What Problems Can Birds Cause For Hotel Managers?

Some bird species, like pigeons, sparrows and starlings can be nuisance birds. They may look innocent enough from a distance, but if they nest in your hotel’s eaves, gain entran ce to your hotel’s lobby or flock to your outdoor recreation or dining areas, you could have a problem on your hands. These three birds are considered nuisance birds.

Note: It would be a violation of federal law to offer any corrective action for the many species of birds that are protected.

Here are some of the issues that nuisance birds can cause for hotels:

Birds can annoy guests.

Especially around entrances to your hotel, nuisance birds can be bothersome to guests with their swooping and pecking if they are protecting a nest.

Birds can make a mess.

Where there are nuisance birds, there are likely bird droppings. Birds can leave their unsightly droppings on your hotel’s walkways, windows, ledges, signage, outdoor furniture and guests’ vehicles. These bird droppings are often challenging to remove from surfaces and can even damage some building materials.

Birds are unsanitary.

Nuisance birds can carry pathogens that can cause a variety of diseases, which can be transmitted to humans and animals. Their unhygienic droppings can contaminate anything they contact, including products, equipment and foods. In some industries, bird droppings can result in health c ode violations and possibly lead to fines, legal actions or other consequences.

Birds can cause hazards.

In addition to being unsanitary, bird droppings can be slippery, causing potential slip-and-fall hazards for hotel guests and workers.

Birds can cause damage.

Pecking, roosting and nesting can cause damage to structures, equipment and wiring. The droppings left behind by nuisance birds are acidic and can corrode paint, roofing materials, fabrics and signage.

Birds can harm your reputation.

When guests see nuisance birds roosting outside your hotel, droppings covering a sidewalk or damaged signage, your business’s reputation can be harmed. Birds or bird damage can hurt your image and give the appearance that your hotel management doesn’t really care about quality.

Birds can cause work and service interruptions.

When workers have to stop to deal with nuisance bird droppings, nesting materials or to repair bird damage, productivity can suffer and guest service tasks may be neglected. Due to safety issues, employees should not work in areas where b ird droppings have accumulated, which can further disrupt productivity and service. Such disruptions can be costly to hotel budgets and to guest relations.

Birds can be hard to identify.

Before nuisance birds can be effectively controlled, it’s necessary to determine their correct species.  Knowing the type of bird and typical behavior can help professionals determine the best method of treatment.

Birds may be protected.

Before any nuisance bird-proofing, bird-exclusion, or bird-prevention steps are taken, it’s also important to know whether birds are classified as invasive, migratory, or federally classified as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable. The three federal classifications are often gene rally called “threatened.” There are three invasive bird species, roughly 1,100 protected bird species and over 350 endangered/threatened bird species. Federal, state and local regulatory requirements define control methods by species. These numbers can fluctuate.

Bird Control for Hotels

Bird control for hotels can be frustrating, time consuming and often ineffective without professional pest control help. Terminix® Commercial has extensive experience in customizing bird control methods for hotel properties. Control measures may include these or other methods:

Control Gel

1. Helps repel birds with stickiness so they won’t want to perch
2. Waterproof, virtually colorless and odorless
3. Effective even in high temperatures
4. Needs to be replaced every six months
5. Only used for horizontal surfaces, not vertical

Wire Barrier

1. Helps keep birds from landing on edges
2. Creates an unstable surface
3. Works best for long, uninterrupted ledges
4. Used in conjunction with gel applications

Spikes

1. Helps prevent birds from landing on ledges and signs
2. Blunt edges
3. Flexible to fit contours

Netting

1. May prevent birds from reaching areas where they may roost or build nests
2. Strong
3. UV stabilized, rot proof, waterproof
4. Color variety
5. No knots

Terminix Commercial also offers a cleaning and disinfecting service for bird dropping s and nesting debris. Don’t wait for your hotel to go to the birds. Call in professional help today before birds peck away at your hotel’s productivity and guest relations.

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