Why Professional Bird Proofing is Essential
Attempting to deter birds with DIY methods often leads to frustration and wasted money. These solutions are rarely permanent and fail to address the root cause of why birds are attracted to your property. A professional pest control or bird proofing specialist brings the experience, equipment, and knowledge of bird behaviour necessary to implement a lasting solution tailored to your specific building and the type of bird causing the problem.
Protecting Your Property from Damage
The cumulative impact of a bird infestation can be surprisingly destructive. Their presence can lead to a range of issues that compromise the integrity and appearance of your property.
- Corrosive Droppings: Bird guano is highly acidic and can permanently stain and erode a wide variety of building materials, including stone, brickwork, metal, and vehicle paintwork. Over time, this can lead to irreversible aesthetic damage and necessitate expensive repairs.
- Blocked Gutters and Drains: Birds often build nests in guttering and on rooftops. Nesting materials, feathers, and droppings quickly block rainwater systems. This can lead to overflowing gutters, water ingress, damp problems within your home, and even damage to the foundations.
- Roof Damage: Gulls and pigeons are notorious for dislodging roof tiles while scavenging or nesting. This creates openings for water to penetrate the roof structure, leading to leaks, rotten timbers, and costly structural repairs.
- Damage to Solar Panels: Pigeons frequently nest under solar panels, creating a significant fire hazard from the dry nesting material packed around the electrical wiring. Their droppings can also reduce the efficiency of the panels and are difficult to clean.
Health and Hygiene Concerns
Beyond the structural damage, pest birds pose a genuine health risk. Their droppings and nests are breeding grounds for harmful pathogens and other pests.
- Disease Transmission: Bird guano can harbour over 60 different transmissible diseases, including serious respiratory illnesses like Histoplasmosis and Psittacosis, as well as bacterial infections like E. coli and Salmonella.
- Secondary Infestations: Bird nests are often infested with parasites such as mites, fleas, ticks, and various beetles. When the birds leave the nest, these insects can easily migrate into your home or business, leading to a secondary pest problem.
- Contamination: In commercial settings like cafes or warehouses, bird droppings can contaminate stock, surfaces, and food preparation areas, posing a direct threat to public health and potentially violating health and safety regulations.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
In the UK, all wild birds, their nests, and their eggs are protected by law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is illegal to intentionally kill, injure, or capture birds or to damage or destroy an active nest without the appropriate licence. A professional bird control specialist understands this legislation inside and out. They will only use humane, non-lethal methods and are knowledgeable about which species can be managed and under what circumstances, ensuring all work is carried out legally and ethically.
Common Bird Proofing Methods Used by Professionals
A reputable tradesperson will begin with a thorough survey of your property to identify the bird species, nesting and roosting sites, and access points. Based on this assessment, they will recommend the most suitable proofing method. There is no one-size-fits-all solution; the right choice depends on the building's structure, its use, and aesthetic considerations.
Bird Netting
Bird netting is one of the most effective and widely used methods for excluding birds from large areas. It involves installing a durable, high-density polyethylene net across openings to prevent birds from gaining access. The netting is fixed to a stainless-steel wire frame, ensuring it remains taut and secure.
- Ideal for: Balconies on flats, lightwells, loading bays, building facades, and underneath canopies or overhangs.
- Key Benefits: It provides a near-impenetrable barrier, is highly durable when professionally installed, and is a humane solution that doesn't harm the birds. Modern netting is available in various colours to blend in with the building, making it very discreet.
Anti-Perching Spikes
Often seen on commercial buildings, bird spikes are a simple yet highly effective deterrent. They consist of rows of blunt-ended stainless-steel or polycarbonate spikes fixed to a base. These systems don't harm birds; they simply create an uncomfortable surface that prevents them from landing and perching.
- Ideal for: Ledges, windowsills, parapets, pipes, chimneys, and signage.
- Key Benefits: A cost-effective solution for protecting specific ledges. They are long-lasting, require minimal maintenance, and are barely visible from ground level, preserving the building's aesthetic.
Post and Wire Systems
For listed buildings or properties where aesthetics are the top priority, a post and wire system is an excellent choice. It consists of thin, sprung stainless-steel wires threaded through a series of posts. The tensioned wires create an unstable landing surface that birds dislike, encouraging them to move elsewhere without causing any harm.
- Ideal for: Historic buildings, ornate stonework, statues, and high-visibility ledges where visual impact must be minimised.
- Key Benefits: Extremely discreet and almost invisible from a distance. It’s a humane and long-lasting system that effectively deters larger birds like pigeons and gulls.
Bird Gels and Repellents
Bird gels are a more modern, non-toxic approach. Some are 'contact' gels that create a sticky, unpleasant surface, while others are 'optical' gels. These innovative gels use a unique formulation that makes it appear to birds as if the building is on fire, deterring them through a visual fright response.
- Ideal for: Targeted applications on ledges, beams, and sills where spikes or netting may not be suitable.
- Key Benefits: They are quick to apply, low-profile, and can be used in situations where drilling or structural fixings are not permitted. The effect is immediate and long-lasting.
Gutter and Roof Protection
Specialised proofing is often required for specific problem areas like gutters and solar panels. Gutter guards or mesh systems can be fitted to prevent birds from building nests that cause blockages. For solar panels, a strong wire mesh is typically installed around the perimeter of the array, blocking access to the sheltered space beneath without affecting the panels' performance.
- Ideal for: Any property with gutters or solar panels, particularly semi-detached and terraced houses where pigeons are a common problem.
- Key Benefits: Prevents costly water damage from blocked gutters and eliminates the serious fire risk associated with nesting material under solar panels.
