McCloud Services Solves Birds Nesting Problem
Some species of birds that are considered pests can adulterate food products, damage buildings and pose public health safety issues under the right conditions. Birds become a greater threat to grocery stores as they carry diseases and create the risk of contamination if birds reach sensitive areas in a store. One such store enlisted McCloud Services to assess the situation and develop a permanent solution to remediate the issue.
Some species of birds that are considered pests can adulterate food products, damage buildings with fecal deposits and pose public health safety issues under the right conditions. Their ability to fly enables them to easily gain access inside a facility, potentially contaminating a multitude of products and surfaces. Birds become a greater threat to grocery stores as they carry diseases such as salmonella, creating the risk of contamination if the bird reaches a sensitive area in the store, such as the produce section or butcher area.
One Midwestern grocery store was experiencing a problem with House Sparrows, Mourning Doves and European starlings nesting in the garden center’s awnings. These pest bird species are known for year-round nesting, persistence to nest in the same place and feed on discarded food and grain. With their nests buried within the awnings, some were able to fly inside the store as the automatic doors opened.
The grocery store enlisted McCloud Services to assess the situation and develop a permanent solution to remediate the issue. The McCloud Specialist performed an initial assessment and survey of the garden center to gather all measurements of the area and identify the bird species and how they were entering the garden center. The specialist discovered that there were three different bird species nesting, but all had similar behaviors and habits. This was important to note as some pest bird situations may require more than one solution to resolve a problem.
Based on the assessment and survey of the area, McCloud proposed to install bird netting under the awning in the garden center. Bird netting is one of the most versatile solutions for bird control, providing a discreet yet effective barrier against all types of nuisance birds without inflicting harm. The netting used on this project was available in a light stone color with similar hardware to match the neutral-colored awning, making it almost unnoticeable to customers and visitors. The awning was about 240 feet long and 16 feet wide, so the netting was installed in smaller pieces for easy repair or adjustments in the future. As with any bird exclusion project, the job site is constantly being assessed to ensure total exclusion is being met. During the netting installation, the McCloud team discovered that there were substantial gaps in the corrugated roof of the garden center, which created an opportunity for birds to enter. Hardware cloth was installed to cover the gaps in the roof and eliminate any possible way for birds to re-enter the area.
Bird management and exclusion work is overly complex, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to excluding pest birds from an area or facility. This project was completed over the course of 16 days with two installers using a lift to reach the area. The grocery store has not reported any bird issues since the netting was installed and the gaps were covered.