Dollars and Sense of Animal Damage Control

Last month we talked about Robin and Finch control.  I thought, being August and all, that this would be a good time to talk about money and effort with regard to animal damage control.

Animal damage control and especially bird control is an issue that has two major negatives.  The first negative is public perception of what your doing.  The second negative is the fact that your spending money on birds and squirrels.  Lets address each in this article.

Public perception takes two forms.  You have people, possibly customers, touring your property who can’t help but notice that you have propane cannons, shooting of various types, flashtape, scare eye balloons and netting.  The cost of these items is usually lost on them.  What they want to know is, “Why are you hurting those robins”?  Careful explanation will usually help people understand that you’re protecting your cash crop and their wine prices.  Heavy use of the term “non-lethal control measures” can also help you out.

The second type of public perception is your neighbors.  They could be growers as well, or the husband and wife that just moved from the Silicon Valley to have some peace and quiet after years of toil.  Propane cannons have been outlawed in several counties in California because of “noise pollution”.  This may have been prevented by the grower making sure that his cannons didn’t run 24 hours a day, as well as a phone call or visit with the neighbor that explained the need for 2 or 3 weeks each year to run a cannon, reserving the other 49 or 50 weeks for peace and quiet.

Animal damage control itself is most commonly viewed as a negative.  It has been my experience that money spent this way is always resented and very rarely planned or budgeted for.  For this reason I would like to look at a “sample vineyard” and make some suggestions about how to spend money.

Our “sample vineyard” has two blocks, one that is five acres, and the other that is seven acres.  Both are winegrapes, the five acre block is usually ready to harvest approximately 10 days before the seven acre block because of the variety of grapes.  The five acre plot is in a flat with the seven acres starting on a hill above the flat and continuing to the back of the property on the other side of the hill.

If you bought netting for all twelve acres it would cost $5,052.00 (6-17X5000 rolls) plus freight and labor to install.  Although there are worse mistakes you can make, this much netting is not really the best value for your dollar.

You will have to net the perimeter rows on both blocks of grapes.  The perimeter rows are closest to the power lines, oak trees and creek bottom that border our “sample vineyard”.  By netting these rows using 1 roll 17X5000-foot ($868.00) we can take away the first and most comfortable spot for birds to feed.  We can also purchase two propane cannons at a cost of $600.00 ($279.00 ea. plus freight).  Place one in the middle of the five acre parcel and change the firing times and direction every two days.  Place the other cannon on the hillside overlooking the five acre plot and you’ll get control in both areas. 

On the back of the hill we will need to install flashtape ($5.85 for a 290-foot roll) and purchase a bird bomb pistol ($23.50 ea.) with 100 bombs and whistles ($34.50 per hundred).  This will allow us to directly attack any groups of birds on the backside of the hill when we are there.  In addition we will move the propane cannon out of the five acre block after harvest and into the backside of the seven acre block.  This move will take place 10 days before harvest on the seven acres, in other words, prime time.

In doing all of this we have spent between $1,600.00 and $2,000.00.  We have gotten good control in our sample vineyard because the birds went to the perimeter rows first, but they were netted.  Birds aren’t going to check every row to see if it’s netted, they aren’t that smart.  In addition the interior rows have propane cannons and flashtape in them, as well as people running around with bird bomb pistols.  The birds are already uncomfortable because they can’t feed on the rows closest to their traditional escape routes, as they are netted.  This makes hazing them effectively a lot easier.

What about ground squirrels and gophers.  Weed control is one of the least expensive way to control rodents.  We discussed both in detail earlier in the year in this column.  For the sake of space just remember to eliminate the habitat and you’ll control the inhabitants.

Having said all that I realize that I have created an ideal situation for the sake of this column.  Animal control is never this predictable, however, the point here is to have an approach other than spending money.  The single greatest mistake a grower can make is to adopt the philosophy that more money means more control.  It may be hard to imagine that happening but it does.  If your supplier of bird control products can’t tell you how and why something does or doesn’t work, my suggestion is to find another supplier.

Next Month, the politically correct way to control birds.