Targeting Birds That Give Fruit Growers the Most Trouble

Segueing from last month’s Q&A feature with bird control experts, Part 2 of American Fruit Grower’s bird control Q&A focuses on specific species and how three companies — Avian Control, Wild Goose Chase, and Reed-Joseph — are dealing with them:

What specific species of birds do you manage most often? Our readers make multiple mentions of starlings, crows, and robins.

Barthell Joseph (Owner, Reed-Joseph): “All those, and don’t forget the cedar waxwing.”

Jon Stone (President, Avian Control): “The cedar waxwing is primarily the most stubborn we’ve seen. The more stubborn the bird, the more aggressive and higher concentration of product is needed as well as starting very early.”

Carla Wagner (Director of Solutions, Wild Goose Chase): “When it comes to fruit farms, European starlings, crows, and various species of blackbirds are among the most common species that Wild Goose Chase is called in to manage. These species tend to form large flocks that can descend on a crop and cause massive amounts of pecking and feeding damage in a very short amount of time. We’ve had grape growers report complete crop loss in less than a week near harvest time. Cedar waxwings, robins, and flickers are also frequent contributors to crop damage, but they tend to form smaller — though no less destructive — flocks.”

What bird is your most interesting or unique challenge? Turkeys are always mentioned by our readers.

Wagner (Wild Goose Chase): “Turkeys are definitely an interesting challenge when it comes to bird control. In fact, they almost act more like deer and rabbits when it comes to how they approach and damage fruit crops. Many of the traditional bird management tools and techniques have a hard time reaching where turkeys approach and feed from. When dealing with turkeys, outside-the-box thinking and custom applications designed for a farm’s particular environment are almost certainly required.”

Joseph (Reed-Joseph): “Good question. We find birds in flocks are more easily deterred than individual birds. Also, smarter birds are typically more easily deterred. For example, it’s far easier to scare a crow than a killdeer.”

How do you handle protected species, such as the tricolored blackbird, which is nonetheless recognized as a pest by some of our readers?

Wagner (Wild Goose Chase): “Nearly all bird species are protected under federal law, and many have additional protections at the state and local level. Beyond legal protection, some birds also carry a strong emotional attachment for the public, and any control program that’s seen as harming beloved species can create real reputational risks for a grower. That’s why our approach always starts with humane, non-lethal methods first. We can often reduce the amount of damage created by birds to a tolerable level with non-lethal techniques alone, including deterrents, exclusion, and habitat modification. In rare cases where non-lethal methods aren’t enough, lethal control may be considered — but only for certain species, only when absolutely necessary, and always with the proper permits and documentation in place.

What other relevant species are protected?

Wagner (Wild Goose Chase): “99.75% of birds in the U.S. are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The only species that are not protected include house sparrows, European starlings, and rock pigeons. This means for most farms that have a nuisance bird problem it’s always important to start with species identification because chances are the bird problem they’re facing is related to a protected species.”

Joseph (Reed-Joseph): “Cormorants are a big challenge for the aquaculture industry, and they are protected.”

Any other thoughts you’d like to add?

Wagner (Wild Goose Chase): “One of the most challenging aspects of working in bird control is that there are so many pseudoscientific solutions on the market that don’t actually work. Not only are most birds protected by law, but they are also incredibly intelligent and quickly learn to habituate against most deterrence mechanisms. In fact, even solutions like bird lasers that are proven to work can be ineffective if they’re not installed and programmed accurately by technicians who can identify the bird species present and understand that species’ flocking behavior. Timing can also be critical when it comes to fruit farms. Putting up a laser right when crops ripen will not have the same efficacy as installing a laser several months in advance to condition birds to avoid the property in the first place. When solutions do not work, it erodes trusts with farmers who have invested in solutions only to be outsmarted by birds. That’s why we always caution that when dealing with nuisance birds, prevention is key to success, and working with professional bird experts will always give farmers the biggest return on their investment.”

Stone (Avian Control): “One of our customers who grows blueberries had a tremendous bird problem for many years. He started using Avian Control, and it pretty much pushed all of his birds to a neighboring farm that also grows blueberries. When we got the call from the neighboring farm, they told us that they had never had a bird issue until just after their neighbor started using our product. So, we were able to get two customers using our product because all the birds left the first customer to go to the second. Which shows you the opportunistic nature of the birds.”