Wildlife Damage Management, Internet Center for
Date of this Version
November 1976
Abstract
Some of the things that you must know in bird control are your state and local regulations. The state law may read that a license is required for bird control. A state law may read that the techniques and manners of your control must conform with their law. A state law may require registration of the poison you're going to use. State law may also prohibit placement of baits at a certain time during the day or year. And most important, a state law may prohibit control of specific types of birds. In Nebraska and most of the other states, the English Sparrow, the Pigeon, and the Starling are our #1 birds on the most-wanted list. The Rid-A-Bird perch that I'm going to speak about today has been registered by EPA for the control of those types of birds. Assuming that we get a call at Presto-X in Omaha from a potential customer to look at a bird problem, the first thing I'd do is a survey. The survey is so important that it just cannot be overlooked. You just can't pick up the phone, have the guy tell you the problem and say, "Oh yeah, we can do that for $100. We'll be out tomorrow and take care of them." You just can't do that in bird control. In my survey, I look to see what pest species is the target and if non-target types are around. In other words, if we're dealing with sparrows, are there any Cardinals or any other types of birds in the same area. This determines the amount of money that we're going to spend for the bait and the pre-baiting and how long it's going to take to get them under control. I want to know the food sources and the type of food that they're eating and where the birds are feeding. It is very important to know the exact area where the birds are feeding. I want to know the water sources if possible, and I want to know the roosting, nesting, dusting, and molting sites. And most important are the travel patterns of the birds that are entering or leaving the area. Where are these birds actually staying? Are they loafing or nesting here? What are the birds doing? Why are they in this particular area?