Bird Control for Flower Shops

by Alex A. Kecskes
If you own or manage a flower shop, you know it takes tender loving care to keep your flowers fresh. You also know that image is everything. Your shop must look clean and well kept at all times. After all, people who buy flowers are looking for ways to express their love and appreciation for someone else. Whether it's a wedding or birthday bouquet, or simply a very special announcement or occasion, when customers come to your shop they want to know that your flowers are fresh, clean and as beautiful as can be. These days, buying flowers is expensive and you want to do everything you can to protect your investment.

Problem: Pest birds can ruin the image of your flower shop. If you have beautiful petunia hanging baskets and flower-filled window boxes, pigeons and blue jays will attack them all spring and summer. Doves have a habit of building nests in baskets of Million Bells. Mourning Doves will leave their large messy droppings wherever they build their nests. Birds will also destroy your lovely bougainvillea plants.

Aside from the direct damage to your plants and flowers, pest birds can create an unwelcome environment for your customers. The smell of bird droppings, for example, can be a real turn off to customer looking for a wedding bouquet or tabletop arrangement.  Bird droppings can also create slippery walkways that result in dangerous slip-and-fall hazards—a huge liability should someone fall and injure themselves on your property.  Of course, just the sight of bird droppings on windows, awnings, umbrellas, doors and door handles can turn some customers away from your establishment. 

Pest birds can also cause physical damage to your flower shop. They can gather and nest on your roof, leaving nests, feathers and other debris to clog rooftop A.C. units, rain gutters and spouts. Bird droppings can eat into your signage and exterior walls to degrade and mar the finish. The last thing you need in this bad economy is repair and re-painting bills.

Solution: Bird netting and pigeon netting provide the exclusionary bird proofing you need to deny pest birds access to your flower shop. Strung across open or patio areas of your shop, Heavy-Duty Polyethylene Bird netting made from a U.V. stabilized mesh is ideal. It comes in various cuts and mesh sizes. For larger birds you'll need a 2-inch mesh; medium sized birds will require a 1 1/8-inch mesh; and smaller birds call for a 3/4-inch mesh. In most cases, netting is available in a variety of colors to blend in with color scheme of your shop. The best netting is ISO 1806 protocol mesh tested, rot-proof, and non-conductive so as not to interfere with electrical wiring or your customers' cell phone calls.

You might also consider No-Knot Bird netting--ideal for larger, horizontal applications. It's stronger than ordinary knotted polyethylene netting and 30 percent lighter. It's also less expensive to ship and easier to install than regular netting. There's no need to pull the net into shape, as you may need to do with knotted polyethylene netting. No-Knot netting comes in several mesh sizes. Use a 2-inch mesh to block out big birds like pigeons, gulls and crows, and 3/4-inch mesh to keep out sparrows and starlings.

When installing any kind of bird netting, leave no gaps, openings, wrinkles or excessive sags. Before cutting the netting, allow enough netting for perimeter fastening and overlap seams (6" min. for both). It's your flower shop. Protect it with a good bird control investment.

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Bird Guards to Control Invasive Pest Birds

by Alex A. Kecskes

Among the family of pest birds that plague our homes and businesses, one can include the bird type known as "invasive birds." Birds that fall into this category can pose a problem for wildlife, agriculture and, most alarmingly, human health. So what constitutes an invasive bird?

For starters, invasive species are not native to a particular area. Without bird guards to control them, they will threaten the local ecosystem and economy, and pose significant human health risks. It should be noted that not every non-native bird can be classified as invasive. Many of these nomads readily adapt to new and different ecosystems without threatening these habitats. Only when a species significantly impacts a new area can it be labeled as invasive. It's also worth noting that a species that may be considered invasive in one area may be entirely innocuous in a different region.

Birds that many consider invasive in North America include the European starling, house sparrow, mallard, mute swan, rock pigeon and Canada goose. These species and others who fall into the category of invasive are introduced to an "invaded area" a number of ways. One way is simply through geographic expansion, e.g., when one species crowds out another threatening the species or the ecosystem that supports it. Another way a species becomes invasive is when it is deliberately imported as in the case of early European settlers who brought over birds they liked from their native countries, or when farmers imported birds to control the threat of insects.

Regardless of how they came to an area, unless they are controlled with bird guards, invasive birds can create all sorts of problems. They compete for nesting sites and food sources, they eat crops and seeds, they carry any of 60 known diseases, and they disrupt an area's ecological predator/prey balance.

In many areas, invasive bird species are protected by wildlife conservation measures or migratory bird treaties. Before attempting any lethal means of control, property owners should contact their local wildlife management office. The other alternative is, of course, to use non-lethal bird guards. These are effective, humane, and run the gamut from simple to high tech. Let's look at a few.

Fogging Agents

A humane and highly effective bird guard, these chemical agents irritate a nerve in a bird's mucus membrane. Birds fly or walk through this chemical and they can't wait to leave. The chemical, a food-grade methyl anthranilate, is basically a non-lethal grape extract regulated by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) under FIFRA (the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act). Bird fogging can be used indoors or out to deter a variety of pest birds--including gulls, mallards, Canada geese, pigeons, starlings, blackbirds and cowbirds. Fogging agents should be used in the early morning or late evening when flocks are typically feeding and grouped together. These agents have been widely used to clear airport runways and tarmacs. Golf course owners often use them to clear greens and adjacent areas of grass-eating pests. And warehouse operators have used fogging agents to clear invasive birds out of open bay storage facilities, receiving docks and similar structures.

Chemical Bird Repellents

Another way to use chemicals as a pest bird guard is through the use of Chemical Bird Repellents. These chemicals are applied to the invaded area to create an uncomfortable sticky landing zone. Ideal for use on ledges, trees, fences and bushes or shrubs, the non-toxic liquid gel is equally effective for small or large pest birds. You get a lot of repellent for your money, since a one-gallon container will usually treat 120 square feet. These repellents are easily applied using a hand or pressure spray gun with a discharge pressure between 40 to 150 psi. A single application typically lasts up to six months outdoors. One bit of advice: Don't use chemical bird repellents on vertical or porous surfaces, building structures, or where birds have been nesting.

Chemical Goose Repellents

Got geese?  Here's a bird guard that will make them leave. It's called Chemical Spray Goose Repellent. It's ideal for repelling geese from parks, shorelines, golf courses, cemeteries, lawns, yards, landscaping, shrubs, or any grassy areas. When geese eat the grass, shrubs or anything green covered with this non-toxic liquid, they can't stand the taste and move on to a more palatable menu. The chemical is basically a grape extract that's safe for pets, geese and humans. These repellents are easy to apply using standard hand-held sprayers available at most garden stores. Some chemical repellents come in a liquid concentrate that you mix with water. You apply an initial application, then wait about a week, and repeat the process. Two applications will last for approximately three months. The chemical stays effective even after a rain spell or sprinkler watering. The best goose repellent is registered with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Bird Sonic Systems 

Like most living things, birds have a fear threshold. Cross it and most birds will simply take flight. This holds true for invading bird species, since they are constantly on the lookout for predators and the distress calls of their fellow feathered friends. If you happen to be a pigeons, the sound of Peregrine falcons defending their territory will make you nervous enough to leave. If you're a starling and seagull, predator hawks screeching and gulls under attack will convince you to take flight. These are the sounds emitted by Bird Sonic Systems. The have been specially designed to broadcast natural bird sounds that are not unpleasant to humans but alarm invading birds. The best sonic bird guards can be set up to emit distress and predator calls day or night. And speaker units can easily be added to significantly expand the coverage area. The best systems will continually alter the pitch, frequency, timing and intensity of their sounds. This keeps invading birds from getting too accustomed to the sounds.

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