Bird Proofing
The purpose of bird proofing is to make roosting and nesting sites inaccessible
to pest birds. They can gain entry in a number of places in a building such as:
under roof tiles
in valleys (the meeting point of two section of roof and used as a drain
into the gutter)
under broken ridge-capping (cement "cap" which goes over the tile edges)
drain pipe holes
chimneys
vents
or any other gaps which birds can squeeze into. This gap can be as small as a
hole where you barely insert three fingers!
CONTROL: The methods that may be used include bird wire, netting, pop
riveting tin or aluminium plats, Avistrand (wire strung at a height just above
roosting sites) and Bird-ex strips (plastic strips of one metre long and two
centimetres wide with triangular points, usually glued to landing surfaces).
Bird Lice/Mites
Bird lice, or more correctly, mites are commonly associated with the Pigeon,
Sparrow and Starling. They are a blood-sucking parasite of these pest birds and
become a problem with people when they are unable to get food, once they are
separated from their host. The three most common mites (Order Acarina) are the
Starling mite, the Tropical Fowl mite and the Red Poultry mite. They are 0.5mm
to 1mm in length and a greyish/yellow colour except after a feed when they turn
red.
The pest birds build nests typically in eaves, bringing with them the mites.
When they leave their nests permanently, get trapped in the wall cavities or
die, the mites leave the nest in search of a new host. Their route of travel is
usually down wall cavities and through ventilators into bedrooms. They attack
humans leaving an itchy rash when can become a secondary infection after
scratching. They can only survive two to three weeks without a feed from their
usual host.
CONTROL: Bird mites are controlled by dusting the nesting and roof void
with Permethrin insecticidal dust. Wall cavities can also be dusted through the
vents inside bedrooms. (Care must be taken not to apply too much dust into the
gauze as it can shoot back inside the room.) The best method is to use a
cockroach puffer directly against the gauze and puff lightly, making sure that
this wire gauze is not dislodged. Remove as much nesting as is accessible and
dust again.
The interior may be gassed or misted with Pyrethrins. When misting
it is important not to aim towards food preparation areas, electrical equipment
or mirrors (they collect insecticide readily and fog up). Bird mites can also be
blown in from open windows, so bird repellent gel or similar may need to be
applied. No warranty is ever given on bird mite jobs unless proofing is also
done by our company to stop more pest birds carrying mites entering the
structure. The client must be made aware that it may take two or three days for
all mites to contact the insecticide, even after proofing.