Page 35 - Grapevine March-April 2020

Around The Vineyard

the beam, making the area look uninhabitable and
pushing them elsewhere,” Miller said. “One of our
automated lasers will cover 20 to 40 acres of vine-
yard, giving each vineyard 24-hour protection and
reducing damage from birds by 70-95%.”

“Birds are inherently visual,” Miller said. “They
have a very high eye-size to head-size ratio, and
most use each eye independently. Their eyes are
their main defensive and offensive mechanism, and
Bird Control Group’s laser technology leverages
their keen eyesight to give farmers the advantage.”

Miller told The Grapevine Magazine that as a vine-
yard manager, he found the best bird management
solution to be Bird Control Group’s laser system
used in conjunction with propane bird cannons and
mylar tape. Cannons and tape alert birds, while the
laser creates an environment that pushes them off
the field.

Falconry

Another way to intimidate and scare off nuisance
birds is falconry-based bird abatement. Falcons and
hawks are natural predators, and often their pres-

Other solutions that Nixalite offers are acoustic
devices, such as propane cannons and hailing devic-
es for short-term and occasional use. Meanwhile,
visual deterrents, such as scarecrows and reflective
ribbons, are simple and affordable but usually only
provide temporary results.

“I believe bird and wildlife exclusion with netting,
barriers and fencing is the most effective tech-
nique, although it is not always feasible because of
labor and cost,” Gellerstedt said. “Many success-
ful bird and wildlife management programs use a
combination of products and techniques to achieve
effective results.”

Lasers

Lasers can also be useful in deterring birds. Miller
of Bird Control Group said that his company manu-
factures and sells a class 3B laser and that its auto-
mated AVIX Mark II laser is the most popular with
vineyard managers.

“The laser is an expanded green beam that is seen
as a physical object by the birds. With its constant
movement, the birds don’t know how to categorize

877-892-5332 The Grapevine • March-April 2020 Page 33

Grapevine Main Pages GV010220_Layout 1-1 .indd 33 2/19/20 4:12 PM