How to Keep Birds out of Your Store
Birds are no good for business, but getting them out—and keeping them out—is no walk in the park. If you find feathered friends perched up on the rafters, high above customers’ heads, it’s time to show them where they stand in the pecking order and escort them back to where they belong.
A Bird’s-Eye View of the Problem
First off, birds who wander indoors are more than just a nuisance—they’re a bona fide health hazard. Salmonella, meningitis, encephalitis, histoplasmosis, and toxoplasmosis -- among other diseases -- can all be carried by birds. Even after they’ve been removed, the droppings they left behind will contain bacteria, parasites, fungi, and more.
Besides the threat they can pose to your customers’ health, they can wreak havoc on your building and equipment. Birds can damage roofs, ceilings, ventilation systems and machinery; not to mention that their nests can create a fire hazard.
Beyond the health and safety reasons, birds can also damage the products on your shelves and in the stockroom. And unfortunately, when birds break it, they don’t exactly buy it.
Most concerning to your customers, however: Bird excrement can melt the clearcoat right off a brand-new car.
Unless you run a pet store, your customers are probably going to be turned away by a sales floor full of birds. Your business’ reputation depends on taking care of the problem before it gets out of hand.
Get Your Ducks in a Row
Keeping birds out in the first place is going to pay dividends compared to waiting until they become an issue. Your best bet is to make your store and the surrounding premises as unattractive to birds as possible.
Get off their radar by reducing food sources. Birds, like most animals that wander into human zones, are usually looking for a bite to eat. Proper sanitation procedures, such as keeping trash bins and dumpster doors closed, will minimize the odors that attract them, as well as limit their access to any foodstuffs you can’t completely eliminate.
You don’t need to train a live falcon to scare them away—a plastic one will do the trick just fine. Birds usually can’t tell the difference, and a fake one won’t require daily feeding. Posting predators on rooftops and in other areas where birds congregate will make them think twice before loitering on your property.
Finally, there’s the preventative measure that looks more treacherous than it actually is—bird spikes. If you’ve ever seen an array of needle-like spires poking skyward above doorways or on roof ledges, you might remember what you didn’t see: birds. The spikes don’t actually injure or harm the birds in any way; they just make it very uncomfortable to perch on for more than a second or two.
Let the Pros Take You Under Their Wings
If you do have a bird problem, by the time it catches your attention it may already be beyond your capacity to deal with. That’s where the pros come in. Pest control professionals are trained to remove birds safely and humanely, and to develop strategies like those already mentioned, as well as other innovative technologies to keep our winged friends in their natural habitats and out of our rafters.
Learn more about banishing birds from your business and request a free quote for JP Pest Services’ professional wildlife control and removal processes.
