A Little Prevention Will Go a Long Way This Spring

Spring Cleaning and Preparation

Spring can be one of the best times of the year. With flowers blooming, temperatures rising, and the days getting longer, it's hard not be excited this time of year. While spring is a great time to get outdoors and enjoy everything Mother Nature has to offer, it's also the best time to prepare your business for the birds that return this time of year. If you are like most people, this spring you are going to need to devote time and energy to removing bird waste and debris along with the usual dirt and grime. While you are at it, you should also consider implementing a variety of preventative measures that will keep birds away from your business this year and for years to come.

The Problems to Avoid

In order to understand why cleaning your business and installing preventative measures is important, you need to know what problems birds can cause. Here are just a few of the problems you will need to watch out for:

• Dirt and debris: As birds come and go each season, they will leave behind nests, feathers, eggs, waste, and other debris. When you clean your gutters and go about your usual spring cleaning, it's important to remove as much of that dirt and debris as possible. Feathers, branches, and other debris will clog air vents, block water spouts and gutters, and increase the likelihood of a fire in your building.
• Diseases: Birds carry a huge number of diseases. In fact, the common sparrow can harbor more parasites, viruses, and diseases than the average mouse or rat. From cryptococcosis to E. coli, anyone working or shopping near your business is at risk.
• Nuisance: There is no denying that birds roosting, nesting, and congregating around your business can distract your employees (especially if they make it into your warehouse or workspace).

Now that you have a better idea about what problems birds can cause, it's time to look at ways to treat and prevent them this spring. Here are a few ways to make your spring cleaning more productive than ever.

Preparing for the Birds: Cleaning Your Building's Exterior

Every spring it is important to clean gutters, wash windows, clean siding, and tackle any repair projects you might have been neglecting. Even if you don't operate a retail business, your business's overall cleanliness and appearance will have a profound impact on productivity and employee morale.

While dirt and dust are fairly simple to remove, bird waste is much more difficult. Even after a few days of sitting in the sun, the waste can harden and become almost impossible to clean up. As the waste collects and dries, it can damage and corrode any surface it is on. Besides damaging surfaces, bird waste harbors diseases and viruses that are more easily transmitted when the waste is dry and spread by the wind.

At Bird B Gone, we suggest using one of our many cleaning products to eliminate the waste and restore your building to its original look. We offer a microcide disinfectant that is perfect for sanitizing any surface covered in bird waste. We also carry a waste digester that will loosen even the toughest and driest bird waste. And to ensure your safety, we also carry a respirator that will allow you to clean the waste without breathing any in throughout the process.

Preparing for the Birds: Deterrents

It's important to make bird waste removal a part of your regular spring cleaning process. And though there are cleaners that make removing waste relatively fast and easy, preventing birds from roosting on your building is just as important as cleaning up after them. While you are cleaning your building, consider adding and installing any of these deterrents on your building:

• Bird Spikes: Bird spikes should be your first line of defense when looking for ways to deter birds this spring. Bird spikes are plastic or stainless steel strips of spikes that you install anywhere on the outside of your building where birds roost or gather. They can be installed around gutters, on eaves, on window sills, near cooling units, near satellite dishes, and anywhere else birds gather around your business. The strips are designed to make it impossible for birds to land, thus encouraging them to look for another place to gather. The strips are nontoxic, durable, inexpensive, and easy to install on almost any surface.
• Audio/Visual: Another great way to prevent birds from landing on or around your business is to use visual or audio deterrents. At Bird B Gone, we offer a number of audio devices that will play distress calls, predator calls, or other noises that birds despise. We also offer visual deterrents in the form of predator decoys, flashing lights, and scare balloons. Each option has its own uses and benefits, so be sure to pick the best ones for your situation.
• Bird Netting: Bird netting is the most efficient and effective method for excluding birds from an area. Once installed, bird netting is virtually invisible and can be and shaped to fit any size area.  The netting creates a physical barrier to keep birds from nesting, landing and roosting and is versatile for indoor and outdoor use.  Bird netting is commonly installed under overhangs, inside warehouses, airplane hangars, on rooftops; is often used to block off all the pipes and ducts that hang in warehouses and factories. Bird netting is also perfect for use on buildings with open arches.

A Clean, Safe, and Productive Year

While you are cleaning and repairing your business this spring, make sure you take the steps necessary to avoid any bird-related problems for the rest of the year (and many years to come). At Bird B Gone, we offer a number of products that are effective at cleaning bird waste or preventing them from roosting in the first place. And best of all, most of the products can be added to your planned cleaning and repairs without increasing the amount of work or effort involved.