“We think like a bird. We know how birds behave. Extensive research and experience means we can offer the correct solution. Avipoint™ Bird Spikes, Network Bird Nets, Fixings and Bird Wire. It’s all about keeping one step ahead of the birds, and our competitors”.

Effective System Selection

A number of different systems have been developed for bird proofing. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, making careful selection vital to efficacy.

A core requirement with any bird proofing system is that it is humane. English law states that birds should not be killed, stunned, harmed or frightened by bird deterrent systems, making sharpened spikes and some types of untested electric systems used overseas inappropriate.

Bird Nets

Netting is one of the most popular and cost-effective methods for proofing buildings, physically sealing off problem areas to deny them to birds.

Suitable for all bird species and pressures, nets can be used at any angle to protect individual features like eaves or ledges, or to cover entire roofs or elevations.

Knotted polyethylene nets can withstand a wide range of environmental conditions to give a working life of 10 years or more if correctly installed.

Nets are available in a range of mesh sizes and qualities to proof against different bird species, and in different colours to minimise visibility in sensitive locations.

Bird Spikes

Upward-pointing wires are very effective in deterring birds from alighting on specific areas like ledges, parapets, beams, pipes, gutters and roof ridges.

They are especially suitable for proofing against pigeonsand gulls.

Spikes can be fixed to almost any surface quickly and easily with adhesive, tend to be difficult to see from a distance, and good quality spikes can last many years.

The angle at which wires are mounted in the bases, the tensile strength of the wires, the distance between them, the stability of their base-plates and the correct length of wires for the species are all important criteria when selecting bird spikes.

Electric Systems

Fully integrated systems based on conductor wires or tracks that give birds an uncomfortable but harmless electric shock have proved a valuable addition to the bird proofing armoury in other parts of the world.

In the UK electric systems which conform to the legal requirements for humaneness offer valuable protection against all species at all levels of pressure in almost all situations.

The most flexible systems are especially useful in protecting awkward-shaped signs, pipework, parapets, edges and ledges.

Modern, very low profile systems have great value where low visibility is a particular priority and some systems can be quick and easy to install.

Bird Wire

Thin sprung wires mounted on posts just above building surfaces offer a fourth option for deterring pigeons and gulls. Like spikes, bird wire is better suited to ledges, parapets, beams, pipes, gutters and roof ridges than extensive surfaces.

Bird Wire is a very adaptable system, with many different fixing options. Its discreetness makes it very popular amongst professional installers.

It does, however, require skill to install and will not work in nesting and roosting sites.

Other Systems

A variety of other bird proofing systems are available for specific circumstances.

These include:

Freely-rotating heads of wires well-suited to silos and street lights;
Continuous wire coils for areas requiring regular, safe human access; and,
Bristle strips to prevent sparrows, in particular, gaining entry through gaps around doorways and cable ducts.

Scaring and Control

As a complement to proofing, dispersing birds with a variety of visual and audible stimuli that worry them can sometimes help manage a problem.

The most effective scaring systems involve a combination of devices managed on an on-going basis to drive birds away from sensitive but awkward locations such as runways, marinas, factories, and gas and oil installations.

Shooting or trapping birds should always be a last resort – not least for their relative ineffectiveness in dealing with large populations and public unacceptability.

In the UK birds can only be killed in accordance with general licences issued by Natural England, the Scottish Office, NI Office or Welsh Assembly.

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