Birds aren’t usually considered a pests. But when birds nest or roost on your house or building the nuisance can become a serious problem. Nests can create fire hazards. Their droppings can be dangerous and spread diseases.
There are a few signs that suggest a bird is occupying your interior or exterior living space. By identifying them, you are better equipped to make the best decisions for bird removal.
When you notice those signs, don’t hesitate to contact Critter Control. Our experienced technicians can help you evict your unwanted feathered guests, ensuring your home remains free of bird problems.
Most Common Nuisance Birds in Northern Virginia
The three common pest birds are pigeons, starlings, and house sparrows.
Pigeons
Pigeons are abundant and look for roosting and nesting spots that resemble the rocks and cliff ledges they prefer. Having pigeons in your yard means you have gutters, chimney ledges, or balconies they enjoy for scoping out the area for food. Pigeons may also use eaves, barns, sheds, or roof vents to build a nest. Pigeon droppings can cause a variety of issues for buildings and people. In addition to being unsightly, the excrement corrodes buildings and kills vegetation when it accumulates in high enough volumes. For a long-term solution to problem pigeons, exclusion is usually an active part of professional bird management. Blocking open spaces on roofs with bird netting or changing the angle of ledges to avoid roosting can help prevent further infestations. Trained technicians can decide the most effective methods for each home or yard.
European Starlings
Starlings are some of the most common pest birds for residential customers. Starlings have bright yellow bills in the summer with a black, iridescent, spot coloring and like to nest in attics through soffit holes (bird block holes). The nests that they build and will use year after year if allowed are big, smelly, toxic, and mite-ridden.
House Sparrows
House sparrows live close to humans. Sparrows regularly take up residence in and around manmade buildings, which contributes to noise pollution as well as various health hazards that result from their droppings. Due to swallows’ social nature, large infestations regularly occur in backyards. Though beneficial in eliminating insects, their presence comes with excessive droppings that mar lawns, sidewalks, and houses. Swallow colonies also deface siding with multiple mud nests.
Other Nuisance Birds
Other birds may occasionally cause unexpected and unusual pest problems. Woodpeckers may peck holes into house siding looking for insects and to make nest cavities. When blackbirds and crows roost in suburban areas they become pests. Seagulls can feed on food plants, and they roost and nest on large flat roofs with crushed stone.
Most bird species have strict regulations on what types of control methods you can use. The most effective bird removal services are harassment techniques. These control methods make the habitat less inviting to birds so they find another roosting location.
For homeowners, signs of a bird problem can vary depending on the species of bird and the extent of the infestation. Bird nests in chimneys, dryer vents, or attics can create fire hazards. While vents are an attractive nesting site for many bird species, they can cause several problems for homeowners. A bird in your vent requires removal by a professional who can humanely and effectively relieve you of the fire and health risks it poses.
Signs of Birds in Vents
The most common signs you should look out for when you suspect a bird is in your vent include:
- Seeing nesting materials around the opening of the vent or on the ground underneath the vent
- Noticing the dryer is taking much longer to dry clothes because of the blocked airflow and increased energy usage
- Chirping, rustling, or scratching noises coming from the vented area
- Finding bird droppings around the vent opening
- An unpleasant smell around your dryer
If one or more of these signs points to a bird, it’s time to call Critter Control to conduct bird in vent removal.
Bird Removal
A bird nest in your dryer vent or any other vent is a tricky removal process, especially if hatchlings are involved. Without their mother, they will die, resulting in a bad odor and the presence of maggots and flies. Sometimes, a hands-on approach and special tools are required if the nest is far down in a vent. Once Critter Control carefully removes the nest and the babies inside, the nest is placed in a protective container that is secured to the outside of your home so the bird parents can continue to feed their young until they can fly.
Exclusion & Remediation
Following bird in vent removal, all the nesting material is removed from the vent. The best way to prevent another bird from nesting in your vents is by covering them with a metal bird-proof vent guard that allows the air to flow properly but doesn’t allow birds to enter, or a vent termination with flaps that cover the vent.
Birds can create significant issues for businesses. Nuisance birds flying around food processing or grocery stores can contaminate food products. Birds roosting on storefronts introduce hazards to customers. Warehouses and manufacturing can grind to a halt if pest birds are flying around.
The best bird control approaches emphasize deterrents, exclusion, or modification of buildings. Critter Control’s knowledgeable technicians have bird-proofing and bird control methods for any nuisance bird situation – especially to get rid of birds that congregate in warehouses or apartments.
Bird Inspection
Our comprehensive inspection identifies all the locations birds are a problem.
Bird Removal
Bird trapping is usually ineffective and in most cases illegal. The best bird removal creates an environment that is unfavorable to birds. The mild harassments techniques encourage the birds to find a new location to roost or nest.
Bird Exclusions
Bird exclusions block access inside your building and create unfavorable landing locations on the exterior. Traditional bird control solutions include bird netting, bird spikes, electrical tracks, and bird wires.
Commercial Bird Control Solutions
Bird Netting
An exclusion material is typically installed as a horizontal ceiling or vertical wall barrier to deny birds access to enter a space, or roost on a structure. Heavy-duty UV-stabilized polyethylene netting is suspended utilizing a high-tension steel perimeter cable and turnbuckle system. Zippers are installed in the netting to provide maintenance access for lights and other similar fixtures.
Bird Electric Track
A humane deterrent product adhered to ledges, signage and roofs to deter birds from roosting on the surface. A flexible UV-stabilized PVC base, with electrically charged contacts, provides a mild-electrical sensation to modify the birds’ habits and encourage them to roost elsewhere. Electric Track may also be installed in non-typical locations to deter birds and other wildlife.
Bird Slide
An exclusion product is typically installed on a flat surface to deter birds from roosting on ledges, windowsills or structural beams. The angled material effectively raises the pitch of the ledge surface to approximately 45 degrees, creating a surface bird cannot land on. Bird Slide may also be used in other unique situations to control birds and other wildlife.
Bird Wire
A humane deterrent system is installed on ledges, pipes, ridges, gutters, windowsills, and structural beams to deter birds from roosting. A series of stainless-steel posts spanning spring-tensioned wires create an unsteady landing and roosting surface for approaching birds.
Bird Gel
A humane repellant is typically applied to ledges, architectural trim, windowsills and structural beams to deter birds from roosting. Applied directly to a surface or distributed in a series of gel dishes, this multi-sensory bird deterrent helps repel birds and modify their behavior to go elsewhere.
Bird Spikes
A deterrent for medium-size to large-size birds fastened to horizontal surfaces, such as ledges, pipes, windowsills, and structural beams to deter birds from roosting. Rows of metal or plastic spikes, connected to a base are attached to the surface to be protected from birds.
The Critter Control Difference
Guaranteed Work
Your satisfaction is always guaranteed. Critter Control® takes great pride in providing quality workmanship resulting in customer satisfaction.
Trained Specialists
Animal removal is a highly sophisticated job. As such, we vet and train our team members to ensure they have the knowledge and skill to remove any pest from your building. Our wildlife experts utilize advanced removal and exclusion techniques and damage repair.
Residential and Commercial
Invading nuisance wildlife can wreak havoc on property. If left unattended wildlife and pests can cause costly property damage. Whether a residential property, apartment buildings, retail stores, office buildings, industrial plants, medical facilities, or warehouses, our trained professionals can handle any wildlife removal problem.
