- Guest Contributor
- August 12, 2022
Imagine this: You’ve successfully hired a team for your event. Your event warehouse is finally set up to welcome attendees, your temporary staff just finished training, everyone is enjoying the light breakfast you’ve provided… and someone is shouting “How do you get a bird out of a building??” You run over to investigate. There are bird droppings on the floor and a few people have congregated. You need to figure out how to get a bird out of a warehouse, on the fly.
Birds are harmless outside. However, even the healthiest and cleanest looking birds can carry germs like Salmonella–which can be passed to pets and humans.
But how do you get a bird out of an enclosed area? We’ve rounded up the best advice to get bird out of a building, fast.
1. Stop and look
In the grand scheme of things that could go wrong, this is not an emergency. Clean up the mess, and take a deep breath. Advise your team not to yell at or chase the bird: as humans have continued to encroach on bird nesting territory, bird attacks have become more common.
Leaving the bird alone for a moment will give you a moment to assess the situation. What kind of bird is it? Is there a nest? How did it get inside? Can you safely access its roosting area? Consider your unique space and situation before launching into a plan of action.
2. Call the experts
Know when you may need to call in a professional. Local animal control and wildlife removal services will know how to get a bird out of a warehouse in one of the following circumstances, among others:
- Your bird is a hawk or another apex predator
- You see a nest
Hawks and other apex predators are protected by federal & state laws and require special training for handling and removal. Most active bird nests are also protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. A quick phone call with an expert may prevent an even bigger headache in the long term.
3. Remove all food and water sources
Most birds will leave on their own when they recognize food sources are running low in their habitat: a medium-sized songbird can only survive for one to three days under optimal conditions.
Take a look around your warehouse and clean up any food scraps that may have attracted the birds’ attention. If you were dealing with a hawk, chances are it followed its prey into your warehouse—make sure there aren’t any other critters running around or hiding in corners.
4. Secure your exits
How do you get a trapped bird out of a building? Show it the way out!
This tip works especially well during the daytime. First, close off and cover all but one exit point—your doors and your windows, among others—and open it as wide as possible so that the bird can easily fly through.
Next, turn off any lights you can and make the interior of your warehouse as dark as possible. Given a little time and space, the bird should fly towards the exit and out into the light.
Moving forward, be mindful of keeping doors and windows closed when they are not in use. If your warehouse has an exposed entry point that is used frequently throughout the day, you may want to consider overlapping plastic strips or another flexible barrier that allows people in but keeps birds and other pests out.
5. Eliminate cozy roosting spaces
Warehouses are safe and secluded—components of an ideal roosting place for a bird.
Beams and other structural features may be unavoidably unmodifiable. Are there any other things—furniture, boxes, or signs—that you can shift around in your warehouse to make it less hospitable to winged creatures? The more exposed your warehouse feels, the less likely a bird is to make it their home.
6. Use hanging devices
To scare your bird—and prevent new birds from roosting again—hang moving objects in the parts of your warehouse that are most likely to be affected.
Several commonly found shiny objects will catch the light and startle birds: CDs, strips of aluminum foil, foil balloons, and mirrors. Farmers use this tactic to keep birds off their crops! Flags are another affordable and effective option, given a dependable breeze.
7. Bring in a predator
Along the lines of scaring, using a lifelike predator statue is a slightly more involved way of warding off birds. Possible options include scarecrows, owls, snakes, or cats. Just make sure to move it around every few days so that the birds don’t acclimate to its presence.
Feeling safe & secure is key for animals—if they feel threatened, they will look for another place to rest.
8. Install equipment
If you’re in your warehouse long-term and don’t want your team to worry about how to get birds out of a warehouse daily, consider installing some low-tech equipment.
Nets are an affordable option that can block off access to beams and other problem areas. Choose a lightweight, darkly colored material, with squares no larger than ¾ inch—this is the largest size that will eliminate sparrows and starlings.
Porcupine wire is the more expensive option; it requires some labor for proper installation. The steel wires extend out in multiple directions; it doesn’t hurt the birds, but they do make surfaces uncomfortable and unappealing for them. On the upside, this solution blends into the look of your warehouse. After the initial installation, this wire will be almost unnoticeable.
Hopefully, you won’t need to know how to get a bird out of a warehouse more than once. But chances are, you’ll need to staff your team again sometime soon. Do you need more warehouse workers? Jobble can help you successfully staff your warehouse.
Ready to become a staffing expert?
About the Author: Meghna Jaradi is a freelance writer and events manager with experience working for the Seattle Times, Kitchen Arts & Letters, Book Larder, Peddler Brewing Company, and more. You can contact her on LinkedIn.
