We don’t usually think of birds as a nuisance, but if you have birds that have flown into your home or are nesting or roosting on your house or property, they can become a serious problem that requires bird control. While spring birds bring music and color to our yards, they can also create a racket and a mess. Flocks of birds create a hazard with their droppings, cause damage to your roof and siding, and can rob your trees of fruit.
How do you rid your property of birds that fly up into the air and then settle back down again? With over 100 offices throughout the U.S. and over 40 years of experience, Critter Control offers bird pest control solutions that are safe, humane, and effective.
Common Pest Bird Types
There are a handful of bird species that are commonly considered nuisances:
- European Starlings gather in large flocks. Not only do starlings create noise and messes, but they also compete with native birds for nesting sites and food.
- Canada Geese are large birds that can land in large numbers and rest before continuing with their migration. Unfortunately, their droppings create a mess, and they are aggressive.
- Pigeons are common nuisance birds in more urban areas where they roost in large numbers on buildings.
- House Sparrows are small but build nests in your vents and eaves and take over bird feeders.
- Crows are intelligent birds with a loud call. Once they find a consistent food source, they call in their friends.
Critter Control has the experience and expertise to effectively and humanely solve bird control issues for every type of bird.
Nuisance Bird Inspections
Every bird control service begins with an inspection of the area of concern. Critter Control’s first task is to identify the specific bird species using their knowledge of visual identification, bird nests, auditory calls, and behavior. Your wildlife specialist will engineer a plan to solve the problem and prevent any recurrence based on species, federal, state, or local laws, and the severity of the infestation.
During your inspection, Critter Control will thoroughly examine areas such as your roof, chimney, vents, decks, garages, soffits, and sheds, as well as the conditions around your home that may have attracted the birds to your property.
Bird Removal and Control
We consider the safety and well-being of you, your family, your pets, and the birds when doing removal. Unless birds are trapped in a vent or your basement, they are difficult to capture and remove. Because they take flight and land again, the best bird control solution is to make the area less attractive to the birds by deterring them from landing, roosting, or nesting.
Critter Control’s wildlife specialists are expertly trained and can make informed decisions about methods and materials that are right for your specific situation.
Once the birds have been dispersed, Critter Control will clean the affected area and apply sanitizing agents to ensure any health and safety risks to you and your family are eliminated.
Commercial Bird Control Services
In commercial circumstances, birds roosting on rooftops, behind neon signs, and nesting in warehouses pose health hazards, compliance and financial risks, and loss of reputation. For commercial properties, an overall bird control management plan that includes removal, regularly scheduled monitoring, and maintenance is essential.
Bird Proofing, Exclusion, and Prevention
The strategy for bird-proofing, exclusion, and prevention is to make the space the birds are occupying difficult to access and make the surrounding environment less attractive to them.
For areas outside of your home or business, such as roofs, soffits, and trees, tactics can include sealing gaps, adding mesh and caps to chimneys and vents, and installing spikes to keep birds from roosting and nesting. Reflective objects, decoys of predators, and auditory deterrents can be placed in and around your trees.
Critter Control might also recommend habitat modification techniques, such as removing food, water, and shelter from your property. Removing bird feeders, trimming trees and bushes, and netting fruit trees are a few examples.
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Many species of birds are protected by laws because of the important role they play in our environment. Birds are vital for pollination, seed dispersal, and insect control. Some of the laws and regulations Critter Control specialists are fully trained in include the Migratory Bird Act and the Endangered Species Act, as well as regulations enacted on the individual state and local levels. In some instances, special permits from state wildlife agencies must be obtained before nests can be safely and humanely removed.
Birds are a more serious nuisance than most people understand. Nests built inside vents and chimneys can become a fire hazard. Pigeon droppings on sidewalks are slippery, leading to potential fall injuries. These droppings are also corrosive. They contain high levels of uric acid, which damages siding, paint, brickwork, concrete, and even metals.
Birds carry parasites such as fleas, lice, mites, and ticks. Their droppings contain pathogens and fungi that can spread to people and pets and cause diseases, including salmonella and histoplasmosis. Exposure to dried droppings, feathers, and nesting materials can cause allergic reactions and respiratory issues.
If you have a single nest of birds in a vent or roof gutter, Critter Control can remove it if laws permit.
In rescue situations, such as chimneys or basements, birds can be released on-site if the entrance has been secured properly. Occasionally, live traps will be used, especially if flocks of birds are involved. For persistent birds and larger flocks, several advanced techniques may be applied simultaneously, including spikes, mylar tape, scare tactics, and more.
Once the bird or nest has been successfully removed, Critter Control wildlife technicians will seal openings and apply caps on vents or chimneys where necessary. Critter control agents will clean any bird messes and apply sanitization agents to ensure the safety of the home.
For exterior areas, such as roofs and trees, any combination of habitat modification, exclusion tactics, and repellents, may be utilized to make the property unsuitable or unattractive to birds. Critter Control can also provide suggestions to maintain the property so birds do not continue to be problematic.
It is not recommended to shoot birds since laws and regulations control what is and is not lawful in bird removal. A bird removal specialist is trained in the relocation and prevention of birds in a manner that is safe for the birds and for all people involved.
Contact your local Critter Control bird removal expert if you suspect a bird problem.
Although birds play a critical part in our ecosystems, you don’t want them in or on your house. Birds harbor up to 60 diseases according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which can be transferred to humans with potentially fatal results. In addition to these diseases, other pests are carried by birds and attracted by their waste and nests.
Birds can cause structural damage due to the high concentration of acids in their excrement which can corrode roof tiles. Lastly, bird nests are highly flammable, increasing fire hazard risks to the home.
Sometimes these locations include:
If birds are not removed immediately, they can cause a lot of damage and attract other birds, which is a why implementing a strategic bird removal plan is critical. Removing the bird’s nest is a start to bird removal, but you will want to contact a bird removal specialist in the area to ensure the birds do not come back.
Deterrents work by creating a disagreeable environment for birds, so they decide to go elsewhere to roost or nest. Deterrents can be visual, such as a predator decoy; auditory, such as ultrasonic devices; or physical, such as an electric shock device.
Exclusion methods are those that keep birds from landing, roosting, and nesting. These include caps and mesh placed over vents and other openings, bird spikes or slopes placed on ledges and eaves that prevent birds from landing, or netting that creates a physical barrier over large swathes of areas such as rooftops or gardens.
The most effective bird control is to deny them places to land and nest on and around your home or commercial building. When you make your property an inhospitable place for them, they will seek a more inviting place to call their own.
Critter Control’s knowledgeable technicians have several bird control methods to bird-proof your home or help get rid of birds that congregate on municipal and commercial buildings in urban settings. We will work with you to bird-proof your property in a humane method with a bird control plan. We use other bird deterrents in rural and agricultural settings for bird control.
For more information on bird control and bird-proofing, please contact us at (800) 274-8837.
While relocating a nest may sometimes be your only option if laws permit, it is not a recommended practice. Bird removal requires thoughtful consideration of the humane, legal, and practical aspects of getting rid of birds.
Relocating birds during nesting season may not only be illegal but also bring stress to the birds, as they might face challenges adapting to a new environment, such as locating food, predation, and competition from other birds. Contact Critter Control if you have birds nesting in an undesirable location. They will be able to identify the species and carry out a plan to safely and humanely solve your bird problem.