When you own a business with a physical storefront, the outward appearance of your building can be as important, as the quality of product or service within. If your building is host to nesting birds and covered in unattractive droppings, customers might be turned away. Birds can also put the structure and your equipment at risk as well.
Birds will typically nest in warm and sheltered areas of your property. This means lights and spaces in the walls or ceilings. Businesses that process food are at greater risk as they provide a food source for the birds. When birds nest in these places or congregate outside, they pose a significant challenge.

Common Issues with Birds

Bird droppings are the most significant issue in areas where birds congregate or nest. These droppings build up over, and become:

• Unsightly – A collection of bird droppings is unprofessional. It causes customers to question the cleanliness of your business and shows a lack of care for your property.
• Disease Vectors – Bird droppings can contain the bacteria that causes avian influenza, salmonella, E. coli disease, avian pox, and other diseases that can spread to humans. The droppings, as well as the nest, can also contain parasites like tapeworms.
• Corrosive – Droppings can also corrode metal pipes, paint, wood, and other materials when left for long enough.

In addition to the droppings, the birds themselves can be a nuisance. Whether they are landing on roofs, signage, or light fixtures, or if they are nesting inside your property, they can cause damage at your business, steal trash, or make noises that bother customers and employees

One or two birds is rarely an issue, but collections of birds can become costly. Not only will they cause structural damage, but lost sales from disgusted customers and the expense of continuous cleaning can compound the financial impact.

Keeping Birds Away from Your Business

You can address some issues, like droppings, by cleaning regularly, but this is rarely a good use of your employee’s time. It also does not eliminate any other concerns like noise and aggression. For these reasons, bird exclusion and deterrents are the best method of dealing with the challenges of birds.

These approaches are designed to physically keep birds away from your business by installing barriers like bird netting, spikes, and visual deterrents, or sealing off areas where birds are hiding.

With our advanced bird control in New Jersey and NYC, Animal Control Trappers provides a professional exclusion for commercial properties. We can identify any areas where birds are invading your property and install the barriers that will keep them away. Give us a call today to take advantage of our bird exclusion and removal services.

Ways to Protect Solar Panels from Animal Damage and Invasions

Solar panels are both a cost effective and eco-friendly investment for your home. They also provide the perfect shelter for small animals like birds, squirrels, and raccoons in the space between the panel and your roof.

When animals nest beneath your solar panels, they can cause damage to the expensive equipment. In order to prevent costly repairs, there are steps you can take to protect your solar paneling from an animal invasion.

How Animals Put Solar Panels at Risk

In addition to the panel itself, solar arrays use delicate wiring and transmitters to connect them to the power grid in your home. Damage to any of these components can cause the system to stop functioning. Rodents or birds nesting underneath the panels, especially for extended periods of time can cause:

• Roof Damage – When animals build a nest, they bring in debris like leaves, twigs, and garbage. They will also leave droppings in the area around the nest. All of these can put stress on the roof, weakening the space beneath the solar panels.
• Chewed Wiring – Squirrels and rodents will often gnaw on wiring. Solar panels will have a collection of wires that carry the power into your home, and chewing through a wire could cut power for the entire house.
• Scratched Panels – Animals’ claws can scratch the tops and bottoms of solar panels as they move around them. This makes the panels less effective, and can even require replacement if a scratch is severe.
• Reduced Efficiency – The build up of materials and droppings around a nest can cause a reduction in the solar array’s efficiency in transmitting power.

If you notice a dark shape underneath your solar panels, or are dealing with an unexplained drop in efficiency, you might have an animal nesting there. The animal should be removed as soon as possible, but it is also recommended that you take steps to prevent animals from nesting there again in the future.

Protecting Your Solar Panels with “Critter Guards”

The best way to keep animals from causing damage to solar panels and the roof beneath them is to physically keep them away. “Critter guards” are a form of wire mesh or netting that is installed between the rooftop and the solar panel. The mesh is small enough that animals cannot fit between the gaps, but air can still flow through for necessary ventilation.

The wire mesh is installed around the entire perimeter of the solar array, and overlapped on the roof to remove all entry points to the space under the panel.

While the guards need little more than simple tools and a ladder for roof access to add them to your solar panels, professional installation is recommended. This is especially true if an animal has already nested beneath the panels and needs to be removed.

With solar panel protection services by companies like New York and New Jersey Animal Control Trappers, you can be sure that animals are removed and the spaces sealed without any damage to the wiring of the panels. If wild animals are putting your solar panels at risk, call us today for removal services.