How to remove birds from food processing plants:
- Each food processing plant is usually a complex combination of multiple different areas (receiving, storage, processing lines, shipping, maintenance, office, etc.).
Each of those areas has its own attractions for birds and should be treated separately, taking into consideration the behavior of birds there and what exactly attracts birds to this particular area.
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One general recommendation: remove everything that attracts birds as much as possible.
Birds come to you for food and safe shelter – so, take those away from them.
Cover raw materials and ready products with netting, mesh, or solid covers.
Close all entry points to the buildings with physical barriers (nets, mesh, grids, rubber curtains, solid covers, etc.) or make them unattractive for birds (with hazers or ozone repellents). Bird-proof all the places where birds can find safe shelter for roosting, sleeping, and nesting.
- Clean all bird-related dirt and mess: droppings, feathers, dirt, nests, etc. Powerwash all affected surfaces and use bioactive cleaning solutions (like enzyme cleaners or hydrogen peroxide cleaners).
Dirt created by birds is particularly dangerous for food-processing facilities because it may contain bacterial, fungal, and parasitic contaminants. When bird droppings dry, microparticles from them can easily become airborne, travel through ventilation systems, and get into raw materials and final products, creating serious risks for consumers and the potential for large fines, recalls, and plant closures.- Hire a local pest control professional to safely catch the birds that are already inside the buildings and release them far from your property.
- Explore the
behavior of the birds on your property to find the best solutions: where they come from, where they hang out on your property, how they enter buildings, what they do inside, where they roost, etc.
Then apply targeted bird control measures based on the behavior of the birds.
Think not about scaring birds away but about how to break their behavioral patterns and make your property bird-proof.
- Protect loading docks and gates.* Inspect them for holes in the opening mechanisms and close them – this is a common entry point for small birds (even a 1-inch hole is often enough). Use rubber curtains on the gates that must stay open during the operation.
* Use hazers with nerve-affecting and behavior-affecting bird control chemicals (Methyl Anthranilate, Eugenol, Thymol, and/or Allyl Isothiocyanate, according to the product instructions) outside, near the loading docks and gates.
* Install ozone bird deterrents over each loading dock and gate inside the building.
* Use strips of UV-paint or bright paint around the gates to supplement the unpleasant feeling caused by hazers and ozone and teach the birds to stay away.
- Make surfaces inside unwelcome for birds. If you often keep the gates and loading docks open, some birds will inevitably get inside even with all the protective measures around the docks. Your goal is to create a space where the birds wouldn’t like to stay for long.* Use professionally installed bird netting to cover all the structures under the ceiling, where birds usually like to land, roost, rest, and nest. Make sure not to leave any openings in the net and at the edges – even a small, 1-inch hole is enough to ruin all the work.
* Install spikes of appropriate size, bird slides, bird wires, or bird control gel and UV-paint markers on all horizontal surfaces not covered by netting: beams, pipes, sprinkler lines, ledges, lights, ventilation ducts, etc.
- Make the outside area and airspace uncomfortable for birds. Reducing the population of birds on your property will decrease the number of attempts to enter the buildings and damage the raw materials and ready products.* Close all structural cavities and niches that can be used by birds as a shelter and place for nesting: ventilation openings, areas under AC units on the roof and under other machinery, areas under solar panels, etc. Use netting, metal or PVC mesh, grids, rubber strips, or solid materials. Birds should not feel at home anywhere on your property.
* Install bird spikes, bird wire, or shock systems on the edges of roofs, ledges, and horizontal beams and pipes. Use UV-paint or bright paint next to them to reinforce the effect.
* Use a wire grid over open areas, particularly if you have gulls on your property. Make sure to use strong, weather-proof and wind-proof wires and supports for them.
* Spread nerve-affecting and behavior-affecting bird control chemicals (according to their instructions): Methyl Anthranilate, Eugenol, Thymol, and/or Allyl Isothiocyanate.
Use hazers on the roof to protect the airspace and affect the birds in flight. Spray the bird repellents on the ground, lawns, trees, and bushes (if the product instructions allow that) to make the surface unpleasant for birds. Use automated misting systems to create a “bird control chemical wall” around the buildings.* Never leave any food, food leftovers, or edible garbage in open areas, accessible for birds. Cover everything that may attract birds’ attention. Always use closed garbage bins, preferably with lockable lids.
* Do not allow your employees to feed birds or to leave any edible items unattended.
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Watch the birds and their behavior: where they are, what they do, and what attracts them. Then use applicable bird control measures to attack the specific areas and behavioral patterns of the birds. Then repeat this again and again.
There is no silver bullet with birds – no single solution works for everything. Particularly at food processing facilities – this is the most attractive place for birds. But if you are smarter and more persistent than birds, you’ll get what you want very quickly.