How to Define Success in Commercial Bird Control

Editor's note: This article originally appeared under the heading "Defining Solved."

A few years ago, I was called to a building with a long-standing gull problem on a multi-level solar rooftop. Most of the pressure was on the lower roof, but birds were already using the upper level. The client had latched onto lasers as the solution.

From the first walkthrough it was clear: If we pushed birds off the lower level, they’d move up. And as long as waste and nesting material stayed under the panels, the gulls would still feel like the site was theirs.

I recommended four lasers to cover both levels and a full cleanout — not just washing panel tops, but removing debris underneath to erase the birds’ “history” with the roof. Their budget only allowed for two lasers and top-side cleaning. Against my better judgment, and with my concerns written into the proposal, we moved ahead on their terms.

The result was predictable. Activity on the lower level dropped for a while, but the flock shifted to the upper roof and complaints continued. In their eyes, “the lasers didn’t work,” and that label sticks. That job reminds me that documentation, realistic outcomes and clear limits matter more than any single piece of hardware.

That experience is the reason for this article. It’s not about lasers or any other product. It’s about how you define what “solved” really means on a bird job, how you explain that to the customer, and how you protect yourself when the site and the story change.

Get those pieces right, and you’re more likely to have bird work you’re proud of — and less likely to get burned by it later.

BIRD WORK IS DIFFERENT. Most pest work is simple. There’s a pest, there’s a treatment, and you check back and adjust. Bird jobs aren’t that straightforward.

Birds behave differently, and so do customers’ expectations. Here’s why bird work is different:

Birds are wild and mobile. They can leave, come back, change patterns or move one building over.

They’re visible. Customers, tenants and neighbors notice birds and droppings instantly.

They’re emotional. One dead or trapped bird can trigger more anger than a bucket of dead mice.

They’re long-term. Systems are expected to last years, not months.

That combination means bird work needs more homework up front and more honesty about what “success” really looks like over time.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK. You can’t define “solved” if you don’t understand what’s happening on the site. Rushed bird estimates are a fast way to end up with an unhappy client and a story that sticks to your name.

You don’t have to turn every quote into a full-blown survey, but you do want to slow down enough to answer three basic questions:

First, what are the birds actually doing? It isn’t enough to know it’s pigeons, crows, gulls or vultures. Are they roosting and hanging around for long periods, or just perching briefly? Are they nesting? Is the activity there all year, or does it spike during a particular season or migration window? Roosts and nests are very different from a few birds on a sign, and seasonal migration is different from a permanent flock. Those details tell you how tough the problem is and how big your response needs to be.

Second, what’s around this site? If you only look at the structure you’re being paid to work on, you’ll miss the rest of the picture. Take a few minutes to walk the area. Look at trees, power lines and parking lots. Notice nearby roofs, signs and ledges. Pay attention to trash handling, loading docks, outdoor seating and employee smoke areas. Birds use all of that. If there’s a perfect line of trees or a wide-open roof next door, moving birds off your client’s canopy may push them to the neighbor. That might be fine for your customer, but it can come back to you if the neighbor calls angry and wants to know who “made” the birds move.

Third, how does the site actually run? Ask when the site is busy and when it’s quiet, who cleans droppings and how often, and whether changes are coming — new tenants, outdoor dining, a renovation or anything else that might change food, shelter or traffic patterns. You’re not doing deep research; you’re simply learning enough to avoid promising what the site can’t support.

THREE SIMPLE BUCKETS. Most bird jobs that go bad share one problem: The customer and the contractor never really agreed on what success meant. The client heard, “the birds will be gone.” The contractor meant, “we’ll make this entrance usable again.”

To avoid that, it helps to think in three simple buckets: elimination, relocation and risk reduction.

Elimination is the cleanest — and the rarest. This is when you’re dealing with a small, contained spot: one sign or letter set, a small awning or balcony or a limited interior bird issue. You can seal or protect the area so thoroughly that birds simply can’t use that exact spot anymore. “Elimination” is a fair word when the area is small, you can fully treat it, and you have decent control over access and maintenance. It’s not the right word for complex, open structures where birds can move a few feet and carry on.

Relocation or redistribution is much more common. With roosts, parking lots and big open structures, you’re often not eliminating birds from the whole area — you’re pushing them off the worst spots. You might move a roost from a busy entrance to trees away from cars and doors, or get pigeons off a sign and onto an unused ledge where they aren’t bothering anyone. You haven’t removed birds from the neighborhood, but you’ve moved them off the high-impact areas. That’s still success, as long as everyone understands that’s the plan.

Risk and impact reduction is where many large or complicated sites really belong. On hospitals, campuses, stadiums and town centers, you may never get “no birds.” A realistic target is less droppings at entrances and walkways, fewer complaints, less slip-and-fall risk and less clean-up time for staff. In other words, you are solving a safety and cleanliness problem, not changing the fact that wild birds exist outdoors. On jobs like these, “solved” means the site can be used safely and reasonably, not that the sky is empty.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS. Once you understand the site and you know which bucket you’re working in, you have to say it clearly to the customer — both in conversation and in writing.

Instead of promising, “We’ll get rid of the birds,” you might say, “Our goal is to keep birds from roosting on these ledges and to reduce droppings at the main entrance. You may still see birds in the area or flying over, but these measures are aimed at keeping the worst of the activity off your walkways and doors.” That’s a very different promise, and it lines up better with what you can actually control.

Likewise, instead of saying, “This will stop the birds,” you can frame it as, “This system is designed to make these beams unusable as roosts. If birds move to other, unprotected areas, we can look at expanding the system later.” That language might feel cautious, but it makes you look honest and experienced. It lowers the chance of a future fight and makes add-on work easier to sell because you’ve already explained that birds can shift.

It also helps to talk about seasonality up front. A simple line like, “In spring and fall you may see a bump in activity for a few weeks during migration, even with the system in place. That doesn’t mean it isn’t working; it’s just a heavier time of year,” can make a big difference when someone pulls up photos 12 months later and forgets what was said at the start.

JOBS THAT CAN GO SIDEWAYS. Even with solid work and clear expectations, things can still go sideways.

Netting gets cut so someone can run a cable, hang a banner or reach equipment and never gets repaired. Birds get in, get trapped or die, and online you become “the company whose netting killed those birds.” Housekeeping changes when a new food tenant moves in, drags trash across the lot, and suddenly there’s a food source you never planned for. The building changes as new signage goes up, canopies are extended or lights are added, creating fresh roost spots just outside your original scope. Staff turns over, and the manager who understood the plan leaves; the new one only sees invoices and a few birds and decides, “this never worked.”

You can’t control all of that. What you can do is protect yourself. Take “before” photos of droppings, roosts and existing conditions so there’s a record of how bad things were at the start. Take “after” photos at handoff showing clean conditions and intact systems. Leave simple instructions where they matter, such as a label on the netting that says, “Do not cut or remove this netting. If access is needed, call [Company Name].” And, most importantly, put key limits and responsibilities into your proposal and service agreement, not just in your memory.

That last piece is important enough to highlight (see related story, page 70).

PROTECT YOU AND YOUR WORK. You can’t make bird work risk-free. There will always be jobs where birds, people and politics make life interesting. Actions that stack things in your favor include:

• Taking the time to understand the site and the birds before you price the job.
• Being clear about your aim. Is it to eliminate, relocate or reduce risk?
• Saying out loud what’s realistic—and what isn’t.
• Putting basic limits and responsibilities in writing; supporting them with photos.

Do that, and the next time someone pulls up a photo or video of “that bird job,” you’ll be in a much better position. You’ll recognize the story, and you’ll have the paperwork, pictures and plain language to back up the work you did.

The author is a bird mitigation consultant who supports facility managers, building owners and architects on projects nationwide, and serves as a resource to pest management professionals dealing with complex bird issues. He focuses on practical, long-term solutions that balance risk, operations and design. Email him at Heath@BirdControlAdvisory.com.