How to control bird infestation in a warehouse

Hi, 

Can anybody advice me, how to control bird infestation in warehouse and various methodology.  

Regards,

Baskaran.G.

Hi Baskaran.G. ,

​it is all about GMP ,I believe that the effective IPM should be built on GMP , treatment is a sign of GMP failure , 

1. All the doors be closed all the time if not in use , it is recommended to use high speed automatic doors working with photo cell .
2. Use plastic curtains after the doors to object pigeons during forklifts / operators traffics , the plastic curtains strips must be overlapped  . 
3. If high speed doors in not affordable you can use double barrier doors supported with plastic curtains ( make a distance with 1 meter between them ) , so if the pigeon passed from the first the second will stop it , if you combined it with the high speed doors it will be perfect  .
4. Every day in the morning GMP tour look for any opening that allow birds and fix it  , look for nets and remove them as fast as possible , also if you observed one bird make sure there is no more or other nets and get it out immediately .
5. Make sure no openings , gaps also that all exhausting vans are will protected by a mesh screen that will prevent ingress during out of order . 
6. Do not allow any attracting factors around your facility , stagnant water , food , trees that attracts birds , at least not inside the outer premises of the facility .
7. there is an important point in your control is to raise the awareness of your team and workers in production , maintenance and warehouses on the importance of pigeon control , raise the awareness by a continuous TRAINING ,  communicate any violation with them and follow up , the human factor is very important .
8. There are also an electronic , mechanical and chemical solutions , plastic nets like that in handball courts behind the goal keeper  ( it has a good results where GMP is not followed promptly ) , ultra sonic , cages , repellents ,......  or other many tools but actually the above GMP is very effective and it is working perfectly  ,just stick to the IPM golden roles .                                                                 KEEP CLEAN -----> KEEP AWAY --------> Kill 
9. Finally , Keep always your warehouse not accessible for them ( think as a bird ,from where can I get in ,then immediately close it  then I need water and food --> prevent them , then I need a house (net) ---> remove them in daily basis , then this place is not safe I'll search for another place  ) .

Key elements :  GMP awareness , Daily GMP tour , Direct correction , analysis and prevention , Finally TEAM awareness (Birds is not allowed and presence of one bird is a disaster )

Good luck ,

Ehab

Hi Ehab, 

Really appreciate your detailed  advice and clarification.   Request your advice on the following:

- How to develop a control for external perimeter or building external area ? 

- What are different  effective methodology to control bird / pigeon  infestation ?   

Regards,

Baskaran.G.

I could start but I won't......

If you have a bird infestation, then you need to get a pest controller on site and have them removed.

Then, once you have the immediate problem dealt with, you survey your site and exclude anything which attracts or allows birds to flourish in the area. So that is Ehab's advice, fill holes, use roller doors or curtains, keep waste containers covered or preferably stored inside. Remove food sources, and resources for nesting etc...and also train your people in pest awareness, a bird is as big a risk as a rat in a food production facility.

I'll do it. shoot, shovel, shut up.

Marshall

Hi Baskaran.G.

I'm not a pest management expert , but as a QA I can answer :

- How to develop a control for external perimeter or building external area ? 

the best way to develop a control is to consult your pest control contractor , they should be the experts , but why to do that it is a tough mission , we always reduce it in the surrounding by eliminating the attraction factors , removing or trimming the trees , do not allow availability of food or water , cover the waste and dumpsters , housekeeping ,..

About the building external use the above tools unless you are using open storage area this is another issue and in this case it requires a lot of precautions .

- What are different  effective methodology to control bird / pigeon  infestation ?   

there is no silver bullet in pest control management , it is case by case , pest management and control depends and sensitive to on the nature of the pest , weather , season , environmental factors , surrounding area ,facility building and maintenance , housekeeping , GMP ,employees awareness and respecting best practices ,handled / stored products , .....

Accordingly to select the methodologies and plans you need to carry out an assessment with your pest control contractor set the acceptable target you want to achieve and what is the afforded budget ( cost ,time , team)

before deployment make a validation to assure that it will work  , then set a KPI's for measuring the efficiency and follow up plan 

, below there is a link that can give some info about the methods and understanding the behavoiur of the birds ( if you want to catch a rat think as a rat ) .

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r105600111.html

http://www.flybye.com/birdbiology.html

Best regards ,

Ehab

There are many different ways to control bird infestation. Generally in order to get rid of bird infestation, people normally tie a dead bead and hung it in the infested region. This is one of the effective method to get rid of them . If they see a corpse of other bird, usually they'll stop visiting the same area again. Trapping a bird may panic them and they may go off to some other place for shelter. 

We have a pretty successful method of using plastic strip curtains over external doors and internal netting around any areas we feel birds may be squeezing in.

Once they are in, it is not easy to get them out (alive)!

Best regards

John

Not sure about Indian law but it's not permitted to shoot all bird species in the UK but our pest contractor has a rifle licence just in case. Which does make it interesting on the odd occasion I have had a protected bird inside, basically the advice is "chase it out of the door".  (Seriously.)

There are some really good responses above but one thing we've also done is prevent birds from nesting.  We have problems with swallows who build nests under ledges so we net off the areas they're likely to nest in so they tend to go elsewhere.  It stops the odd casual intruder.

Another point to raise is some birds (and rodents) hitch a ride on pallets and trays stored outside and later brought in with fork lifts.  One really good pest control method is to have zero tolerance on leaving loads (even empty trays) outside.

I agree once they're in they can be a nightmare to get out and they have a habit of pooing everywhere.  :shutup:   So that's everything contaminated with Salmonellae too now!

As others have said, if you have an active infestation, bring in a really good pest contractor and get it sorted.  If they're actually nesting inside then that all needs sorting.  Once it's sorted, stop them getting in.  Sounds easy when you write it down! 

I've just had the same problem, we have robins in our warehouse and because they are a protected breed, the pest control contractor could not touch them.  I contacted Natural England and they sent me a licence to enable safe removal of the birds.  Currently waiting for the bird man to hopefully remove the robins.

There are many different ways to control bird infestation. Generally in order to get rid of bird infestation, people normally tie a dead bead and hung it in the infested region. This is one of the effective method to get rid of them . If they see a corpse of other bird, usually they'll stop visiting the same area again. Trapping a bird may panic them and they may go off to some other place for shelter. 

It should be stated that you shouldn't do this in or immediately adjacent to your plant. Rotting animal carcasses are an obvious source of contamination and will attract other pests.