Birds are indeed lovely to observe and listen to. However, in your building, birds can become annoying or even hazardous pests. Especially for commercial properties, bird nest infestation could be a serious problem since it leads to severe property damage over time. Besides, believe it or not, birds carry over 60 types of germs, which is why they are often considered pests. Having bird nests in residential or commercial properties, therefore, could be a serious health hazard. And that is why bird nest removal services are often in great demand in several localities.
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Having said that, removing bird nests is not that easy. The process should be humane, i.e., done responsibly and carefully. Just like human beings, birds are also a part of our environment. Removing nests with or without chicks, if not done properly, would be a great threat to the species. This eventually results in a disruption of the local ecosystem and, consequently, of biodiversity and the environment in general. Obviously, it requires professional knowledge and expertise. This is where a bird nest removal company comes into the picture.
It is worth noting that scheduling these services is not merely a means of protecting humans. When you schedule service with experienced bird control professionals, you may actually be protecting the birds themselves. Obviously, if you are concerned about the safety of birds on any property, you are the type of person who desires humane removal.
This, however, takes knowledge and expertise, as we have mentioned before. If you want to run a business and offer expert bird nest removal services, you must be well aware of local and federal laws and regulations. This is an absolute necessity in the first place, for you would not obtain the license and permits to run the business without expressing the required compliance.
But that is not all. There is more to running a humane bird nest removal company than complying with rules and regulations. In this blog, we will tell you the dos and don’ts of providing a humane bird nest removal service. Read on to find out more.
Bird Nest Removal: Dos
1. Take Preventive Measures
As cliché as it might sound, preventative measures are the most effective way to remove a bird’s nest. Birds usually nest around the doors, windows, attic openings, ledges, and gutters of a property. They also make nests in nearby bushes. But more often than not, you can find their nests on cars, trailers, boats, and anything else that has sat stagnant for too long on a property. In their minds, they just need a robust and safe place to build their home, and that could be anything.
So, how can you prevent this from occurring? First, remove any trash or debris from your yard and secure any loose objects. You can install gutter guards on your gutter system to prevent birds from constructing nests in crucial exterior areas of the property. If there are bird feeders or birdbaths on the property, relocate them as far away as possible. This will discourage the birds from making nests near or on the property.
You can also install plastic owls or hawks or place perch repellents around your client’s home. This will prevent the birds from setting up camp in the first place, relieving you of the distress of disrupting a nest full of chicks.
2. Handle The Nest Carefully
Bird nest removal does not mean you displace the nest and destroy it. It is never as simple as how to get rid of the nest. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects numerous species by making it illegal to “take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, purchase, or barter any migratory bird, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such a bird, except under the terms of a valid permit issued following Federal regulations.” Therefore, while improving a bird nest, make sure you are keeping it safe and not harming the birds in any way.
Birds can carry pathogens that can be dangerous to humans, which is yet another reason to hire a professional for removal. This might increase the cost of bird nest removal, but this is of prime importance. Microorganisms from birds are capable of transmitting a variety of communicable diseases. Mites, parasites, ticks, and other pests carried by birds are likely to remain in abandoned nests long after the birds have left. It is also likely that the nests will contain bird droppings, which increases the danger of handling nests.
To do the job right, you will need expert staff who are well-aware of the techniques and have professional knowledge about wildlife. For humane bird nest removal, moreover, you will need people who have the same empathy and concern for wildlife. So, when assigning the job to your field technicians, please ensure that you are sending the right person to do the job.
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3. Ensure the Nest is Inactive
Obviously, the best time to remove a bird’s nest is while it is still being constructed. However, it is possible that your client will not notice the construction until after it has been occupied. If birds or eggs are already present, relocation should not be attempted. Remember that it is illegal to remove the nests of migratory birds, so it is best to wait until after the nesting season.
4. Check for Eggs
Sometimes, you may observe eggs in the nest, but you cannot find the parents. This does not imply that the eggs are abandoned. In fact, many birds delay incubation, and eggs can remain viable for up to two weeks after being laid. It is also possible that the adults have temporarily abandoned the nest to feed or allow the eggs to cool. Frequent human disturbances can result in the abandonment of a nest.
Bird Nest Removal: Don’ts
1. Don’t Interfere During Nesting Season
You should never interfere with nature. If you interfere with a nest containing eggs or young birds, you will jeopardize their survival.
Birds avoid interfering with humans because they recognize your size advantage. Even if there are eggs or hatchlings inside, if a human has disturbed their nest in any way, they will abandon it. In addition, frequent human visits to the nest will leave a scent trail that predators will use to locate the nest and consume its contents. Therefore, it is crucial that you avoid the nesting season when removing bird nests.
Obviously, this extends beyond the potential harm you could cause. Interfering with a bird’s nest during nesting season can also result in financial penalties for your bird nest removal company. The United States protects numerous species of birds, so tampering with them may result in a penalty or fine. This is not just a list of rare bird species. It is illegal in the United States to remove any nest of a native bird species that contains eggs, adults, or both. If you are uncertain of the species at hand, it is best to refer to the local regulations or talk to a wildlife expert.
2. Don’t Resort to Unethical Means for Bird Nest Removal
This may seem obvious, but we cannot emphasize it enough: never destroy a bird’s nest through unethical or cruel means. You could find yourself in serious trouble with local authorities, which could result in hefty fines and harsh penalties. Not to forget, this could seriously jeopardize your local ecosystem and biodiversity as well.
Make sure to eliminate the nest at the proper time and in the proper manner. The objective is to disturb nature as little as possible while ensuring the safety of your clients on their own property.
3. Don’t Forget To Practice Precaution
Even abandoned bird nests contain residual bird droppings and dangerous pathogens, and they can be dangerously harmful to humans. This is why it is absolutely important to practice precaution while removing nests. This might drive up the bird nest removal cost, but it is something you should never forget or ignore. Always wear a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, a respiratory mask, and latex gloves when removing a nest.
After wearing your protective gear, saturate the nest with antibacterial spray. Remove the nest and place it in a sealed container or trash bag for disposal. Remove the mask and gloves, change your clothes, and wash your hands thoroughly.
Wrapping Up
Most people may not think of birds when they consider pest control; however, bird control falls under the category of wildlife exclusion. Despite being generally harmless to homeowners, birds can be harmful to both homes and health. Especially if they nest in or on residential property where there are children.
Besides, birds can be quite noisy. They can damage your roof, automobile, and property. Their nests can block stoves, dryers, and fan vents, posing a fire hazard and rendering the appliances ineffective. In addition, their nests can clog gutters and drains, leading to standing water and potential roof damage. Their droppings contain uric acid, which can corrode your car’s paint. Bird droppings also contain human-dangerous pathogens such as histoplasmosis. In addition to mites, parasites, and ticks, bird nests may also harbor other pests that can linger long after the birds have left.
Despite the obvious problems, it is rather difficult to remove bird nests because most people are unaware of the techniques and guidelines for proper bird nest removal. Especially when it comes to humane bird control, relevant knowledge and experience are of paramount importance. This is why the demand for professional bird control specialists is skyrocketing around the world. So, if you have a company that offers bird removal services, this is your chance to grab the opportunity and grow your brand.
Along with the relevant knowledge and expertise, you will also need the right tools if you want your business to prosper. To that end, you will need something that would enable you to assign the right technicians for the job and dispatch them on time, get access to historical customer data so that you know what kind of species you are dealing with, have complete control over your schedules to respond to emergency service requests, track your technicians in real-time to know the job status, and most importantly, provide your field staff with access to customer information so that they can comply with all the best practices of humane bird control.
With Field Promax, you can get all these features on a single platform—and more. With the usual functionality like estimating, GPS tracking, scheduling and dispatching, calendar views, equipment tracking, and invoicing, you can take advantage of several advanced features, such as a mobile app for field technicians, cloud storage to ensure remote access to information, and QuickBooks integration for seamless invoicing and accounting.
So, what are you waiting for? If you want to prosper in the field of bird nest removal businesses, this is the first thing you need to do.
Originally Published at – Field Promax (Dos and Don’ts of Bird Nest Removal)
