Pest birds, including feral pigeons, geese, starlings, grackles and house sparrows, cause millions of dollars in damage each year to structures and residences. Birds have learned to use man-made structures as their homes, creating annoyances, damages and health concerns. Buildings, machinery, rooftops, A/C and ventilation units/systems, warehouses, loading docks, grandstands and lighting systems provide ideal perches and shelters for them. If allowed to remain, they can create a host of problems:

• Physical damage to buildings, vehicles, equipment and facilities from acidic droppings; bird strikes, the collision of birds and aircraft, have resulted in damage and even human deaths;
• Nesting materials in electrical equipment can start fires; on roofs it can clog drains and gutters, causing heavy overflow onto the roof deck that can result in leaks or even collapses;
• Pest birds can spread over 60 diseases to humans and animals such as salmonella, histoplasmosis, orinithosis, cryptococcosis, aspergillosis, meningitis and others; droppings can contaminate watersheds and lakes;
• Dropping-covered walkways can be very slippery, presenting a dangerous potential for “slip and fall” accidents and lawsuits or workmen’s compensation claims; dropping cleanup at businesses, parks, gold courses, athletic fields, etc. can be expensive;
• Ventilation and A/C nesting can allow bird-related particles and parasites to enter the air-handling system and cause sicknesses, allergic reactions and “sick building” syndrome.;
• A negative image is presented to your customers when buildings or walkways become littered with nesting debris and bird droppings.

Leaf utilizes an Integrated Pest Management approach to bird control, consisting of five integrated segments:

1. Survey – Leaf’s skilled inspector will first survey the area to determine the bird species, population size, roosting and nesting areas, food and water sources, daily activity and flight patterns, and whether non-target birds are present.
2. Evaluate – All of the information gathered during the survey is evaluated to determine what courses of action are required to meet customer objectives.
3. Exclude – To prevent birds from entering or nesting and roosting on buildings, Leaf can use a wide variety of techniques, including super strong sunlight resistant netting, bird spikes (which prevents birds from landing on the surface the spikes protect), electric track systems (which is not harmful to birds but delivers a mild jolt which forces them to change their habits and move elsewhere.) and bird wire systems (which are passive post and wire devices that makes the bird landing area unstable).
4. Repel – Also available are bird repellants and other exclusionary devices designed to encourage birds to locate elsewhere. These include gel repellant (a caulk-like material that birds will not land on), ultrasonic sound generators (cannot be heard by humans but disturbs birds), laser chasers (annoys birds without harm), and other visual scaring devices and repellants.
5. Reduce Populations – These programs can utilize a form of EPS registered bird birth control and trapping.
   • Birth control is a long term strategy, since birds need to continually consume the material during their fertile season. If properly used, it can control bird populations. The number of resident geese in the U.S. now exceeds the number of their migrating cousins. It is estimated that the number of resident geese in the U.S. will double in the next 5 years if not controlled.
   • If the previous segments do not work or the control needs to be completed on a narrow time frame, Leaf can design and implement a non-lethal trapping program that will reduce bird populations to acceptable levels.