggressive toward people when they see food, seriously disturbing restaurant diners and people relaxing on beaches or around pools.
What to do with gulls:
- Remove food sources and food waste from your property as much as possible. If your business produces any edible leftovers (restaurants, hotels, food-processing, etc.), make sure that they are stored in closed, durable containers, inaccessible to birds.
- Remove the nests and the mess created by the gulls. Pheromones in droppings, feathers, and other bird-related dirt attract new birds.
- If the gulls like your roof more than your neighbors’ roofs, check the material of the roof. Light-colored pebble flat roofs are very attractive for nesting gulls. Changing the roofing material to something black and artificial may be expensive, but birds may sometimes cause even more costly damage – so, compare and make a decision.
- Install a gull wire system over open areas (over pools, roofs, decks, etc.). It creates an impression of an enclosed space, and gulls are afraid of it. A simple solution that works surprisingly great. Just make sure to use a very durable wires and very strong poles and hardware to hold them – you won’t believe how easily the wind bends even sturdy metal supports when the wire applies the force to them, like a lever.
- Use hazers to spread nerve-affecting and behavior-affecting chemicals into the air (according to their instructions): Methyl Anthranilate, Eugenol, Thymol, and/or Allyl Isothiocyanate.
Spraying chemicals on the ground and surfaces is usually way less effective than hazing it into the air because gulls inhale the vapors mostly when they fly.
- Use properly sized and professionally installed physical barriers to prevent the access of gulls to your property and particularly to the areas where they can find food, shelter, or places for nesting: bird netting, spikes, wire mesh, grids, or bird wires (for roof edges and ledges).
- Electric shock systems work great for preventing gulls from landing and roosting on the edges of roofs (which they really like to do to observe a possible target for attack).
- Electromagnetic bird deterrents provide mixed results with gulls. The theory and tests show good gull repelling results by affecting the birds’ navigation system in flight. But most real products available for purchase are simply too weak to produce real results. At the same time, we can find a working electromagnetic gull solution for your specific case (for commercial applications only).
- Use visual confirmations in addition to other gull control measures (not instead of them). Gulls are smart birds with great vision, so if they sense something wrong and see a visual marker nearby (UV-paint or dye, bright color, flashing light) – they connect the dots and try to stay away from this place. At the same time, using only visual deterrents doesn’t work because the birds quickly learn that there is no real danger for them.
Sparrows
House sparrows are small enough to enter spaces that many larger pest birds can’t, making them a recurring problem inside warehouses, food-processing facilities, supermarkets, malls, garden centers, restaurants and other commercial buildings.
Once indoors or around loading and storage areas, their droppings, feathers and nesting material can contaminate food, packaging, inventory and equipment, while nests may accumulate inside building fixtures and structural cavities.
Sparrows tolerate people and heavy activity remarkably well, so a busy commercial environment often does little to discourage them once they have established a nesting or feeding pattern.
Once indoors or around loading and storage areas, their droppings, feathers and nesting material can contaminate food, packaging, inventory and equipment, while nests may accumulate inside building fixtures and structural cavities.
Sparrows tolerate people and heavy activity remarkably well, so a busy commercial environment often does little to discourage them once they have established a nesting or feeding pattern.
What to do with sparrows:
- Remove the nests, bird droppings, bird-related dirt, feathers, etc. Remove access to food as much as possible. Basically, try to remove everything that may attract sparrows to your property – as much as possible.
- If you already have sparrows inside your building, hire local pest control professionals to safely catch and release them outside
(preferably – as far away as possible).
- Use physical barriers (netting, mesh, grids, rubber strips) to close all openings where birds can enter the building and all cavities where sparrows can hide and/or build their nests. Inspect, find, and eliminate all the entry points.
Even a small, 1-inch hole (at the edge of the loading dock gate, for example) is enough for sparrows to get inside!
- Use properly installed small-mesh bird netting to close the areas under the roofs and canopies of warehouses and manufacturing facilities and prevent sparrows from sitting and nesting on beams, pipes, ledges, lights, and other under-roof structures.
- Use small spikes and mini-spikes to discourage sparrows from landing and sitting on ledges, roof edges, store signs, and other attractive surfaces.
- Ozone deterrents work well for protecting entrances that can’t be closed by physical barriers (e.g. loading docks or gates) from sparrows.
- Spray surfaces with bird-control sprays containing nerve-affecting chemicals (Methyl Anthranilate, Eugenol, Thymol, etc.) according to the product instructions.
Sparrows usually spend more time on the surface than flying, so surface spraying may be more effective than hazers for this particular case.
- Apply bird gel on the most attractive surfaces (instead of spikes or together with them) and supplement it (as well as all bird control measures) with visual reinforcement (UV paints or dyes).
Turkey Vultures
Turkey vultures become a substantial commercial nuisance when groups repeatedly roost on industrial buildings, communication towers, utility infrastructure, warehouses and other large structures.
Their droppings and regurgitated material can heavily foul roofs and equipment, while vultures may tear or damage roof surfaces, seals and other rubber components. Large roosts on utility infrastructure can also contribute to operational problems.
The size of vultures, communal roosting behavior and tendency to reuse favored locations can turn what begins as a few birds into a persistent, scary-looking property-management issue.
In addition, they are very persistent. If they like your property for some reason, they may be really difficult to get rid of unless you remove that reason.
Their droppings and regurgitated material can heavily foul roofs and equipment, while vultures may tear or damage roof surfaces, seals and other rubber components. Large roosts on utility infrastructure can also contribute to operational problems.
The size of vultures, communal roosting behavior and tendency to reuse favored locations can turn what begins as a few birds into a persistent, scary-looking property-management issue.
In addition, they are very persistent. If they like your property for some reason, they may be really difficult to get rid of unless you remove that reason.
What to do with turkey vultures:
- Inspect your property and nearby areas. Think – what attracts vultures here? Is there a food source (particularly meat leftovers) somewhere around? Are there dead animals? Is your roof warmer than roofs of your neighboring buildings? Is your property a particularly comfortable place for nesting for some reason?
After that, try to remove attracting factors as much as possible. Vultures are smart – if you have many of them around, there should be a reason for that.
- Use large bird spikes to protect surfaces where vultures usually like to sit and rest: edges and tops of the roof, large branches of trees, roof-mounted AC units, etc.
- Use hazers to spread behavior-affecting bird repellents (Methyl Anthranilate, first of all) into the air. Vultures have large lungs, so MA haze in the air affects them especially well.
At the same time, spraying repellents on surfaces usually gives little to no effect.
- Vultures are among the rare birds that have a strong sense of smell. They can detect ethyl mercaptan, a gas released by rotting meat, from over a mile away and even under thick trees. Use it!
Use strong smells that disturb the vultures’ sensing abilities: peppermint oil, chili pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic oil, or white vinegar. Spray in the areas where vultures spend most of their time on your property.
- Turkey vultures are generally calm birds, and they don’t like to be disturbed. So, if you want to remove them, you need to bother them physically as much as possible, making them move around. Make noise, approach them often (be careful not to cause an aggressive reaction), use flashlights, dogs, etc.
Just remember that they are protected birds in the US, so make sure you don’t cause any real harm to them, just a behavioral annoyance.
Ducks
Just like geese, ducks can become a costly nuisance around ponds, golf courses, resorts, waterfront hotels, corporate campuses, marinas and aquaculture facilities.
Concentrated flocks leave lots of droppings and feathers on turf, docks, walkways and recreational areas, foul ponds and other water features, and may damage landscaping or interfere with aquaculture operations.
Ducks can be particularly persistent where commercial properties provide the combination of open water, shoreline habitat, food and human activity to which the birds have become accustomed.
Concentrated flocks leave lots of droppings and feathers on turf, docks, walkways and recreational areas, foul ponds and other water features, and may damage landscaping or interfere with aquaculture operations.
Ducks can be particularly persistent where commercial properties provide the combination of open water, shoreline habitat, food and human activity to which the birds have become accustomed.
What to do with ducks:
- Clean up droppings, feathers, nesting debris, and other signs of bird activity whenever possible. Leaving behind bird-related mess can encourage ducks and other birds to continue using the same location, so keeping the area clean helps make the site less attractive.
- Use nerve-affecting and behavior-affecting bird repellents such as Methyl Anthranilate, Eugenol, Thymol, and/or Allyl Isothiocyanate, following the directions on the product label.
Hazing is generally more effective than spraying because the smaller airborne particles can reach the birds’ lungs more efficiently. But spraying on the ground in feeding areas may also be very effective.
For dilutable products, ducks usually require a higher concentration of the spray than other birds due to their particular resistance and stubbornness.
- Treat feeding areas with digestion-affecting repellents such as Anthraquinone, according to the product instructions. These products can make treated grass and other food sources unpleasant to ducks, reducing their desire to continue feeding in the area.
- Get a dog. Yes, really. A hunting dog that regularly patrols the site and immediately chases arriving ducks can make the property feel consistently unsafe to birds right away.
The key is consistent canine presence on your property: occasional visits or one-time contractor treatments may provide only temporary results, and the ducks simply return after the disturbance is gone.
- Use UV-visible bird deterrent dyes or sprays to reinforce the other treatments. Applied to turf, pathways, shorelines, or other problem areas, these products can make the environment appear visually unusual to birds while remaining essentially unchanged to people. They are usually not strong enough as a stand-alone measure, but combined with other deterrents, they can help ducks associate the property with an uncomfortable or undesirable environment.
Starlings
Starlings can gather in enormous flocks, making them especially troublesome for warehouses, manufacturing plants, agricultural and livestock facilities, shopping centers, transportation properties and airports.
Large roosts generate concentrated droppings, odor and noise, contaminate equipment and feed, create slippery surfaces, and can contribute to corrosion and substantial cleanup costs around industrial structures.
Their flocking behavior, adaptability and ability to exploit cavities and structures throughout developed areas make established starling populations difficult to manage as a simple one-location bird problem.
Large roosts generate concentrated droppings, odor and noise, contaminate equipment and feed, create slippery surfaces, and can contribute to corrosion and substantial cleanup costs around industrial structures.
Their flocking behavior, adaptability and ability to exploit cavities and structures throughout developed areas make established starling populations difficult to manage as a simple one-location bird problem.
What to do with starlings:
- Remove or cover all possible food sources on your property (and, preferably, around it) – this is what attracts starlings the most.
- Clean your property and remove all bird droppings, feathers, dirt, nests, and bird-related damage. Pheromones in them attract new flocks of birds.
- If birds are present inside your buildings, inspect all possible entry points and close them with small-mesh nets, wire mesh, grids, rubber strips, or other physical barriers. Remember that even a 1- or 2-inch hole is enough for starlings to come in.
- Use small-mesh bird netting under the roof to prevent starlings from landing, roosting, and nesting on beams, ledges, pipes, lights, and other structures. Make sure that no gaps are left – even a small missed hole somewhere in the far corner may ruin the whole job.
Hire an experienced, professional bird netting installer. A couple of bucks saved here may require the whole project to be redone.
- Where the netting is not an option, make all horizontal surfaces uncomfortable for birds. Use small spikes, mini-spikes, bird slides, bird gel, bird wire, and other bird-control surface protectants to discourage starlings from landing, roosting, and nesting on ledges, beams, roof tops, pipes, roof edges, store signs, and other surfaces.
- Use electric shock systems at the edges of roofs, beams, and pipes.
Shock systems are particularly effective with starlings because of their strong flock behavior. When just one bird gets zapped and panics, the whole flock instantly gets agitated and triggered to fly away from the danger.
- Spray or haze nerve-affecting and behavior-affecting chemicals (according to their instructions): Methyl Anthranilate, Eugenol, Thymol, and/or Allyl Isothiocyanate. They make starlings feel uncomfortable in the area and encourage the birds to look for a better place to live.
- Use food baits sprayed with the digestion-affecting chemicals, such as Anthraquinone (according to the instructions for the specific product). If the food on your property causes unpleasant sensations in starlings, they will sooner decide to leave the area.
- If some birds get inside your building and don’t want to leave, hire a local bird control professional to safely catch the birds and release them outside – as far from your property as possible.
- When you have openings that can’t be enclosed due to normal operation (gates, loading docks, etc.), use ozone bird deterrents (particularly together with hazers) to discourage starlings from flying inside the building. For doors and gates with less traffic, you can also use rubber strip curtains.
Ravens and Crows
Crows and ravens can create significant problems around landfills, industrial facilities, food operations, farms, outdoor storage areas, utility infrastructure and large commercial properties.
Flocks may scatter garbage, foul buildings and machinery with droppings, damage agricultural equipment or irrigation components, and build nests on electrical infrastructure where they can contribute to outages and equipment problems.
These birds are highly adaptable and capable of exploiting changing food sources and property conditions, which makes recurring crow and raven activity particularly difficult to eliminate once a site becomes part of their routine.
Flocks may scatter garbage, foul buildings and machinery with droppings, damage agricultural equipment or irrigation components, and build nests on electrical infrastructure where they can contribute to outages and equipment problems.
These birds are highly adaptable and capable of exploiting changing food sources and property conditions, which makes recurring crow and raven activity particularly difficult to eliminate once a site becomes part of their routine.
What to do with ravens and crows:
- Ravens and crows are among the smartest birds on the planet. So, if you make your property uncomfortable for them, they learn quickly to stay away. At the same time, they are more inclined to solo behavior instead of flock behavior, so you may need to convince every single raven and crow to leave your property. And repeat this process when new birds arrive.
- Remove all points of attraction for birds. Ravens and crows come to your property for a reason. Remove food and food trash, use lockable garbage cans, and remove pet food from areas accessible to birds. Use physical barriers (nets, grids, mesh, solid materials, etc.) to enclose all places where the birds can find shelter and build a nest.
- Protect horizontal surfaces, convenient for roosting (ledges, roof edges, gutters, beams, pipes, etc.) with large spikes or bird slides.
- Use bird gel + visual markers (UV-paint, bright paint, etc.) on horizontal surfaces where you can’t install physical deterrents.
- Install bird netting to enclose the space under roofs and canopies and all the areas where you don’t want the birds to be.
- Install a gull wire system over open areas (over pools, roofs, decks, etc.) – the same as for seagulls, it works great for ravens and crows, too.
- Chemicals may work less effectively on ravens and crows than on other birds, because they spend more time sitting than flying. But hazing Methyl Anthranilate or Eugenol into the air (according to the product instructions) works well as a second line of defense.
- Visual confirmations become especially important for controlling crows and ravens due to their high intellect. Use UV-paints, UV-visible dyes, or simply bright-colored paint together with other deterrents and repellents to reinforce their effect and teach the birds to stay away from your property. But using them as stand-alone measures may not produce a real effect. Mirrors, reflectors, and flashers may actually attract crows and ravens due to their curiosity.
- Crows and ravens are the only birds for which we would consider using a decoy as a secondary deterrent. Hanging a decoy of a dead crow somewhere in a tree may discourage the birds from visiting the nearby area. But that won’t work for long as a sole birdproof solution without applying other bird control methods.
Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers can cause surprisingly expensive damage to commercial buildings with wood siding, trim, synthetic surfaces, insulation or other materials that resemble suitable feeding or nesting sites.
Hotels, resorts, offices, clubhouses, recreational properties and buildings near wooded areas may suffer from repeated holes, damaged siding and insulation, while persistent drumming on metal flashing, gutters or other resonant surfaces can also become a serious noise complaint.
Woodpecker problems are difficult because the birds may be pecking for several different reasons – feeding, nesting or territorial drumming – and the same building can continue attracting them even after individual damaged areas are repaired.
Hotels, resorts, offices, clubhouses, recreational properties and buildings near wooded areas may suffer from repeated holes, damaged siding and insulation, while persistent drumming on metal flashing, gutters or other resonant surfaces can also become a serious noise complaint.
Woodpecker problems are difficult because the birds may be pecking for several different reasons – feeding, nesting or territorial drumming – and the same building can continue attracting them even after individual damaged areas are repaired.
What to do with woodpeckers:
- Seal wooden, foam, gypsum, and other soft surfaces with epoxy, reinforcing paint, or other surface sealants, making the surface harder to peck and less attractive to woodpeckers. This is a simple and relatively inexpensive but surprisingly effective solution.
By the way, if you are only planning to build something – never use foam products for exterior decoration of any building (as a substitute for stucco, for example, or for noise reduction). They are just a magnet for birds, particularly woodpeckers, swallows, pigeons, and sparrows. We’ve seen that so many times…
- Spray the structures and walls that woodpeckers like to peck with nerve-affecting and behavior-affecting chemicals (according to their instructions): Methyl Anthranilate, Eugenol, Thymol, and/or Allyl Isothiocyanate. Ideally – with the addition of a UV-dye for creating a visual reinforcement and increasing the repelling effect. Before spraying, make sure that the solution will not discolor or stain the surface.
Hazing repellents into the air works less effectively with woodpeckers. Better spray the points where they come into direct contact with the surface.
- Install small-mesh bird netting to cover the areas under canopies, roof eaves and soffits, and any other areas you want to exclude woodpeckers from. Make sure that you don’t leave even a tiny opening in the netting (often happens in corners or difficult-to-reach places) – otherwise, the whole job is useless. We strongly recommend hiring a professional bird control netting installers for this job.
- You may use visual confirmations (UV-paint, reflective strips and hangers) placed exactly at the treated areas but only as a secondary confirmation to teach the woodpeckers to stay away from treated areas. They won’t work as stand-alone long-term deterrents.
- In some specific cases, as a third line of defense applied together with other woodpecker control measures, providing a large sacrificial piece of wood trunk somewhere around may deflect the woodpeckers’ attention from your buildings. We don’t recommend this as a universal or a stand-alone solution – that won’t work. But this may work as an additional temporary measure in some situations when the potential damage to the building would be too costly.
Swallows
Swallows frequently build mud nests under commercial eaves, canopies, bridges, loading areas, parking structures, hangars, barns and other sheltered architectural surfaces.
Active nesting areas can accumulate substantial droppings and nesting debris over entrances, sidewalks, vehicles, loading zones and other customer- or employee-facing areas, creating both appearance and sanitation problems.
Swallows often return to familiar nesting locations, sometimes in colonies, and in the United States native swallows and their active nests are federally protected, which can make an established nesting problem especially sensitive and time-dependent.
Active nesting areas can accumulate substantial droppings and nesting debris over entrances, sidewalks, vehicles, loading zones and other customer- or employee-facing areas, creating both appearance and sanitation problems.
Swallows often return to familiar nesting locations, sometimes in colonies, and in the United States native swallows and their active nests are federally protected, which can make an established nesting problem especially sensitive and time-dependent.
What to do with swallows:
- Remove inactive nests outside the nesting season – otherwise swallows will come back the next season. Remove bird droppings, feathers, and all the bird-related dirt because it may attract new swallows.
- Remove access to any food and food leftovers, use garbage containers with locking lids – your property should not be a feeding ground for swallows.
- Use special surface protectors at the places where swallows usually build nests to prevent nests from attaching to the surface – the goal is to make the surface slippery, so swallows can’t build new nests (something like Slick-Coat, LiquiGlide, or just oil).
- Install inverted bird slides under ledges, beams, and other structures, where swallows usually build nests to prevent the birds from building new nests.
- Install bird spikes upside down in the nesting areas to make the nest-building process more complicated for swallows.
- Enclose structures under canopies, roofs, and eaves with small-mesh bird netting, so swallows can’t access them for shelter, roosting, and nesting. Make sure not to leave any gaps or openings, even the smallest ones; otherwise, swallows will get inside the netting, and you’ll need to do the whole installation job again.
- Use hazers to spread nerve-affecting and behavior-affecting bird control chemicals into the air (according to their instructions): Methyl Anthranilate, Eugenol, Thymol, and/or Allyl Isothiocyanate. They make swallows feel uncomfortable when flying, so the birds will leave your property sooner.
Noddies (Noddy Terns)
In tropical and island areas, noddies can become a major commercial bird problem around resorts, hotels, marinas, boatyards, waterfront businesses and other facilities located close to established seabird colonies.
Concentrated nesting can foul buildings, walkways, boats, public areas and even water-storage infrastructure with guano and nesting debris, creating odor, hygiene and guest-experience problems in otherwise high-value locations.
Noddies are colonial seabirds that may establish huge breeding concentrations around suitable trees and structures, making the conflict particularly challenging when an active commercial property sits directly beside a preferred nesting area.
Simply put, a colony of noddies producing tons of guano and constant loud screaming all day, every day – that’s not what you want next to your hotel guests or customers in your store or restaurant.
Concentrated nesting can foul buildings, walkways, boats, public areas and even water-storage infrastructure with guano and nesting debris, creating odor, hygiene and guest-experience problems in otherwise high-value locations.
Noddies are colonial seabirds that may establish huge breeding concentrations around suitable trees and structures, making the conflict particularly challenging when an active commercial property sits directly beside a preferred nesting area.
Simply put, a colony of noddies producing tons of guano and constant loud screaming all day, every day – that’s not what you want next to your hotel guests or customers in your store or restaurant.
What to do with noddies:
- Noddies (Black, Brown, Lesser Noddies – all of them) are among the most difficult birds to deter. They are very calm and stubborn, and they easily resist all common bird control measures. The most effective way to get rid of noddies is to work with the habitat and environment to decrease its attractiveness for birds and encourage them to move to other areas, where they aren’t considered a nuisance to people.
- Trim and prune trees to let more sunlight in. Noddies prefer nesting in shadow, where they can find shelter from tropical sun and enjoy cooler temperatures. If you take that shadow and comfort from them, they are more likely to decide to move to other trees and areas.
- Replace trees with ones that are less attractive for nesting. Noddies prefer trees with long horizontal branches and multiple branch forks, convenient for building nests (for example, Banyan trees). Replacing such trees with different ones, lacking those convenient branches (Palms, etc.) will prevent colonies of noddies from settling in the area.
- Remove new nests right after they are built, before noddies lay eggs. This may be a complicated and devastating process, requiring a lot of work in uncomfortable conditions, but if you are more persistent than the birds, this is an effective method.
- Use bird netting to exclude birds from structures and buildings, particularly under roofs and canopies. Make sure that there are no holes or openings left; otherwise, the birds will find a way inside.
Installing netting on the trees may not be practical due to wind damage to the net and the large size of trees preferred by noddies. But it is possible for spot applications at smaller trees.
- Use automated water spraying systems in crowns of trees and around the buildings. Noddies are marine birds, but they strictly require dry, sheltered platforms to incubate their eggs and raise chicks. Programming a 5-minute blast of water to cycle every hour during their peak roosting and nesting times (dusk, midnight, and dawn) completely destroys the dry microclimate they need. This will make them abandon the tree for a drier alternative. Adding MA-containing bird repellents into the water may speed up the process.
- Install a wire system over open areas (over pools, roofs, decks, etc.) – the same as for gulls. It creates the impression that the area is dangerous for flying, and noddies will avoid it.
At the same time, treat this as a secondary noddy control measure. Noddies usually create more trouble in the trees and around buildings than on open spaces where wire systems are most effective.
- Bird control sprays are less effective against all types of noddies than against other birds. At the same time, nerve-affecting and behavior-affecting bird control chemicals containing Methyl Anthranilate specifically (not other bird control chemicals) have demonstrated a positive effect in combination with other bird control actions. Noddies may require a stronger concentration of spray than other birds.
The most effective way is to spray the repellent in the trees with a large amount of water using automated sprinkler systems or misting systems to create wet conditions and affect the birds’ nervous system at the same time. Fogging and hazing MA-based repellents into the air also showed some positive results, but not as much as with other birds.
- Some experiments showed that using decoy birds and recorded bird calls in the areas where you want to move the birds to can increase the speed of relocation of noddy colonies. But the scientific results on this are ambiguous, and this should be used only as a secondary or supplementary tactic together with other noddy control methods.
Myna Birds (Mynah Birds)
Myna birds can become persistent pests around hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, open-air markets, warehouses and other commercial properties in regions where they are established.
Close relatives of starlings, originating from Asia, mynas have recently spread widely around the world, becoming a large problem in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Hawaii. Their presence is continuing to increase in the Caribbean region and in the southeastern United States, particularly in Florida.
Their scavenging, droppings, noise and nesting activity can foul customer areas and building surfaces, while nests placed in roofs, cavities and other structural spaces create additional maintenance and sanitation concerns.
Common and Indian mynas thrive around human development, readily use buildings and food associated with commercial activity, and can be difficult to dislodge once a property provides reliable feeding, roosting and nesting opportunities.
Close relatives of starlings, originating from Asia, mynas have recently spread widely around the world, becoming a large problem in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Hawaii. Their presence is continuing to increase in the Caribbean region and in the southeastern United States, particularly in Florida.
Their scavenging, droppings, noise and nesting activity can foul customer areas and building surfaces, while nests placed in roofs, cavities and other structural spaces create additional maintenance and sanitation concerns.
Common and Indian mynas thrive around human development, readily use buildings and food associated with commercial activity, and can be difficult to dislodge once a property provides reliable feeding, roosting and nesting opportunities.
What to do with myna birds:
- Remove all the food and food leftovers or, at least, try to restrict birds’ access to them as much as possible – use closed garbage bins, enclose edible merchandise with nets or strip curtains, and don’t let leftover food sit on restaurant tables for long. Anything edible attracts myna birds immediately, and removing food sources quickly discourages them from hanging out on your property – they will leave to find food somewhere else.
- Remove all the nests (check local regulations first), and clean all the mess created by the birds: bird droppings, feathers, dirt, etc. They emanate pheromones and smells that attract new birds, literally saying “there is a safe place here”.
- Close all the access points inside your building, structural cavities, openings, ventilation breathers, etc. with physical barriers: mesh, grids, nets, etc. You need to eliminate areas where myna birds can find a safe shelter and a place to rest, roost, and nest.
- Prune trees where myna birds regularly roost and nest. Mynas like the comfort of shade, lower temperatures, and a feeling of safety. By partially removing leaves and branches, you open the trees to sunlight and take all those benefits of comfort away from the birds. So, they will more easily decide to leave for other areas.
- Use professionally installed small-mesh bird netting to close roof eaves, canopies, and other structures you want to exclude myna birds from. Also, use fine-mesh bird control nets to protect fruit trees and crops during ripening and harvesting.
- Use hazers or foggers to spread nerve-affecting and behavior-affecting chemicals into the air (according to their instructions): Methyl Anthranilate, Eugenol, Thymol, and/or Allyl Isothiocyanate. They make myna birds feel uncomfortable in the area, particularly in flight, and encourage the birds to move somewhere else.
- Install small-sized spikes, mini-spikes, or bird slides on the ledges, edges of roofs, pipes, beams, fences, and other surfaces where myna birds prefer to land and roost.
- Trapping and moving the birds to distant areas showed good results especially with myna birds. If you have a particularly stubborn colony on your property, and none of the other methods have driven them away, hire a pest control professional to safely capture and remove the birds from the area.
| | Our first consultation is free. |