4 Bird Control Products You Should Be Considering

If you grow berries, grapes or cherries, chances are you or someone you know has been hit by bird damage. Nuisance birds like starlings and robins may be small, but the damage they inflict can be devastating for growers.

Fortunately, growers today don’t have to rely on the old scarecrows of yesteryear. Even just a few years ago, propane cannons were the weapon of choice for fruit growers, especially grape growers. But it wasn’t long before the birds became accustomed to the booming, and now they’ve been known to perch on the cannons in between explosions.

However, modern growers can dip into an arsenal of new weapons to get rid of their bird problems. These weapons include recordings of the nuisance birds’ distress and alarm calls and sounds made by their predators; falconers who can deploy platoons of predators; and chemicals that smell and taste so bad to the birds that they leave the fruit alone.

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Bird Gard Digital Bird Repeller

Once nuisance birds get a taste of your fruit, they can be doubly hard to rid from the orchard or vineyard. Better to keep them out in the first place. (Photo credit: Rick Willis, Bird Gard)

Once nuisance birds get a taste of your fruit, they can be doubly hard to rid from the orchard or vineyard. Better to keep them out in the first place.
(Photo credit: Rick Willis, Bird Gard)

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Bird Gard repels pest birds by broadcasting their actual distress and alarm calls, plus the sounds made by their natural predators: hawks, falcons and eagles. Bird Gard is not a noisemaker that is simply trying to startle the birds, but is a sophisticated bio-acoustic harassment device that appeals to the biological survival instincts of the birds, says the marketing manager for Bird Gard, Rick Willis.

That natural survival instinct is what causes them to flee the area. When a flock of birds comes within range of a Bird Gard unit they immediately change direction, he says. Bird Gard products work on all crops, processing facilities and any areas where birds and bird droppings are not wanted.

The biggest hurdle to overcome for any method of bird control is that birds are very adept at adapting and they can quickly habituate to any deterrent.

“A product that seems to work at first may not be very effective a week or two later,” Willis says. “Over the last decade, Bird Gard has developed some sophisticated random technologies that have virtually eliminated habituation in most bird species.”

Damage from birds in your orchard is seen on these sweet cherries. (Photo credit: Rick Willis, Bird Gard)

Damage from birds in your orchard is seen on these sweet cherries. (Photo credit: Rick Willis, Bird Gard)

These random features are controlled by a microprocessor in each unit that can randomly change the order in which the bird sounds are broadcast, the delay time between broadcasts, and the frequency of the bird sound, so that it sounds like they are many different birds of the same species being attacked by several different predators throughout the protected field.

The key to the effectiveness of Bird Gard is matching the distress calls to the bird species causing problems. “We have recordings of more than 120 different bird species and can effectively repel most pest birds causing problems,” he says.

The sophisticated devices have replaceable sound cards so the bird calls can be easily updated if the list of problem birds ever changes, and they cover from 3 acres to 30 acres. “Blocks of several hundred acres can be protected by installing Bird Gard units around the perimeter as the sound creates a sonic wall the birds won’t fly over,” Willis says.

At the edge of the effective range the sound level is down to about 70 decibels, which is about as loud as traffic on a highway. Neighbors at the edge of the effective range generally do not find the sound to be bothersome. Also, the units all have photo sensors so they can be programmed to turn on automatically at sunrise and off at sunset.


Advanced Avian Abatement

Sam Wayne, an aplomado falcon, stands guard over a vineyard, preventing entry. (Photo credit: Justin Robertson)

Sam Wayne, an aplomado falcon, stands guard over a vineyard, preventing entry. (Photo credit: Justin Robertson)

One thing to keep in mind about hiring a falconer is that they have to have the right bird for the job. Justin Robertson, a general falconer for Advanced Avian Abatement — he’ll become a master falconer after one more year of experience — says different falcons do different things.

“Every crop is different. Even one blueberry crop is different than another blueberry crop,” he says. “What’s around it? What’s the size? What’s the geography? Which species of nuisance birds is doing the damage?”

For example, some birds, like magpies, like to go into the canopy. His falcon of choice of late, an aplomodo, would be perfect for the job because it will go into the canopy.

“It’s a very versatile bird, with a shorter wingspan and long tail, it can maneuver in tight spaces,” he says. “Whereas if you have the need for speed, the peregrine falcon will cover a larger area.”

The industry standard of late is the aplomodo, because of its versatility. Peregrines are speedsters but they build that speed by flying high.

One magpie did make it in, but Sam took care of him. (Photo credit: Justin Robertson)

One magpie did make it in, but Sam took care of him. (Photo credit: Justin Robertson)

“We prefer the falcons to prey just a hundred feet up,” Roberston says. “They’re not as effective at keeping nuisance birds out when they’re way up.”

The falcons, which sell for thousands of dollars, get extensive training before going into the field, in part to keep them from wandering off and costing their falconer a lot of money. But it’s not just the money. Falconers spend countless hours with their birds, and they do get attached to them. He has an aplomodo that is a particular favorite. He’s named Jefe, despite the fact that he’s a small falcon at only 230 grams. Jefe’s ideal for starlings.

Robertson says he moves into a field or vineyard just before the crop starts to ripen for a couple of reasons. First the falcons need to learn the area.

“Also, once the nuisance birds get in and establish a food source, you might be able to clean them out, but maybe not,” says Robertson.

Sam Wayne (left), who falconer Justin Robertson named after his father, bags another magpie. (Photo credit: Justin Robertson)

Sam Wayne (left), who falconer Justin Robertson named after his father, bags another magpie. (Photo credit: Justin Robertson)

He stays at a given field about six weeks on average, and because it usually costs several hundred dollars a day, his services are not cheap. But then again, neither is bird damage.

“There is so much bird damage typically, that hiring a falconer almost always pencils out,” he says. “We can get the damage down to 1%, so when people are losing 5% to 10 % it will pencil out. The bottom line is it doesn’t require a lot of bird damage to make control a good financial option.”

Avian Control Bird Repellent
Yet another method of controlling nuisance birds is temporarily making your crop taste so bad the birds don’t want to eat it. Avian Control Bird Repellent acts like tear gas for birds, says the president of Avian Enterprises, Jon Stone.

“If humans walked into a field that had been treated,” he says, “we would go elsewhere for dinner.”

Initially, the company marketed Avian Control to airports, commercial properties, landfills or solid waste transfer stations and golf courses — areas often plagued by safety and health concerns due to large numbers of geese, pigeons and other pest birds.

As Avian Control’s reputation grew, it came to the attention of officials within the USDA, who said the agricultural industry had been seeking a safe, effective bird repellent for decades.

It can be used on a wide variety of fruit crops that attract a lot of nuisance birds, such as sweet and tart cherries, table and wine grapes, and blueberries. The product doesn’t translocate, so it doesn’t change the flavor or the color of the fruit, he says.

The repellent acts like a behavior modification tool for birds, says Stone. “It’s like retraining an animal to stay away,” he says. “Whether they come back the next day or four days later, they don’t want to stay.”

It will work for 10 to 14 days through rain or shine, though a deluge of rain will wash it off. However, though it keeps birds away for up two weeks, humans can’t smell or taste after just a few days. “Birds are much more sensitive to smell or taste,” says Stone.

The AirRanger, a wind dancer equipped with Mylar reflective strips, is a relatively new addition to orchards. The unpredictability of the wind dancer's movements have proven to be successful bird deterrents. (Photo credit: Look Our Way)

The AirRanger, a wind dancer equipped with Mylar reflective strips, is a relatively new addition to orchards. The unpredictability of the wind dancer’s movements have proven to be successful bird deterrents. (Photo credit: Look Our Way)

Dancing Away Birds
Air dancers, which have been used to attract attention along roadsides, have moved to berry patches, orchards, and vineyards. And not as a direct marketing component, but as a bird deterrent. The unpredictable dancing motion, paired with reflective material has proven successful in keeping birds on their toes.

These air dancers are part of a three-year $2 million USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant. Researchers from Cornell University, Michigan State University, Washington State University, Trinity Western University and USDA are testing the effectiveness of the wind dancers as a scare tactic in high-value crops such as blueberries, grapes, cherries, apples, strawberries, and raspberries.

Generators or power cords are needed to power the blowers used for the 20-foot and 12-foot models.

Wind dancers found their way into agriculture when Gary Long, president of GS Long Co., in Wenatchee, WA, contacted Look Our Way, a company out of California, to see if the Look Our Way’s products would work to keep birds out of his Honeycrisp block. Long estimates he lost roughly 20 bins three years ago to bird damage. He put three wind dancers in that block and only lost two bins a year later.

“This two bin loss was directly due to one of the AirRangers’ power supply being disrupted for most of one day. Last year, we used four GSL Air Rangers with Mylar reflective tape put on them in this same one-acre test block with no loss of fruit to bird damage. We also used them in other Honeycrisp blocks with the same benefits” Long says.

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