Are Nuisance Birds Attempting A Hostile Takeover of Your Business?

New Jersey, the 47th smallest state with under 9.000 square miles, has the distinction of being the most densely populated with, on average, 1,100 people stuffed into each square mile. Although it would seem that there would be little room for birdlife, almost half of New Jersey is wooded acreage from the vast southern Pinelands to the oaks of the northern forests. According to William Boyle, who authored A Guide to Bird Finding in New Jersey, about 400 species of birds call the Garden State their home. Also, because of our location on the Atlantic coast, we attract an abundance of ducks, skuas, skimmers, geese, shorebirds, gulls, terns, gannets, and other water-associated species.

Unfortunately, along with our many species of breath-taking birds from the Black Crowned Night Heron and the Black-capped Chickadee to our state bird, the Eastern Goldfinch, New Jersey also has a serious “nuisance” bird population. The Rutgers Agricultural Extension includes as “nuisance birds” pigeons (Columba livia), house sparrows (Passer domesticus), and starlings (Sternus vulgaris). All of these species are non-native; they were introduced into the United States from Europe. For starlings, we can thank Eugene Schifllelin, an eccentric drug manufacturer. In 1890, he imported 60 European starlings and released them in Central Park hoping to introduce America to all of the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's works. Now, more than 100 years later the starling has distinguished itself as one of the costliest and most noxious birds. Roosting in hordes of up to a million, starlings can devour vast stores of seed and fruit. In a single day, a cloud of starlings can devour up to 20 tons of potatoes. And disturbing their dried droppings releases microscopic infectious spores into the air carrying bacteria and lethal fungi that can be easily inhaled. Bird-transmitted diseases include a long list of fungal diseases including histoplasmosis, a fungal lung ailment, and toxoplasmosis, which is especially dangerous to pregnant women. Droppings can also transfer viral meningitis and encephalitis.

These species have thrived in human habitats with a virtually unlimited food supply and no natural predators. We have seen large infestations of all these pest birds in a variety of commercial facilities from all over the state. But in terms of the amount of damage caused by waste droppings and the entrenched level of infestation, pigeons rule the roost, no pun intended. Pigeons have become the avian equivalent of city rodents that have been called every name in the book – from rats with wings and sky rate to gutter birds and flying ashtrays.

Nuisance birds take over and use the inside or outside of a building or warehouse as roosting, loafing, and nesting sites. Nuisance birds cause extensive damage to structures by drilling holes or clogging ventilation systems and machinery with their nests creating fire hazards. They cause water backup in rain gutters that can lead to dangerous and costly structural damage. To add insult to injury, these birds leave mounds of diseased waste droppings that are acidic enough to dissolve paint, stain wood, erode metal, and cause concrete and stonework to crumble. Bird problems don’t magically go away. Once these birds get settled in, they won’t be leaving on their own accord. You need to contact an experienced bird control professional who can evaluate the problem and institute cost-effective bird control measures that work.

When a client is at wit’s end in dealing with birds and their noxious droppings, the general attitude is that drastic times call for drastic measures. They want these birds gone. Shoot them. Trap them. Poison them. That’s wrong for a variety of reasons. First, the Migratory Bird Treaty and Endangered Species Acts prohibit the trapping or killing of most birds, eggs, or nests without a permit. So, before doing anything, you must identify the pest bird and know any applicable municipal, state, and federal laws. Proper and effective bird control is about removal and exclusion through various physical, visual, or auditory deterrents. The objective in bird control is to not only rid yourself of the existing bird infestation but also to make sure that birds find your facility undesirable. You want your facility made as “bird-proof” as possible so you don’t have to keep revisiting the problem every year.

According to Cowley, bird control is a multi-tactic approach involving a variety of deterrents. Bird control can be difficult and frustrating, but it is a winnable war. Physical barrier deterrents such as anti-roosting spikes, nettings, post and wire deterrents, bird slopes, and shock tracks are usually the most effective over the long-term and just as important, no harm comes to the birds. Effective long-term bird control requires behavior modification. Eliminate potential food and water sources. Finally, do not attempt to clean up bird droppings yourself unless you have the proper protective gear and have been trained in hazmat procedures.