Last week we got called in to advise on a pigeon problem at a factory unit in Newbury.
Basically, some pigeons had decided to make a loading bay cover their home, which if you were a pigeon you would have chosen too. The loading bay area had a small covered section with lots of pipes and metal beam running through it, making an ideal nesting and roosting site.
One major issue was that the area under the loading bay was becoming increasingly covered in bird faeces, and sometimes the birds flew inside the factory and fouled all over the place too, so obviously from a health and safety viewpoint this was not acceptable.
The client was looking for a permanent solution to the problem, so for this particular situation we advise a bird netting solution.
It is not often you get a quite straight forward rectangular net to fit, normally it is made up of lots of sections, but on this occasion we decided that the best solution was a single net section, with zippers added so the light fittings could be accessed for maintenance.
Before any of this can be started, the area must be fully cleaned and all bird fouling, nesting materials and droppings removed. As we have said many times before, it is not just a case of brushing it all off – bird foul is at its most dangerous when disturbed and dust is created, so we spray all areas with a special product called Ornikill, which is designed to neutralise and kill bacteria in the faeces. As the fouling is cleared, the spray is applied to ensure the dust is treated thoroughly, making it safe to handle.
When installing a bird netting system, you need to construct a framework of wires to which you attach the netting. On this particular building, we used specially designed girder clips and fixing brackets with cladding screws, then girder clamps for each corner. The wire is run between the corner clamps, then crimped. Tension is applied using specially designed tensioning screws, thus making a nice neat tight frame. support wires and also used to make sure the net does not sag.
Once the framework is in place, then the net can be rolled out and attached using hog rings, a small staple type clip allied using a gun type device. This all sounds pretty simple, but when you are working on a tower at 20 foot in the air, it is not such an easy task – especially with a sigle 15m x 10m net! But as with all things, over time you develop a technique which has worked in the past – learnt by trial and error mostly.
On this particular installation, the client had a tower scaffolding unit which they use for assembling their machines, so we were able to use this, saving the cost of any MEWP device.
Anyway, the result was a perfect bird netting installation, a happy client and some rather bemused pigeons, who could not work out why they could not get to the their favourite roost spots. We always check the installation a few days later to ensure no birds have become trapped inside the netting as this can sometimes happen with the larger installations, but this was fairly simple and we did not expect anything – but always worth a check.
If you have a bird problem in your building or bird fouling in your loading bay, call Rapid Pest Control now for expert advice on dealing with your bird problem. With branches in Newbury, Reading, Basingstoke, Swindon and Oxford – you now you will get a fast effective bird control service, so call us now or contact us via the website form.
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