Many commercial business facilities and residences suffer from pest bird infestation. Flocks of birds will nest and roost on or in the property, creating all sorts of damage — both to the facility itself and to the products housed therein. Luckily, different types of bird netting exists to keep birds away.

Birds can interfere with workers in a warehouse, or customers in a large store. Their droppings can also create slip-and-fall hazards on walkways and loading docks, potentially resulting in a huge legal liability.

One of the most effective ways to get rid of annoying pest birds is with bird netting. There are many types of bird netting, each with its own set of advantages geared to exclude specific types and sizes of birds, as well as the application and venue.

Polyethylene bird netting

These heavy-duty types of netting can be made from a U.V.-stabilized polyethylene mesh, and is ideal for use in excluding pigeons, sparrows, gulls, starlings and crows from large outdoor or indoor areas. This includes warehouses, big box stores and aircraft hangars.

This type of netting comes in different sizes: 2-inch, 11/8-inch, and 3/4-inch. For large birds like gulls, a 2-inch mesh would work best; for smaller birds like sparrows, a 3/4-inch mesh would be ideal.

This type of netting will hold up for years in harsh weather conditions. Different products can be flame resistant, rot-proof and waterproof. It can also be non-conductive, which means property owners and managers can use it around antenna arrays and other electrical equipment.

No knot netting

Light and easy to handle, no knot bird netting can be used to keep pigeons, sparrows, gulls, starlings and crows from outdoor or indoor areas. In fact, some brands of this netting are about 70 percent stronger than conventional knotted poly netting and nearly 30 percent lighter.

Another big plus with no knot netting is that users do not have to pull it into shape, unlike other types of netting. Like its heavy-duty cousin, this type of netting comes in several mesh sizes.

Plastic bird netting

This lightweight plastic mesh netting is ideal for blocking out pigeons, sparrows, gulls, swallows, and crows from bushes, gardens, vines and small trees. Types of this low-profile netting can be fabricated out of resilient U.V.-protected polypropylene.

To exclude pest birds from vegetable gardens, property owners and managers should carefully wrap each plant in netting. They can also just suspend the netting over the entire garden. To protect blueberry bushes and grape vines, users should raise the netting six-inches or so over the bush or vine. This will keep birds’ beaks and claws from getting at these plants. Users can also suspend this netting on poles around a tree or large planted section. If birds are invading fruit trees, netting should be cut one-foot wider than the diameter of the tree’s crown and tie the netting until it is taut.

Before installing any bird netting on buildings and structures, property owners and managers should make sure that the surface is clean and dry.

Bird droppings, feathers and nesting materials should be removed, and a commercial disinfecting cleaning agent should be used to prevent exposure to any of the 60 known airborne diseases caused by birds. Users should also use eye and respiratory protection if the area is heavily contaminated with bird droppings.

Alex A. Kecskes is a writer for Bird B Gone.