Bird strikes can be prevented

A US Airways pilot performed an emergency landing on the Hudson River soon after taking off from New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 3:27 p.m. Shortly after takeoff, both of the jet’s engines were instantaneously cut off by a flock of geese (generally known as a “double bird strike”).

The Hudson River disaster has brought forth unprecedented attention to “mysterious” bird strike calamities. However, bird strikes have been prevalent presumably since 1903—when the Wright brothers first roamed about in innovative engine planes.

Airport regions are ideal habitats for a variety of bird species, as airports have plentiful open space and rolling fields of luscious grass. Precautionary and preventative measures can be taken in order to reduce the chances of such a costly and ill-fated catastrophe from reoccurring.

Birds that aggressively protect their roosting habitats in airport spaces have unconsciously become immune to the busy traffic.

Birds need to be chased away from airport complexes prior to takeoff. This can be effectively done by making their environment unbearably inhabitable with the combined use of visual and sound deterrents as well as taste aversions—a commonly implemented three-part method. One must use bird spikes, bird lasers, bird nets, visual scare devices, annoying sounds, and/or repulsive tastes. If the three-part technique is executed correctly, birds will be forced to find another home farther from the airfield, hence reducing the risk of hazardous airborne tragedies.

More information about deterring pesky birds can be found on Bird-X‘s website.

View the Bird-X Airport Bird Control System here.

Bird Strike Facts

In an effort to increase awareness about bird strikes, we at Bird-X are going to be posting a series of bird strikes articles to outline facts, statistics, and prevention methods.

To start, we’ve come across some striking information regarding the damage caused by bird strikes and wildlife strikes.

Bird and Wildlife Strike Facts:

• Over 219 people have been killed world-wide as a result of bird strikes since 1988.
• Bird and other wildlife strikes cost USA civil aviation over $620 million/year, 1990-2007.
• Over 5,000 bird strikes were reported by the U.S. Air Force in 2007.
• Over 7,600 bird and other wildlife strikes were reported for USA civil aircraft in 2007.
• Studies indicate only about 20% of bird strikes to civil aircraft at Part 139-certificated (passenger service) airports in USA are reported.  Less than 5% of bird strikes at General Aviation airports are reported.
• From 1990-2004, USA airlines reported 31 incidents in which pilots had to dump fuel to lighten load during a precautionary or emergency landing after striking birds on takeoff or climb.  An average of 11,600 gallons of jet fuel was released in each of these dumps.
• Waterfowl (31%), gulls (26%), and raptors (18%) represented 75% of the reported bird strikes causing damage to USA civil aircraft, 1990-2007.
• Over 760 civil aircraft collisions with deer and 250 collisions with coyotes were reported in the USA, 1990-2007.

CritterBlaster Pro Pest Repeller

Bird-X note : Coyotes can be deterred from large areas with Sonic Repellers like the CritterBlaster PRO

• In 1890, about 60 European starlings were released in Central Park, New York City.  Starlings are now the second most abundant bird in North America with a late-summer population of over 150 million birds.  Starlings are “feathered bullets”, having a body density 27% higher than herring gulls.
• The North American non-migratory Canada goose population increased 3.6 fold from 1 million birds in 1990 to over 3.5 million in 2007.  Over 1,400 Canada geese strikes with civil aircraft have been reported in USA, 1990-2007.  Over 40% of these strike events involved multiple birds.
• A 12-lb Canada goose struck by a150-mph aircraft at lift-off generates the force of a 1,000-lb weight dropped from a height of 10 feet.

GooseBuster Goose Repeller

• The North American population of greater snow geese increased from about 50,000 birds in 1966 to over 1,000,000 birds in 2007.

*Our product, the GooseBuster PRO (pictured to the right), has been effective in repelling geese from areas up to seven acres per unit.

• The nesting population of bald eagles in the contiguous USA increased from fewer than 400 pairs in 1970 (2 years before DDT and similar chlorinated-hydrocarbon insecticides were banned) to over 11,000 pairs in 2007.  Over 100 bald eagle strikes with civil aircraft have been reported in USA, 1990-2007.  Mean body mass of bald eagles = 9.1 lbs (male); 11.8 lbs (female).
• The Great Lakes cormorant population increased from only about 200 nesting adults in 1970 to over 260,000 nesting adults in 2006, a 1,000+-fold increase.
• The North American white and brown pelican populations grew at average annual rates of 2.3% and 1.9%, respectively, 1966-2007.
• At least 15,000 gulls were counted nesting on roofs in USA cities on the Great Lakes during a survey in 1994.
• About 90% of all bird strikes in the U.S. are by species federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

*We provide humane, non-lethal solutions to repel birds.

Bird-X is the world leader in bird control solutions. Please view our bird control products page to view our current selection.

Facts and statistics source: http://www.birdstrike.org

View the Bird-X Airport Bird Control System here.

Bird-X bird netting saves blueberry crops

A 5/5 star customer product review

We bought this netting to keep birds off of our blueberry bushes, and I’m happy to report that it worked perfectly. We used fenceposts mounted around the perimeter of the blueberry patch, and then draped the netting over the top. Because it’s not touching the plants, the birds can’t get to the fruit. I used cable ties to secure the corners to the posts after pulling the netting somewhat tight, and we’ve had the best crop ever.

A great product, and I’m hoping it lasts for several years. The UV protection should help protect it from sun damage.

By Lisa K. from North Carolina

View the Bird-X bird netting here!

Those frakkin’ geese!

Geese chilling at the train station pond

I take the train to work because of the traffic and the amount of money I save in gas and upkeep costs. Though I have to tell you that I’m really getting sick and tired of those frakkin’ geese! I’m at the station in the morning and there they are, busy flying overhead, crapping on the train platform just to protect their rights to the man-made pond nearby. And then I come home in the evening, trying to leave the parking area before I get stuck in a logjam of traffic and they are busy taking their own sweet time crossing the street. I swear, I often think about just plowing on through them, but they are protected by the government.

And that incessant honking! Can anything by any louder or more annoying than the geese communicating to each other? And what are they saying to one another? If only we could understand what they are saying, maybe their conversation would go something like this:

Goose #1: “Hey, I’m gonna take a big old dump right on the sidewalk. And then I’m going to honk at and chase the next human that walks by.”

Goose #2: “Oh yeah? Well, I’m going to go for a swim, defecate in the water, eat part of a fish and leave him in the pond. Then I’m going to fly over to that parking lot and I’m going to defecate some more right on that shiny red car.”

Goose #3: “You two are doing child’s play. I’m going to grab three friends and walk across that wide road all day long and stop traffic. And, while I’m in the middle of the road, I’m going to stop and clean myself.”

Geese 1 & 2: “Ooh. You win.”

And geese are smart. No matter what you do to stop them or get rid of them, they just ignore it…well, almost anything.

There’s this biologist in Ohio who’s like the Diane Fossey of geese. He’s been watching geese for over 25 years and is the foremost authority on goose behavior. He has been working with us here at Bird-X to develop products that will make geese leave – on their own – and take their friends with them. There’s this cool sound device called a GooseBuster that emits natural recordings of goose alarm and alert calls. Once the geese hear those soundas, they vamoose, knowing that trouble is afoot!

So I decided to do a little test. I asked my train mates about putting this sound device out there to see if it would scare away the geese – we’re subjected to the early morning honking and late afternoon jaywalking so why not try to get them to go elsewhere? They agreed and we set out to get rid of the geese. It took only three days! And now we hear faint honking and a distant corporate park when the wind is not in our favor. But the key here is that the geese are gone from our train stop. No more honking (from geese – cars are another issue). No more defecating on the train platform (someone actually slipped and fell in it once). And no more afternoon strolls across the street. Nada. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. They are gone – those frakkin’ geese are gone!

When squirrels attack…

The single best invention by human beings is the internet. Not because of the handy information about diseases, endless educational resources, up-to-the-second weather and breaking news. It’s all the other stuff – procrastination-enhancing blogs, reality television reviews and, my personal favorite, youtube.

What, exactly, does this have to do with pests? Well, I found some really great video of squirrels searching for and eating food. It was not the actual act of chewing that got to me, it was their sheer will and fearlessness. One squirrel got onto a person’s lap to eat an almond M&M. Then there’s that awesome Bud Light commercial. You know – the one where drinking Bud Light gives you the power to talk to animals. And the dog says ‘sausages’ repeatedly and the squirrel tells the guy to mind his own business. Classic.

I never really paid much attention to squirrels until I moved to downstate Illinois to go to school. This is when my true memory of squirrels and their valiance began. They were everywhere and completely ruthless. Ask anyone who went to school in a college town with a green campus and a huge quad – squirrels are fearless. Maybe they’re just used to the idea of college kids rushing to class and get a kick out of making their commute that much harder.

Hearing stories about squirrels from friends became a daily occurrence. I never had any problems with them and actually came to admire the little critters for their bravery. I mean, they would literally walk right up to me, as if to have some sort of conversation. I thought it was cute until, that is, I started to hear true horror stories.

In August 2006, people lounging in an Orlando-area park complained of squirrels getting violent. One woman said her three-year-old son was bitten by a squirrel several times, resulting in a two-inch gash. Another young child, also three, was bitten on the calf while a man endured scratches and bites on his arm while sitting on a bench. Apparently, just one squirrel caused all of this damage.

In October of that same year, a squirrel attacked a four-year-old California boy in a Bay area park as his mother unwrapped a muffin. Officials said that attack like this had been occurring since May 2006. Officials also said that the “brazen behavior stems from years of being fed by park visitors.” People expressed outrage when authorities decided to kill the squirrels – which we should all know by know does not work.

People could go a long way in helping themselves when it comes to this seemingly harmless furries of mass destruction. I sometimes think squirrels have gotten a bad rap with sites like All Squirrels Must Die! devoted to getting rid of the creatures. Posted on the site is a pretty entertaining video showing what happens when a group of squirrels and a female M&M – this of the animated persuasion – cross paths (what is it with squirrels and candy-coated chocolate?).

Bird-X has some great devices that can solve your squirrel problem. One such gadget is a Quad Blaster QB-4. This device is ultrasonic which means it is above the human hearing threshold (we can’t hear it). Basically, it emits a sound that birds, squirrels and most other pests and critters cannot stand, and they will flee the coverage area immediately. You can use it almost anywhere and the 360-degree coverage is up to 6500 square feet. It is programmable, so you can change the frequency, warble rate and speaker sequencing so the animals will not become accustomed to the noise.

Another top option is the YardGuard. This sonic repeller has a built-in infrared motion detector; activation occurs when animals wander into the coverage area (up to 4000 square feet). Since this is a motion detector, it is actually lower maintenance than many of our other products including the Quad Blaster QB-4. It is also effective in getting rid of raccoons, deer, skunks, as well as dogs and cats, and other garden pests.