Bird Pest Control
Birds can become a pest problem that requires prevention, bird deterrents or other control measures when they decide to nest or roost in areas of your Geelong home or business. The deterrent helps to scare birds away. Bird droppings and nesting matter will have a negative impact on the building and surrounds, so before the issue takes hold, call Acacia Pest Control service to provide effective prevention techniques such as bird netting, mesh or bird spikes to deter the pest.
Feral birds can carry more than 60 diseases and pass them on to pets and people, including your customers if you run a business. If you have a bird pest it’s best to do something as soon as possible, since the longer it’s left, the harder it is to manage. Infestations of feral birds also attract other unwanted pests such as fleas, lice and flies, but more commonly, the bird mite.
Bird pests pose an additional serious problem of contamination to food-producing businesses in Geelong and elsewhere with the spread of diseases such as salmonella through droppings and other diseases spread by the parasites birds carry.
Salmonella and other diseases spread by bird pests can lead to serious illness to customers and staff, and expose the commercial enterprise to fines, negative publicity and litigation. Droppings can also damage company machinery and vehicles.
Bird droppings are highly acidic and can affect sandstone and other materials, and damage air conditioning equipment in both the home and business premises, industrial machinery, insulation and the vehicles of staff, customers, and the business.
Why Are Birds So Harmful?
Feral bird populations in Geelong and elsewhere are a pest and can be a public health risk since they usually gather in populations anywhere there is shelter and food. This means the bird problem will need to be addressed via site appropriate prevention, bird deterrents and pest control products because it can become a problem around Geelong hospitals, houses, high rise city buildings and schools.
Apart from the nuisance value, Bird pests can cause a lot of damage and transmit diseases such as histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis and psittacosis (ornithosis).
With pest birds, there could be more than just avian flu to worry about – the problem is especially risky in residential areas, as many of the droppings are airborne and can be transferred to humans. Some diseases linked to pest birds such as starlings, pigeons, and house sparrows:
- Histoplasmosis – a fungus that grows in dry droppings can cause this respiratory disease that can be fatal.
- Psittacosis – (parrot fever) is rare but when dried droppings become airborne, people can inhale the fungus.
- Candidiasis – a fungal or yeast infection spread to humans by pigeons.
- Cryptococcosis – the illness often begins as a pulmonary disease and may later affect the central nervous system.
- St. Louis Encephalitis – inflammation of the nervous system, usually causes drowsiness, headache and fever, can be fatal. Mosquitoes that have been feeding on infected pigeon, sparrow and house finch droppings spread the disease.
- Salmonellosis – “food poisoning” traced to pigeons, starlings and sparrows’ droppings; the dust can be sucked through ventilators and air conditioners.
- E.coli – cattle carry E. coli so if birds go pecking through cow manure, the bacteria goes through the birds and droppings and can end up on food or in the water supply.
How to Control Birds
The number of bird pests in any area is governed by the amount of food available to them. Therefore, for effective prevention and to help control a population, you should remove all sources of food and water, and also discourage people from feeding the birds flock, especially in public places. Also, don’t leave pet food etc., outside or near homes. Feral pest bird flocks now dominate the city and urban landscapes, country towns, and agricultural areas because of the readily available:
- Freshwater
- Food
- Secure nesting places
Do You Need a Bird Control Expert?
Many homes and property owners in Geelong and elsewhere fail to realise they have a feral bird pest. But if you have the following:
- One or two birds frequently visiting your yard or property.
- A buildup of bird droppings in your yard or around your property.
You will have a problem sooner or later.
Australia has more than 800 bird species, not all of them are pests, but there are both native and introduced bird species that can become pests in Geelong and be responsible for damage to horticultural crops, buildings and biodiversity.
Some introduced bird species have become major pests and compete with native bird species for resources such as space, food or nest sites (e.g. the Indian Myna, introduced in the 1860s as a control measure against insects in Melbourne markets gardens (it failed).
The Indian Myna (often called the flying rat) along with the Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon, spreads bird mites. Another introduced species is the European Song Thrush, but it’s confined to Melbourne and Geelong. If you have any of the following bird pests in or around your Geelong home or company building, you can be assured that sooner or later you will have a bird pest problem, so act soon.
Bird pests in Geelong include the following:
- Sparrow
- Indian Myna
- Pigeon
- Seagull
- Common Starling
- European Song Thrush
A few examples of ectoparasites these bird pests carry include:
- Bed bugs
- Chicken mites
- Yellow mealworms
What To Expect From Our Bird Pest Control Services
Once you realise you have a bird pest in your Geelong home or business premises, you should take action to deter the birds from perching, nesting and roosting at night on or inside your building. If you don’t act as soon as you realise you have a problem, things can escalate quickly, and you then have a much larger, more costly bird control issue.
In most cases, corrective netting, and other effective proofing, removal and high-quality bird control products will mean your property has long-term bird-proofing.
At Acacia Pest Control Geelong, we offer the following site-appropriate techniques and control measure such as shooting, proofing; using netting, repellent, shock tracks, bird spikes, and the AVEPRO system:
Gutter Guard Proofing
Some Gutter guard proofing pictures. Stops birds, possums, rats and mice accessing your roof cavity. Also keeps leaves and other debris from blocking gutters and down pipes. Also bushfire embers.