Most business owners don’t think much about the birds visiting their premises until they have a problem. By that point, there’s usually a mess to deal with, damage to repair or a customer complaint that’s prompted someone to finally do something about it.
The thing is, bird-proofing isn’t really about getting rid of birds. It’s about making sure your building isn’t the place they choose to call home. And when you get it right, the benefits go well beyond a cleaner car park. This blog explains why bird-proofing your business is worth taking seriously.
It stops your building from taking a hiding
Bird droppings are more damaging than you think. They’re highly acidic, and over time they’ll work through the protective coatings on your gutters, eat into your stonework and stain your render, all of which are expensive to put right.
If you’ve got flat roofing, bird droppings can accumulate quickly and accelerate deterioration, and most flat roof warranties don’t cover the damage they cause.
Nesting materials can cause a different kind of problem. Pigeons and starlings in particular will stuff debris into gutters and downpipes, leading to blockages, standing water and, eventually, damp getting into the fabric of your building. If birds have found a way under your roof tiles or into a roof void, their nesting activity can damage your insulation, foul your water tanks and, in the worst cases, compromise your electrical wiring.
If your business has solar panels, they’re also vulnerable. The gap between the panel and the roof is exactly the kind of sheltered, elevated spot that pigeons look for. Once they’re nesting under there, you’ll get droppings on your panels reducing their output, nesting debris blocking airflow and, potentially, birds pecking through your cables. Getting them out once they’ve established themselves is a much bigger job than keeping them out in the first place.
Bird-proofing addresses all these issues at source. Rather than clearing up the mess every few months and hoping for the best, it removes the opportunity for the problem to develop.
It’s a health and hygiene concern
Bird droppings can carry over 60 transmissible diseases, including salmonella, E. coli, and psittacosis. For most businesses, that’s a background risk. But if you work in food production, catering, hospitality or healthcare, it’s one that your insurers, environmental health officers and customers take seriously.
Droppings that dry out and create airborne dust particles when disturbed are the main route of exposure. This can be a major problem on flat roofs or external walkways that see regular foot traffic. Dried bird poo also carries mite infestations, and if birds are nesting close to your air vents or HVAC units, you’ve got a potential contamination route into the building itself.
Bird droppings on hard, smooth surfaces like steps, ramps and paved areas are also a slip risk. If a member of staff or a customer slips over on a patch of wet bird poo outside your premises, you may face awkward questions about whether you took adequate steps to prevent it.
Businesses with outdoor areas, such as restaurants with terraces, schools, care homes, and warehouses with loading bays, are the most exposed. But birds roosting above a customer entrance or a delivery area can create problems for almost any commercial premises.
First impressions count
You might be used to the pigeons on your roof, but your customers aren’t.
A building covered in bird mess, with droppings streaking your signage or collecting on window ledges above the entrance, creates an impression that’s hard to shake. Most people won’t mention it. They’ll just form a negative view of your business.
For food businesses, visible bird activity is a red flag. A customer who sees pigeons congregating near your kitchen, or roosting above your outdoor seating, will do a quick mental calculation, and they may not come back. If birds are swooping on tables, fouling seating areas or making it unpleasant to sit outside, you’ll lose covers. It’s as straightforward as that. The same applies to client-facing offices, retail units or anywhere that people are making a judgment about your business before they’ve even walked through the door.
Effective deterrents make your outdoor space usable and welcoming rather than something you have to apologise for.
Prevention is cheaper than the alternative
Investing in bird-proofing measures is a one-off cost. The alternative – constant cleaning, repeated visits from pest control, repairing gutters or roofing and repainting or re-rendering affected surfaces, can all add up steadily and never actually solve anything.
Clearing bird droppings from a commercial roof can run into several hundred pounds depending on the scale of the problem, and if the birds are still there, you’ll have to repeat the process every few months.
A quality bird-proofing system, properly installed and using the right method for your building, will last for years and pay for itself relatively quickly when you weigh it against those ongoing costs.
It’s also worth factoring in your staff time. Facilities managers dealing with recurring bird problems, arranging cleaning contractors, chasing quotes and responding to complaints are spending time on something that a proper bird-proofing solution would have dealt with at source.
The right approach depends on your building, the species you’re dealing with, and where they’re roosting or nesting. That’s why MSD Pest Control always starts with a site survey rather than just recommending the same solution to everyone. Netting, spikes, wire systems and optical gel deterrents all have their place, but the best solution for your business will depend on your situation.
It doesn’t harm the birds
Well-designed bird-proofing doesn’t injure or distress birds. It redirects them. They find somewhere else to roost. That’s a different proposition from trapping or culling. In most cases it’s also the legal route, since many bird species in the UK are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
From our point of view, it also reflects how we think pest control should work. Birds aren’t the problem. They’re behaving naturally. The problem is that your building happens to suit them. Good bird-proofing changes that, humanely and permanently, without making the birds someone else’s problem.
What does bird-proofing involve?
It depends on your building and the birds you’re dealing with. Pigeons respond well to netting and physical deterrents. Smaller birds like starlings or sparrows may need finer-gauge mesh.
Common methods include flexible plastic spike systems for ledges and parapets, tensioned wire systems for larger horizontal surfaces, netting to exclude birds from specific areas of your building, skirting to seal off the gaps under your solar panels, and optical gel, which disrupts birds’ UV vision and makes a surface unappealing.
We can complete most installations in a single visit, with minimal disruption to your business. We’ll survey your site first, identify where birds are accessing or roosting, and recommend the most appropriate combination of methods. There are no hidden extras and no obligation.
So, if you’d like to find out more, get in touch, and we’ll arrange a free survey at a time that suits you.