Pest Control: Bird Control Is No Crapshoot For Casino

They come to roll the dice with Lady Luck, hoping to hit that one big jackpot that will pay off the house, put the kids through college or maybe even just fund the vacation of their dreams. The legions of gamblers who walk through the doors of the Keetoowah Cherokee Casino each year do not, however, come to the casino to contend with bird poop.

While the casino’s 18,000 square feet and 500 gaming machines draw risk-taking Oklahomans to its Tahlequah location in the capital city of the Cherokee Nation, an expansive, 65-foot-high, double-sided, v-shaped billboard just outside the casino entrance attracts a far different  and messier ñ type of patron. It’s just the kind of eyes-above-it-all perch that birds love. Daily, scores of sparrows, pigeons, grackles and other birds park themselves on the sign, adorning it and the side of the casino with their droppings. Until recently they've been living high on the Keetoowah’s hospitality. But that’s all about to change.

Enter Tom Chism, his pest-busting colleagues at Arrow Exterminators, and his technical support experts at Bird-X. Chism and his team are poised to launch a campaign to convince the Keetoowah’s unwelcome feathered visitors to move along, using environmentally conscious, non-lethal methods. He’s reasonably sure of success, too.

“We can't claim that none of our clients ever see another bird again,” Chism says. “But they tell us they’re happy. We meet their needs in a safe, environmentally friendly way.”

Sounds like Success
To rid the billboard and neighboring casino of unwelcome birds, Chism and his team will use a combination of commercial grade ultrasonic devices and non-lethal repellants.

“We use a layered approach of mechanical devices and non-toxic repellants,” he explains. After all, the last thing anyone wants is to actually harm the birds ñ or make a situation that is still merely unpleasant for humans into something that could be harmful to them as well. “Lethal methods don't control the problem long-term, and furthermore, in many regions of the country there are laws governing what you can and cannot do to control birds,” notes Mona Zemsky, a technician with Bird-X.

Toxic chemicals that kill the birds can also be potentially harmful to humans and companion animals, Zemsky points out. Further, killing the birds leaves a vacuum “and nature abhors a vacuum,” she says. Kill unwanted birds hanging out in a certain inappropriate location, and more birds will simply move in to fill the void. However, convince the ones already there that the location is no longer desirable, and not only will they leave, their antipathy for the spot will be communicated to their potential replacements as well.

Ultrasonic devices, like the Bird-X Ultrason X Outdoor Ultrasonic Bird Repeller, are inaudible to humans, but produce a variety of sounds that birds find disquieting enough to vacate the area. Audible devices have been in use for decades in expansive outdoor areas like rooftops, parks and open lots, and also small outdoor areas like private homes. Ultrasonic units, however, make sense for smaller, somewhat contained outdoor applications where humans will be exposed to ñ and possibly annoyed by –- bird-control methods, such as near gas stations, restaurants Ö or casino entrances.

After years of helping customers cure their bird control problems, Chism offers potential clients this tip: don't kill the birds. Pest control methods that re-educate birds to consider a location undesirable really do work, and are better for the environment and the humans who live in it.

“Environmentally safe, non-lethal methods are the most effective means of bird control,” Zemsky agrees. “Any other method is just a crapshoot.”

By Evelyn Hall, business writer