Contact with bird droppings poses serious health risks and exposure to incurable diseases.

If you have areas where birds congregate on your property, there is reason for concern.

The only sure way to avoid these debilitating diseases is to avoid contact with these droppings or to prevent the droppings from occurring in the first place.

As the line between man and nature becomes increasingly blurred, many of you may find that contact with wildlife is a part of daily life.

Most of these encounters are an enriching part of your day. The sight of a cardinal in your bird feeder or a fleeting glimpse of a wild fox or raccoon surely adds excitement or joy to anyone’s day.

Problems can arise when these encounters become more frequent or more concentrated. For some, this issue is in the form of critters of the avian variety.

Yes, we are talking about birds, and they can be a threat to your health.

Birds may frequently roost or congregate on your roof, dock, boat, or in your patio area. The accumulated droppings can become more than just a nuisance. These droppings may carry serious diseases that can endanger your family, friends, and even pets.

We have all heard of Salmonella, which we typically associate with undercooked poultry or eggs. This bacterial disease can also be spread through bird fluids including droppings.

Salmonella can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea or even go undetected. In some cases, humans may unknowingly carry the disease and transmit it to others. The treatment generally consists of antibiotics, but may require the removal of the gallbladder to fully cure.

There are other lesser known diseases that are transmitted by bird feces for which no known cures exist.

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease that, if left untreated, can lead to blindness. Other diseases can infect the respiratory system after breathing in the dust or spores contained in bird droppings.

Histoplasmosis and Blastomycosis are two such fungal diseases. Histoplasmosis can lead to the loss of vision and chronic bronchitis/pneumonia-like symptoms. Blastomycosis begins as lesions to the lungs and skin before spreading to the bones, liver, and nervous system. Again, there are treatments for these diseases but no cure.

To ensure your safety and the safety of those you love, you should avoid touching or breathing bird droppings of any kind.

To further minimize your risk, you should consider placing bird deterring devices in areas where birds typically congregate or where droppings are a problem.

Safe and effective products are available that do not harm the birds but will aid in eliminating the mess and health hazards associated with bird droppings.

Why?

During a bird pandemic you should remain as isolated from everybody outside your family as possible. Therefore, you should shop only for necessities: food, water, fuel and medicine.

Where?

Therefore, you should go only to a supermarket, drug store, gas station, convenience store or discount store.

A bird flu pandemic is not the time to buy furniture, clothes, electronic toys or tools. It’s not a good time to hang out at the mall.

When?

Go during the slowest periods possible, so you will be exposed to as few people as possible. Check out your area to learn what stores stay open 24 hours a day. Which ones are open until late at night? Or start early in the morning?

Go at the time you’ll most likely be the only one in the store except for a few employees.

How?

Gasoline may be in limited supply or totally out of stock. So you should not drive far.

Of course, you must make trade offs. If there’s a Wal-Mart open all night but it’s 3 miles away, that’s worth driving to at 4 AM so you’ll be alone except for the cashiers and the floor cleaners. However, driving to a store twenty miles away would use up too much gasoline.

Also, if you’re going to walk to the store to save gasoline, do so only during the day. Yes, you may be exposed to more people, but they’re less likely to rob you or worse. During a bird flu pandemic you cannot depend on law and order, so don’t go out after dark unless you are in your car.

What?

Bottled water

Canned vegetables

Canned fruit

Sauerkraut — good for encouraging growth of favorable bacteria in you, to discourage growth of H5N1. If you’re in Asia, substitute Kim Chi.

Hand operated can openers

Garlic

Onions

Pre-cooked meats

Raw meat only for as long as you have electricity and/or gas to cook it with.

Fresh vegetables

Fresh fruit

Horseradish

Ginger root

Dried meat

Cheese — low-fat preferred

Eggs

Fresh milk

Canned and dry milk

Canned fish

Canned meat

Quality vitamins and supplements, especially Vitamin C, selenium, zinc, Omega-3, lysine, beta glucan, Vitamin E, beta-carotene, Vitamin Bs, super green foods containing chlorophyl, ginseng, reservatrol, magnesium, DHEA, quercetin, bioflavanoids

Yogurt

Soap

Alcohol wipes

Antiseptic hand lotions

Propane

Kerosene

First aid supplies, including tea tree oil and NuSkin

Cold packs

Vaporizers

Toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoos — all personal care items

Toilet paper and diapers

Household soaps and detergents

Magazines and paperback books to read

Leave behind:

Gimmicks herbs that don’t increase your immune system functioning

Sugar and all sweet snacks and candy

Bread

Rice

Spaghetti and all noodles and pastas

Cigarettes

Alcohol

Fruit juices

Soft drinks

Reduce your risk of catching bird flu and strengthen your immune system to survive in case you do catch it.

Anything that increases your risk of catching bird flu is bad, as is anything that weakens your immune system.

A bird flu pandemic is not the time to be undisciplined and self-indulgent.

The pandemic is out of your personal control — but you increases your odds of surviving by the actions you take.

Having the right birding supply essentials is crucial for enjoying bird watching during any time of year. This article will look at some of these must have birding supplies to help you on your next outing.

Waterproof Equipment – Obviously, you always should prepare for a change in weather. If you’ve ever went through a rainstorm without rain gear, then you know how fast this can ruin any birding trip. Put this up near the top of your list.

Binoculars – Another birding supply essential. A good pair of binoculars is a must for obvious reasons.

Clothes And Shoes – Being comfortable is essential in enjoying any bird watching outing. Because you will be doing a lot of walking through all sorts of terrain, a good pair of hiking shoes is an absolute must. Waterproof pants and jackets are also a good idea as well.

Bird Log or Bird Book – You want to know what type of bird you’re looking at right? Then don’t forget to take along the bird guide. You can also find bird watching starter kits that include most all of these items for you. From binoculars to bird books. These kits are nice for those just starting out birding.

First Aid Kit And Maps – Always be prepared for accidents. A good first aid kit is a necessity. It’s also a good idea to have maps, compass, and even a cell phone to help in the event you become lost or have an accident.

Food And Water – Another birding supply essential. Take along plenty of fresh water and snacks while you are bird watching. You will get hungry at times.

Backpack – Finally, you will have to have a good backpack to store everything in. Look for one that is waterproof and has lots of storage compartments.

With a little planning you’ll have no problem getting together the birding supply essentials you need. It will make your next bird watching trip a lot of fun.

All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active and do not edit the article in any way.

Do you ever have a day when you have nothing to do ?, You know them times when your on the internet in some chat room, and you type ‘ I’m bored ! ‘, or your flipping through the TV channels, and you say to yourself or out loud ‘ 250 channels, and nothing good to watch ! ‘, yes, you know what I am talking about. Now you have something you can do on them so called boring days, go bird watching.

No matter where you live you probably have birds of some kind, even folks in New York have central park and other places where they can go bird watching. There are three things you should have when bird watching, these are a pair of binoculars, a notebook, and a bird guide.

Binoculars can be purchased for under $60 at most Kmart or Walmart stores. Binoculars with a magnification of 10 x 50 are perfect for bird watching. Don’t think that a more powerful pair of binoculars like 20 x 60 or 30 x 80 are better, this is not the case. Stronger binoculars are fine if you are into star gazing, but they are horrible for bird watching. The higher powered binoculars need a tripod to use them without shaking, and even without a tripod, the powerful binoculars are larger and can be very heavy to carry around, the 10 x 50 ones are perfect for every occasion.

A small tablet or notebook can be purchased at most stores, don’t get nothing expensive just a small spiral one will do fine. Now the last thing is the most important item when it comes to bird watching. If you are truly going to watch birds, you should know what type of birds you are looking at when you spot a new one, so visit your local book store or look in the birding section of an online bookstore, such as amazon, at the end of this article I have a website address that has some of Amazons best bird guides, videos, binoculars and more.

Ok, so you have your binoculars, notebook and pencil, and your bird guide, now let’s go outside and go bird watching. I am sure you won’t have to walk very far to spot a bird or two. I am lucky enough to currently live here in the country, all I have to do is open my door and I will hear the sounds of birds. If I step outside my front door, I can often see sparrows or finches, in the spring time the yard always has a couple robins hopping around, and crows flying around the nearby woods, high overhead I often see turkey buzzards soaring against the blue sky. One time I opened my front door and across the road in the top of a large tree a horned owl was sitting, it stayed there for about 10 minutes, turning it’s head often as it looked around.

If you have any grassy, wooded or open areas with trees or bushes, you can usually find birds. One of the best things about bird watching is anyone can do it, even if your in a wheelchair, you can sit and watch birds. It’s a great recreation for anyone that is alone, or for the whole family to do together.

When you go out, remember to take your bird watching items with you, your binoculars, notebook and pencil, and bird guide. When you spot a bird look in your binoculars too see all it’s beauty in close detail, if you do not recognize the species of bird your seeing, get out your bird guide and look it up. When you realize the type of bird you see, write down in your notebook the following information; ‘ the name of the bird, the area where it was spotted, the date, and time ‘. The information in your notebook, helps you understand what types of birds frequent your area, it also is pretty neet being able to read back and see when you spotted a new or rare bird.

If you have a yard, tree or even a window you can attract birds by installing a simple feeder. Bird feeders are very inexpensive and they have feeders that can hang on a tree branch, or fence, or even stick to the outside of a window.

Attracting different species of birds often requires different types of bird seed and other food. Hummingbirds are attracted to red, pink and orange flowers, they especially like trumpet vines or other tubular-flowered plants, they are also very attracted to hummingbird feeders filled with sugar water or red sweetened kool-aid. Robins like mowed lawns, so in the spring and summer if you want to see robins, mow your grass, the birds come looking for bugs and earthworms that are more easily accessible because you cut the grass length. Goldfinches love thistle seed, thistle is more expensive then most common bird seed, but you cannot beat it if you want to attract goldfinches. Blue Jays are large and sometimes noisy, but if you want to bring them, put out a feeder full of black oil sunflower seeds. Cardinals are very neat looking, there is nothing nicer than looking out the window in the winter, and seeing a bright red cardinal sitting on a nearby tree branch or feeder. Cardinals are like Blue Jays, in that they both love a diet of black oil sunflower seeds. If you want to attract sparrows, a bag of plain mixed bird seed will do just fine.

There is Computer Software that is made just for ‘ Bird Watching ‘. The software is called: ‘ Bird Watcher Professional ‘, you can read the details and download a trial version of it for free at this website address:

http://www.rb59.com/bwpro

Here is a website address that has some of the best Bird Guides (Books), Videos, Binoculars and other birding equipment that Amazon sells:

http://www.rb59.com/bwpro/bird-watching-information.html

By Robert W. Benjamin

Copyright © 2006

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter or on your web site as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and without modification except for formatting needs or grammar corrections.

One difference between the threat of bird flu today and the 1918 flu is that in 1918 we did not have a large number of people with extremely weak immune systems.

Before antibiotics, people with really weak immune systems tended not to survive childhood.

Today, we have:

Many people who are deliberately taking drugs to reduce the strength of the immune systems, because they’ve had organ transplants.

Many more people who have weakened immune systems because they’re undergoing chemo or radiation treatment for cancer. There’re millions of such patients around the globe.

And yet many other people who are infected with the HIV virus, which weakens immune systems by infecting CD4 (or T-4) cells. According to the United Nations World Health Organization, there were 40.3 million HIV+ people in the world by the end of 2005.

We also have more people with severe chronic diseases such as heart disease, simply because we have more treatments to keep them alive.

That’s a total of many millions of people who must avoid all contact with bird flu during a pandemic.

And that is the best protection — avoid all contact with bird flu.

And that means avoiding contact with as many people as possible. Because during a pandemic anybody could have the virus. It infects you from 1 to 2 days before you know you’re sick, and you shed the most virus in the 2 to 5 days after infection.

There are no flu vaccines specifically for contagious bird flu, and they will likely not be produced until 6 months after the pandemic begins, which will be far too late for many people. And the virus will mutate more as it continues to spread and replicate, so it’s unlikely we’ll ever have an influenza vaccine that exactly matches the strain of H5N1 we’re exposed to. And it mutates and recombines so quickly that during a pandemic several different strains could be spreading at the same time.

Tamiflu may help these people more than others, because it does directly interfere with the bird flu virus’ ability to infect the cells of your respiratory tract. Unfortunately, we don’t yet know exactly how much Tamiflu is needed to fully protect against bird flu. And it’s quite likely that strains of the virus will develop resistance to Tamiflu — if they haven’t already.

Relenza works much like Tamiflu, except it’s inhaled. This reduces its effectiveness against H5N1 because it goes to the upper respiratory tract, but the virus likes to infect cells in the lower respiratory tract. Its makers are not working on creating an injectable form of it.

People with poor immune systems must do everything they can to avoid the virus. Reduce contact with people and wash their hands at least once an hour.

They should also do everything they can to keep up their general health: sleep a lot, eat a good balance of proteins, vegetables and fruit while avoiding sweets and starchy carbohydrates, stop smoking, reduce alcohol, exercise moderately and maintain a positive attitude.

They should also take immune boosting and strengthening food supplements: Omega-3, zinc, selenium, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, beta carotene, Vitamin B complex, green chlorophyll superfoods, and so on.

If possible, they should try to receive any medical care they need at home. If possible, they should avoid going to hospitals and clinics. These places have many strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria even now.

During a bird flu pandemic they’ll be crowded with flu patients spreading the H5N1 virus — exactly what immune-compromised people must avoid.

And of course, consult with they should consult with their doctor.

Bird watching for children is one of the activities that can help instill the value and love for animals on their young minds. Aside from teaching them the importance of taking good care of animals, bird watching for children can also be a great of spending quality time with them. This activity is also great for children because it can teach them to become nature-wise and van teach them teach them good manners such as respect for animals.

What you need

Before you go bird watching with children, make sure that you yourself have had a first-hand experience on the activity. What you can do is search on the Internet what are the best places to bird watching with children. Once you found the best one or the nearest one in your area, take a time off to visit it before bring your children there.

Check if the entire area is safe for children. If you are having doubts about children safety, it is best to talk to the administrator of the park or the preserve to make sure that they have enough facilities to take care of kids. Also, ask what are the things that you need to bring when going there.

Also check how much are the fees, how many kids are allowed to bird watch, and what are the ideal ages for bird watching. When everything is done and you are confident that your child will be safe while bird watching, book a tour date while you’re there.

On the date of the bird watching activity, make sure that you bring the following:

1. A good pair of binoculars for kids. This is very important because the center might not have enough binoculars for the visitors. To ensure that the kids can use something, grab a good yet cheap pair of binoculars when you are in the department store.

2. A bird book or field guide. Although most of the bird parks offer booklet that contain information on the birds that can be seen there, it is best to bring a book guide on your own just in case they don’t have one. The book guide can help your kids identify the common birds in the area and can help them in describing the birds based on their appearance, color, size, and shape.

3. Bottled water and snacks. Since kids tend to get hungry often, it is best if you bring lots of bottled water and handy snack packs just in case no convenient store is near the area.

4. First aid kit. This should always be a must whenever you go out with your kids because they can be so accident-prone. Make sure that you include a first aid kit in your child’s backpack to make sure that you can tend to the wound or scratch immediately.

5. A camera. This is also a “must” when going out with kids because it can preserve the memories with your kids. Having a handy camera can enable you take as many pictures of your kids during the tour. You can also ask your kids to take as many photos as they can of the birds that they see.

6. A notebook or sketchpad with pens or pencils. One of the benefits of bird watching for children is that it encourages them to jot down their observations. These can also be helpful to artistically-inclined children because it can encourage them to draw the birds that they see.

Right now, the people must vulnerable to bird flu are those who come into close and frequent contact with infected chickens and other poultry.

Therefore, the main danger is to rural farmers and chicken sellers in Asia and Africa. Anybody who slaughters chickens, plucks their feathers, eviscerates and cooks chickens. Anybody who sells their raw meat in a market. Anybody who attends a cockfighting match, because fighting cocks spray blood into the air.

Their children seem to be most at risk. That’s probably because they play and pet the chickens that run wild in their villages, they play in the dirt that’s infected with chicken droppings and they have undeveloped immune systems.

Anybody who eats raw or undercooked chicken or eggs from infected chickens is at risk. That is why Vietnam is discouraging its people from preparing a traditional dish of raw duck blood soup.

Right now, this applies to people in rural Asia, Africa and Europe. When H5N1 spreads to North and South America, it could apply also to small farmers who raise chickens the traditional way.

Modern chicken factory farming protects chickens from contact with wild fowl and other outside birds, so they’re unlikely to catch bird flu — though it’s not impossible. People who work in the U.S. poultry industry are also the most now at risk, so they should follow all guidelines to limit contact with live and raw chicken and wash themselves thoroughly after work.

If bird flu mutates into a form that is easily contagious from human to human, we’re all vulnerable to catching the virus. We should all avoid nonessential contact with people. We should be careful who we physically touch, since even shaking hands can spread the virus. We should be careful about touching objects that have been used by others. We should wash our hands well and often.

But some groups are particularly vulnerable to bird flu:

Children, because they have underdeveloped immune systems

Pregnant women

Seniors, because they have lowered immunity

People with AIDS, because their have low CDC4 counts

People who’re HIV+, though it’s not yet known just how much more at risk they are of catching bird flu, it’s only logical that any stress on their immune systems will increase the risk that the HIV in their bodies will replicate more quickly

People undergoing radiation or chemo therapy for cancer

People who’re taking immune-suppressing drugs because of organ transplants

People with chronic breathing or respiratory problems such as asthma or chronic pulmonary disorder

People with heart disease, because they’re more at risk from the stress of fighting a case of bird flu

If you fall into any of the above groups, avoid all contact with anybody who could be carrying the bird flu virus. Wash your hands well and often. Consult with your doctor.

During 1918, the flu was particularly fatal to young adults who did not fall into any of the above groups. They had the problem that their immune systems were strong enough to overreact to the infection and destroyed their lung tissues in order to save them.

This “cytokine storm” does seem to be a danger with H5N1 also.

However, personally I’d rather have a healthy immune system to fight H5N1 with, and then use Vitamin C, Omega 3, over the counter NSAIDs and Cox-2 inhibitors (such as aspirin, Aleve, Ibuprofin, Advil or Motrin) or even hydrogen peroxide to reduce the inflammation.

Right now, people exposed to infected chickens are most at risk. If bird flu becomes highly contagious, we’re all at risk, but people with weak immune systems are most at risk.

The study of birds is a very popular hobby for many people throughout the world. No special equipment is needed for bird study other than a notebook to list the number and kinds of birds observed and a guidebook to aid you in bird identification. However, a good pair of binoculars is recommended. Photography of birds can also be a rewarding hobby but it demands skill, patience and requires purchase of some expensive equipment.

There is an abundance of bird information available to the enthusiast. Let’s begin with a bit of history.

Evolution of Birds

Most ornithologists believe that birds evolved from dinosaurs. The first known species of bird, the archaeopteryx, lived about 150,000,000 years ago. Although it had feathers and wings, it also had reptilian features, such as teeth, claws on all four limbs, and a long, bony tail.

Fossil birds of North America were the ichthyornis, which resembled a gull, and the hesperornis, a water-dweller about five feet long with sharp teeth. By about 75,000,000 years ago, the types of birds we know today had already begun to develop.

How Birds Are Classified

Referenced bird information shows that birds form the class Aves of the phylum Chordata. There are also two subclasses: Archaeornithes, which consists entirely of extinct birds (including the archaeopteryx); and Neornithes, which includes three superorders as follow:

· Odontognathae – Extinct birds that had teeth. Examples are the ichthyornis and hesperornis.

· Impennes – This consists of only one living order, Sphenisciformes or penguins.

· Neognathae – There are 28 orders to this superorder, including:

1. Struthioniformes

2. Rheiformes

3. Casuariiformes

4. Dinornithiformes

5. Apterygiformes

6. Tinamiformes

7. Gaviiformes

8. Colymbiformes or Podicipidiformes

9. Procellariiformes

10. Pelecaniformes

11. Ciconiiformes

12. Anseriformes

13. Falconiformes

14. Galliformes

15. Gruiformes

16. Diatrymiformes.

17. Charadriiformes

18. Columbiformes

19. Psittaciformes

20. Cuculiformes

21. Strigiformes

22. Caprimulgiformes

23. Apodiformes (formerly Micropodiformes)

24. Coliiformes

25. Trogoniformes

26. Coraciiformes

27. Piciformes

28. Passeriformes

Bird Care Tips

There are a myriad birds that make good pets. In fact, birds are among the most popular common house pets. Care must be taken though in the choosing of birds and in bird care. Here are some tips:

Choosing a Bird

While small birds, such as parakeets and canaries, require minimal care, large birds, such as parrots, cockatoos, and cockateels, can require a great deal of care and demand a lot of affection. Make sure you know about the requirements of the bird you’re considering.

Avoid buying a canary between July and October, which is the canary’s molting season. A sudden environmental change during that period may send it into shock.

Before buying a parrot, be prepared for a lifetime relationship – it may live longer than you do. Parrots become extremely attached to their owners.

Caring for Birds

When holding a pet bird, be very gentle. Bird bones are fragile – even the slightest pressure on the wrong spot can cause a fracture.

Never let a pet bird loose in the kitchen.

If a pet bird breathes through its open mouth, you know it’s sick. Buy a bird antibiotic at the pet store, pulverize it, and add it to your bird’s drinking water. If this doesn’t help, get it to the vet right away.

Birds have to be one of the best ways of enjoying your garden. Constructing a bird house is a perfect way to fascinate or draw them in. Not all birds all the same prefer to nest in bird houses. They differ especially in their brooding

predilections. Like us, these so called “cavity-inhabitants” also have stipulations relative to the kind of the type of home ground they desire. There are just minor feature issues or measurements for the birds, but they are very essential in their living.

Keep these guidelines in mind when building a bird house.

1. Determining the species or family of the birds that fly regularly into your property. In addition, distinguish also which are the burrow dwellers and the cavity dwellers. Some of the typical cavity dwellers are the chickadees, wrens, flickers and bluebirds. Choose one of the common visitors and think of nice bird house you can make for that bird species. Don’t think of building too many bird houses in your garden or backyard. Birds are very territorial, you do not want to see squabbling birds fighting each other due to over crowding. Much better to see them enjoying their time in your space.

2. Arrive at a decision for all the sizing requirements of your selected bird. The dimensions expected are the following: entrance hole,

base size, depth and height. Smaller birds such as chickadees and wrens should have 8 inches in depth and 4 x 4 floor dimensions. A further source for identifying the correct sizing requirements can be found by searching on the internet.

3. Now for the building material, we would suggest using untreated timber or wood for your bird house. Aside from the simulating the natural

home ground of the birds, natural woods reduces the chance of overheating and toxic absorption. Treated woods for instance plywood contain formaldehyde, a very damaging chemical compound to living things. These can lead to life threatening dangers to your invited birds. Those lumbers that are categorized as “pressure-treated” have toxic chemicals and can also poison the old and nesting birds. Using paint is definitely a no-no. Flaking paints might be mistaken as food and can be eaten by your birds. The only exception from normal paint is to use what is called milk paint, although the hardiness of milk paint is not recommended for exterior surfaces. Furthermore, plastics and metals are not also inappropriate in building avian houses since both are prone to heat.

4. Planning and drafting a plan for your bird friends is also very crucial Keep in mind that the bird’s safety is one of your primary concern, so ensure that they will be protected from the predators. It is also best to use sloping roofs so that the dirt, moisture and rain would not gather on top that may eventually cause rotting of the wood. It is recommended to expand the edges of the roof across the sides and front lips. Poles for roosting are good but not really essential especially for cavity dwellers. Plus, look at the air flow and drainage needs. You can create little holes in the base to aid in the drainage of the rain water. Young chicks can be easily drown and a small amount of water collected can lead them to death. Enough holes should also be placed on the walls to let the air enter the house and keep the place comfortably cool. Erecting the shelter at the top of a pole to assure the safety of your birds from unwelcome guests such as raccoons and cats.

5. The upkeep of the birdhouse is also crucial. A messy and dirty nest can cause lots of diseases for your birds. Adding a rear entrance will surely help in preserving the cleanliness of the bird house. Without much effort, you can take out all those dirt like droppings and unused nests within the birdhouse. Therefore, spreading of disease can also be prevented. With all these tips, you are a way to go to building your bird house. Aid your bird friends by treating their homes as you would your own. Bear in mind the safety of your

feathered animals in their shelter can assure you more years with them.

How to Clean Up Pest Bird Droppings!

Each year pest birds such as pigeons, seagulls and crows cause thousands in damage and clean up costs to building owners, homeowners and government agencies.  Pest bird droppings can carry over 60 transmittable diseases.  Several of these diseases have been known to be transmitted to humans and other animals.  Even though these diseases pose minor public health threats, they can be further minimized if safety measures are taken. Wearing protective clothing like disposable coveralls, boots, gloves, and respirators should be used for protection.

If a high-powered water hose is used to strip off dried bird droppings, dust control measures such as containing the area with plastic sheeting, should be taken. Wetting down the work area will prevent inhalation, reduce the risk of infection and will also prevent the spread of dust outside the work area. Those with a compromised immune system such as people living with HIV/AIDS or cancer patients should not be directly involved in the removal of bird droppings. Always wash hands and any exposed skin before eating or drinking and when finished with work.

Several alternatives to using a high-powered water hose exist. One such alternative includes soaking the droppings with water and then shoveling it into a disposable container.   Workers should never clean DRY bird droppings from surfaces as the dust might be inhaled and transmit disease to the worker.  The wet material should be collected in heavy-duty plastic bags or another type of secure container and discarded with the regular trash.

Once the structures are cleaned they may also be disinfected.  You can use a simple solution of ammonia or bleach and water and apply to the surface to disinfect and remove the odor associated with pest bird droppings.

The key to reducing the risk of disease from bird droppings is to create an environment that excludes them from affected areas:

1) Eliminate Food Sources a. Clean up trash bins and garbage areas b. Discourage people from feeding birds c. Pick up trash and food scraps in outdoor eating areas 2) Eliminate Nesting / Roosting Areas a. Use some sort of physical deterrent to keep birds from landing and roosting on flat surfaces; sound deterrents to scare pest birds from outdoor areas or visual deterrents to keep them out of gardens and vineyards. 3) Call For Help! a. Contact a local pest control or animal control company and have them install a bird control system.

 

It is important to keep buildings and other areas that people inhabit free of pest birds and their debris.  Installing a bird control system will save time and money spent on clean up of bird droppings and damage made