The general public’s affection toward birds translates into a serious underestimation of the health risks and other costs associated with pest birds.  Most people look at birds in flight and see a serene, peaceful image.  But when those same birds choose to congregate or nest around your building, that peaceful image can quickly turn noisy, dirty and dangerous.  Below are five important reasons to protect your building from pest birds.

• Image—Customers don’t want to walk through bird droppings to enter your building.  Seeing a buildup of bird droppings and nesting materials around a business sends the message that your building may not be clean or well-maintained.  If you are a restaurant or health care facility, that message may be enough to send your customers elsewhere.

• Health of Your Employees/Tenants—Birds and their droppings can spread more than 60 diseases to humans and pets, including Encephalitis, Salmonella, Meningitis and Toxoplasmosis.  Your employees or tenants expect to work in a safe, contamination-free environment.  Ignoring bird infestations could potentially lead to illness and lawsuits. 

• Fire Hazard—The typical nesting materials of birds are very flammable:  straw, grass, twigs, dried droppings.  When birds nest in electric signs, machinery, or electrical equipment, the risk of fire is great.  In 2008, a nest in a HVAC unit in a Spokane, WA, elementary school caught fire.  Fortunately, the fire was quickly contained and the only damage was to the HVAC unit, but the incident illustrates the potential danger posed by pest birds.

• Roof Damage—Bird droppings are very acidic and actually eat away at many substrates, especially tar-based roofing materials. Droppings which are allowed to accumulate on roofs will eat into the material and eventually cause leaks. The life expectancy of a warehouse roof can be cut in half by just a light, but continuous, application of bird droppings.

• Roof Collapse–Pigeons have been known to enter the attics of apartments, restaurants and other buildings.  The pigeons set up their nests in these protected areas and discard their bodily waste.  Often the weight of the droppings becomes so great that the actual ceiling collapses. In December 2008, a gas station awning collapsed on two vehicles in Yuma, AZ. According to the sheriff’s report, four to five inches of pigeon droppings had built up on the awning, and when combined with heavy rains, became too heavy for the structure to support.

If birds are creating an unsafe or unsightly environment around your building, Schendel can help. We can protect all areas of your structure from birds such as pigeons, sparrows, swallows, geese, crows, woodpeckers, and more. The deterrent systems we use are long-lasting, humane and low-profile.  Our inspectors are trained in developing and implementing solutions that will meet the specific needs of your building and bird issue.  Call today for more information.