The Birds- Animal Nuisance at Retail Storefront

CASE STUDY

A retailer’s storefront was being defaced by a large amount of bird droppings. The retailer leased a space at one of the few exterior malls in the Chicago-land area. All retailers at this mall have a 15 foot overhang to protect customers during periods of rain or snow. This overhang created an ideal area for local birds to build nests in a protected environment with easy access. The bird droppings where a issue with all retailers that had storefront facing East. This particular client not only had illuminate logo letters but also large awnings that covered all the storefront windows.

Scope

The scope of work needed to execute this project included

1. Clean all existing bird dropping.
2. Create options to prevent birds from returning. Options had to be blend into the existing storefront without drawing attention away from logo.
3. Relocate all current nests.

Challenges

The constraints of this project included

1. Solvents and cleaning solutions had to be environmentally friendly and could not damage existing storefront.
2. All options to prevent birds from returning had to humane and had to blend into the existing storefront without drawing attention away from logo.
3. All eggs and birds had to be placed in a safe location.

Solutions

1. We understood that to solve the problem our client faced, the birds had to go. The solution needed to be permanent and be approved by both the mall management and our client.
2. We contacted the manufacture of the awnings and requested the recommended cleaning solutions to remove bird droppings. After obtaining their cleaning solution, we researched online to find a compatible Green solutions that had the same properties. We field tested the solution on a small inconspicuous spot of the awning to verify that it did not fade the awning, but still removed the bird droppings completely.
3. We researched online and contacted a local humane society and arboretum to seek advice in preventing the birds from returning, and how to properly move the existing nest to a safe location. We choose bird spikes that consist of a 4 inch spikes.

Summary

We understand the most important section of any retailer is the first 20 feet inside and outside the entrance doors. With this in mind we could not let this defacing continue, but the solution had to be humane and consistent with the existing storefront. By doing research and contacting experts in the field we arrived with a solution that was not only humane and brand consistent, but also green. To best services our clients, there are time when we need to ask and obtain the advice of experts and be open to their solutions and recommendations.