Birds shouldn’t be in our produce
Dole Fresh Vegetables is located in America’s salad bowl–Monterrey, California. The weather and location make it an ideal place to supply the world with delicious salad staples. There’s a problem, though. Where plants flourish, so do birds. For Dole Fresh, birds were wreaking havoc.
Birds love treating harvests like their own personal salad bar. This problem intensified when birds began dive-bombing produce storage bins. These bins hold enormous amounts of greens outside before being processed, washed, and bagged inside warehouses. Due to constant bird issues, fouling occurred. This exposes produce to listeria, e. Coli, salmonella, and more.
Not only was customer health at risk, but Dole’s established reputation was also on the line.
They had to get rid of the birds. But it was impossible to net their entire area since it covered five acres. Spikes were impractical for the same reason. Classic solutions like predator noises and reflectors weren’t enough, either. To solve their issue, Dole Fresh Vegetables contacted BirdBuffer.
Our vapor-based solution pumps a dry, grape-scented vapor across acres of land. This temporarily irritates birds and they simply fly away. It’s completely safe for birds and humans. Eventually, birds alter their habits to avoid this irritant entirely. This transition takes between three and twelve weeks.
Dole had questions. Would BirdBuffer really be the solution to their bird problems? Was it safe enough for the fresh produce, workers, and birds? After exhausting their other options they were understandably skeptical.
Is BirdBuffer too good to be true?
The active ingredient in the BirdBuffer solution is called Methyl Anthranilate, or MA for short. It’s been used as a food additive for over 50 years – if you or your kids have ever had a grape flavored candy or beverage, you’ve had MA. It’s approved by the FDA, EPA, and USDA, and is arguably one of the most tested substances in use today. Noted Wildlife Biologists agree that MA is a safe and effective solution for deterring birds away from dangerous equipment, food, and people.
We collaborated with Dole to choose the best locations for the BirdBuffer machines, helped them set up the machines, and even provided on-site installation services. Then, we tracked bird presence over a 90-day period. Our program allows users like Dole to confidently watch their investment pay off.
Over this ninety-day period, we tracked a sharp reduction in bird activity. Then, a major power outage occurred. Once the BirdBuffer units were incapacitated, birds returned in droves until the power was restored. Once the machines started up again the birds fled. This proved without a doubt that Dole experienced massive savings in produce, time, money, and health risks for consumers.
We are proud to offer a free consultation with our dedicated and knowledgeable experts.
They apply scientific methods to your specific pest bird-problems to achieve success by establishing the type of birds, their location, their habits, the issues they are causing, along with many other factors, to determine the best placement for the machines, along with best practices for other BirdBuffer products.
Ready to consider BirdBuffer?
Our team of experts will create custom site guidance for your facility, showing you exactly what you need and how to use our system. We’ll show you how to prepare the treatment area by cleaning bird droppings and debris, where to install your unit(s), and how often they should operate. You will see a dramatic reduction in bird activity.