We're keeping the vultures away in Lakewood, NJ

Homeowners in Lakewood, NJ had turkey vultures roosting on the edge of their flat roof. Vultures in Jersey? Actually, we are home to two vultures species, turkey vultures and black vultures. Turkey vultures bear no relation to our "gobble gobble" turkeys, so please, don't stuff and cook one for Thanksgiving! The only reason we call them turkey vultures is their appearance. Their bald red head and dark plumage resembles wild turkeys. The turkeys are historic residents of the state while black vultures are a more recent arrival to the state.

Although vultures, as any bird, can become a nuisance bird once they start roosting on a home or other structure and depositing their droppings all over, they are very important birds in our ecosystem. Vultures are nature’s clean-up crew. By feeding on dead, decomposing animal carcasses (carrion), tase birds reduce the risk of disease and contamination from rotting animals. So, if our road maintenance crews don’t get around to removing unsightly roadkill, these birds are happy to jump in.

Vultures are a protected migratory bird species, as are most birds. With bird control, we never "get rid" of birds. Rather, it is all about making your property inhospitable to birds. We install various types of deterrents, the choice of which depends on type of bird infestation and the specifics of the property. We change their behavior so they relocate elsewhere to a place that is more welcoming. Also, bird control is customized. There is never a one-size-fits-all single solution.

Here, the homeowners were pretty distressed with the activity of these birds. Their highly acidity droppings had caused some terrible staining on their home, and they were concerned that the droppings could damage their shingles, and rightly so. Birds excrete their liquid and solid waste together in one sticky "bomb." Their droppings contain uric acid, which is corrosive enough to dissolve paint, concrete, and metal.

Why did the birds choose this house? The likely reason is that this this house has the tallest roof in the general vicinity. Also, since the roof was flat, it made for easy landing.

Because of the roof structure, we decided that the best solution would be to take away their roosting areas by installing shock track on outside edges of the roof. Shock tracks send a clear message to the birds that they are no longer welcome by emitting a low-voltage shock when a bird attempts to land. the shock does not harm them in any way, but it isn't pleasant either. Even for a bird, which aren’t the brightest (being labelled a "bird brain" isn't exactly a compliment), it does not take too many negative reinforcements to change their behavior. All we want them to do is relocate to a new location (anywhere but this house) that doesn't deliver shocks every time they land.