Reopening Preparation: Bird Control & Vigilance
May 20, 2020Coronavirus isn’t the only health and safety issue that calls for extra vigilance as businesses return to the workplace operations.
The coronavirus shutdown’s overlap with key bird migratory and nesting schedules means millions of birds were heading back to North America just as North America was abandoning its shops, restaurants, offices, recreational facilities and every other kind of venue seen as too risky while the virus was still spreading.
Too risky for humans, that is. For birds, a lot of those places began to look even better, as a safe place to use as a rest stop, or even a nice place to start a family, especially where there is access to food and water.
Vigilance with Bird Issues Keeps Costs Under Control
As the MBM Team knows only too well, a lot can happen while you’re away. That’s why we have remained on the job for our clients throughout the shutdown.
It’s vigilance that enables us to stop problems before they become bigger, more expensive problems. We spend a lot of time watching over the properties of our clients – we even thwart problems like water-main leaks and vandalism attempts from time to time – so we have a unique vantage point into the way that birds, like vandals, take advantage when your attention is elsewhere. Unlike vandals, however, bird intrusion is rarely a hit and run event. If they like what they find while you’re gone, they may decide to move in.
Property and business owners can avoid costly bird issues down the road by staying alert to signs of potential bird conflicts. Bird droppings that are allowed to accumulate pose numerous health risks, including the risk of slip and falls, food contamination and indoor air quality issues.
Bird Attacks & Other Hazards of Avian Intrusion
Birds that stick around long enough to become nesting birds can become extremely aggressive, dive bombing customers or employees when they feel threatened. In addition to the risk of injury, such attacks carry legal risks for property owners. Last year, according to the Washington Post, a woman who was dive-bombed on a dock at a Disney World lagoon filed suit against the resort. Her attorney said the woman was left with traumatic brain and neck injuries after she was struck by a bird “with the force of a baseball.”
While her injuries may have been extreme, such attacks are not uncommon. Red-winged blackbirds are one of the species known for aggressive attacks, with a habit of swooping in on pedestrians who come too close during their nesting season, which begins later this month and runs through mid-July.
Blackbirds can be an agricultural menace as well and have the potential to spread disease like avian flu, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Cliff swallows build their nests from mud on “cliffs” – a definition that can include surfaces like the eaves of your building. Their colonies can grow to includes hundreds or even thousands of birds, according to the Cornell Lab.
Many other more familiar species like pigeons, sparrows, gulls and of course, Canada Geese, may also have staked out a homestead on your property while you were away.
Mall and shopping center owners and developers may want to survey their buildings before reopening in order to search for nests and other signs of bird intrusion that may not be immediately apparent.
At MBM, we have deep expertise in the art and science of preventing and managing bird conflicts with humane, effective and cost-effective strategies customized by species, by location and by season – and led by trained biologists.
To arrange for a bird control site evaluation or to learn more about effective bird strategies for your property, give us a call or click on the link below.
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