In late July, Flock Free Bird Control had the opportunity to set up 10 of our Solar Hazing units on 50 acres of pistachios in California. This particular field was directly next to a dairy which provides hundreds of crows with breakfast. After breakfast, they head into the pistachio orchard for shade and to enjoy as many nuts as they pop open. Flock Reflectors were also installed around the site to provide the visual piece so the birds could relate the discomfort the Methyl Anthranilate coming out of the hazer was causing them.
The hazers were set up along the property line between the dairy and the pistachios where the birds enter. This was a good position as the predominant wind direction will carry the wind from this position directly into the trees giving us good coverage. In open spaces, air currents are an important part of the success since our hazers dispense an invisible, lighter-than-air “haze” of methyl anthranilate (MA) that has been used as a bird deterrent in crops for many years. The key to success with MA is delivering the product into the air. Most MA applications are spray-on and have various issues getting the product to the bird. Aerial application is inhaled by the birds irritating the trigeminal nerve. We also installed 40 of our spinning and flashing flock reflectors that allow the birds to associate the invisible haze with a visible object training them to stay away. We call this process association and first indications from our new customer showed a great success.
