has anyone ever installed bird be gones bridge slope upside down under an overhang on a house to prevent barn swallows from nesting there and does it work?

I have a customer who has a house about 14,000 square feet and many many Barn swallow nests and she doesn't want them anymore, and she is willing to pay whatever it takes as long as it works.

would there be a better method than this maybe I don't know

why not just glue nails there

How much glue and how many nails would that take approximately? I know our company did a successful slope job for swallows but I

wasn't one of the participants so I can't answer many questions.

The house is worth over $5,000,000. This isn't some manufactured home they spent $50,000 on. I don't have the testicle fortitude to try to sell them on some silly putty and 16 pennys.

They told me they don't care about cost as long as it works. I would be laughed off the property if I said we were gluing nails.

There has to be a commercially available product that will work and look good, which are probably of equal importance

Sounds to me like a good row of flex track 2" down from top edge all way around...or the slope like you said...upside down....

I would use sheet metal and detour for rodents /birds. the good thing about the sheet metal ,it makes for an easy cleanup , when the Detour begins to loose it's effectiveness(leaves &weather ) the birds may eventually come back and build nests on top of it. At this point you can go back and remove the metal and use the same treatment. Swallow are federally protected ? Be aware of your local laws and who is aware of what you are doing.

Sorry I'm so dumb but what the heck is Detour? Travellin, on a job this size you can get all kinds of free help from companies like

Bird-B-Gone and others just so they make the sale. Send 'em some pictures and they'll help you do the job right.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but after a short period of time wouldn't detour look like you smeared axle grease on a $5 million home?

My understanding was that they were under the eves, or in tight spaces where soffits and roof meet. The idea I had in mind would be sheet metal to match the roof, and the Detour is a contact irritant repellent, the active ingredient is white pepper , it is used for rodents primarily , but I have had great success with it with birds. It is clear and takes only a thin head. The idea is as the product deteriorates due to weatherint. You can come back charge a small fee and reapply the new sheet metal with repellent. However I guess a small fee would not be very reasonably if you had to replace all of them every time, but ideally you would only have to deal with a couple of spots per trip. Those are the kind of folks you want to be in close with. Keep constant contact ,first name basis type of thing. Anytime they have any issues they will call you.

Travelin,

In a case like this the two options I'd reach for if given the opportunity would be bird slide or flex track.

I'd choose bird slide because I would prefer not to deal with the mechanical failure possible due to power
and other typical wear over time.

Bird slide is technically a nicely designed angle remover and believe it can be very cosmetically clean looking which
can really be a benefit to your client.

Flex would work as they come in to land and are hitting the deterrent strip, however the slide just takes that 90 degree
angle away and thus to me is a great low tech but excellent solution.

****

Though lots of other things might help or deter, if the client is serious why not go for one of these two solutions?

Though I know folks use gels and other repellent liquids and yes there are some that supposedly don't make a mess, I've
seen nothing but bad from these products. With swallows another worry is getting more and more traction every year.

Small birds with enough of that gel can and do get stuck or fail to fly away and this has attracted more and more attention
from those who are interested in these birds.

Since they are as we all know federally protected the gel seems like not only a problem cosmetically but potentially could cause
"take" and that is something to me that makes it worth avoiding.

Thats just me though, I'd take the long term exclusion product, install it professionally and know you've got an excellent program!

(No offense to anyone using the gels for bird work, just know they are gaining more and more attention from rehabbers and this
will lead to more attention from federal and state agencies when the birds coming in or being found covered in gel are protected species.)

Well I am the only one talking about the gels, and trust me it takes a whole lot more than someone's opinion to offend me. I am here to learn new things. I do not think or act like I know it all.Ideally i like to do an exclusion, or alter the surface to make it unusable. That was already suggested, so I just wanted to offer another alternative, especially since we are not fully aware of the whole situation. I realize this is a very nice and large home, but if it's just a couple of small areas or areas out of sight , the above method is one I will go to. . That is a good point about it possibly causing attention , although in my rural area that has never been an issue. . My main point is I never apply the gels to the structure itself, I always use a buffer for easy cleanup and reapply if needed.

Hey Pez,

I added the no offense because including myself, folks can get offended sometimes when tone isn't clear in written posts or emails.

In truth whatever works for you and gets the job done so your clients are happy is a wonderful thing and should be pursued. I use
mechanical options sometimes that are with the most basic materials but still have an amazing outcome and I'm constantly looking
for other options.

I made my statements about the gels due to the dozens of experiences I have seeing it and the unhappy clients who were someone
else's clients before I was called.

In terms of the birds attracting unwanted attention, mostly I say that as a PSA for folks who might not realize who think about using
it. I don't think this aspect of possibilities is widely known as I only saw folks hitting this issue this year through some FB feeds from
places in the midwest, just wanted folks to be aware.

But to close again, if it works and you like it, good deal. I do think you are wise to use a barrier for easy clean up.

I also agree knowing the amount of space in the scenario is important, I assumed these folks are getting pretty solid use to have enough
worry thus the holistic material application in my post above.

Just wanted to say no worries on my end either, just expressing some info...

The biggest advantage with bird slide/slope (same product with 2 different names)...is that it is a permanent solution and it is paintable to perfectly match color with the rest of the structure....it can be glued in place or attached in place with a small hole drilled to accept a screw but be very professionally looking when done...

she may not care about the cost but with that type of client, i would be willing to bet she would care how it looks plus the better job you do the first time then all her friends that visit will know

Careful. Those are Federally and likely State protected birds, especially if they have babies in the nest. Up there anything that eats as many Skeeters as they will would be welcome, at first. The owners are likely whizzed by the crap on the porch.

Just a thought: (I know, it sounded a little lame as I typed it, but)
What's the chances of adding a ledge under the mud nest's to catch it, with a regular maintenance clean up.
Maybe build a place away from the house just for them to nest in, with a regular removal of new nest's at the house next spring till they get the idea.

The legal point of these birds should be well known if folks are even thinking of attempting any work with them.

Once eggs are in the nest it is considered "take" under federal wildlife law to remove, molest or damage that nest,
so you can either do your work before or after they are done if they reached this point, but during eggs to chicks
to fledglings to gone, have to wait...

Unless you get a permit of course.

BigBob, Your idea would be similar to catching guano during summer when bats are roosting right over a doorway or other
area during maternity season when blackout is in effect. Not a silly or lame idea, but not one I would see most million dollar homeowners
wanting long term.

Could though limp you beyond the nesting season if you need to with a client, which certainly can't hurt to think about if you are in a pickle.

That is true...i didnt mention legality but i am very aware

Example: several years ago i was contacted by that show called home makeover with ty pennington....they had an old barn they were getting ready to blow up and had birds nesting in it with babies....i was called because they wanted me to remove them before the owners actually knew they were getting a new home and barn....the birds were swallows and babies in the nest made it illegal to touch...i told them that and they asked me just to take care of it anyway, i declined and gave them the # of that counties game officer....3 days later that barn blew up and when i questioned the game officer if he got a call about it...he hadnt....so not sure if someone else removed or what but my hands were not in that project....coulda been a great pr job for me but wasnt worth the risk

well im not saying who she is or even where she lives as she is a hi profile person and well known. That said, not knowing the protection status, and in fact probably not caring she removed the nests already. all she needs from me is cleaning up the nesting areas, and she is absolutely looking for a permanent solution. Im going back next week to measure it up for the total footage of slope/slide and then put a quote together. Just a rough estimate im looking at around 1500' of it.

if she goes for it, which im guessing she will, I sure hope for both her and my sake it works!

How high profile can she be? She lives in either Wisconsin or Minnesota and neither place has anyone famous. All kidding aside, get

one of the slide companies involved. They will want to make sure that you're successful too.

Lol you might be surprised. Tom cruise, Paul Newman, LeAnn Rymes, Vince Vaughn, and many other celebrity types have all owned homes in this area. I can't figure out how to post a picture directly from my phone since I'm driving down the road already but I was at the home of a very well known professional hockey player yesterday. He has a 7500 sf log house with a bunch of bats.

The woman with the 14,000 sf house isn't necessarily a celebrity but she is or was a very hi profile political figure.

My first call was to bird b gone and they said the slope was the way to go but I wanted to hear it from someone who has installed it

Heck Paul you probably chased critters from screech's place before he ran around stabbing people