Interview: Bird Control Group at Northwest Ag Show

Pacific Northwest Ag Network is at the Northwest Agricultural Show in Salem. We sat down with Allison Smith with Bird Control Group to talk about their unique product.

Kevin O 'Rourke, PNW Ag Network: I'm sitting here with Allison Smith with Bird Control Group, a fascinating concept that I want you to tell me more about, an intelligent automated bird repellent system. Looks like a laser to me but tell me what this is and how it works.

Allison Smith, Bird Control Group: So we have a fully automated bird deterrent. It's a laser beam that deters birds - where we see the dot of a laser beam, they see the full beam. So as it is approaching them, their innate response is to fly away. It's fully programmed through an app, through Bluetooth, and you set different waypoints, different patterns, different speeds, and the birds are not getting used to those randomizations of it.

PNWAg: Fascinating. So, are there any issues with aviation restrictions or anything like that on your farm or your operation if you're in a pattern for an airport or anything else?

Bird Control Group: The laser is mounted up above any crops, basically 12 to 18 feet up. So the laser beam is actually pointing down, it's not gonna be interfering with any flight patterns. There are certain restrictions if you are near an airport, but it's not gonna point up to the sky.

PNWAg: Sounds like you've done your research on all that. So I'm sure it's good. And this is something the farmer actually buys the equipment and gets it installed on the property and then self-manages from there?

Bird Control Group: Yeah, so it's a one-time purchase. It can be set up with either normal 110 power or through a solar setup. We do have technicians that will come out and program it and teach you how to use it. So once it is set up, it's good to go. If you take it down at the end of the season and the next season you go to set it up again, it's still programmed.

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PNWAg: Sure. So for those that are concerned about the safety of birds, does it actually hurt birds or kill birds or is it just a deterrent?

Bird Control Group: It does not hurt the birds. The laser beam is not actually hitting them, so as they see the beam coming towards them, they're flying away, so there is no harm to the birds.

PNWAg: Such a fascinating concept. Allison, where could people learn more about you? Do you guys have a website they could check it out or call you? What's the best way to learn more?

Bird Control Group: Yeah, so we do have a website, birdcontrolgroup.com. When you go onto our website, there's a lot of different videos you can watch of the laser actually in action. And there's also a contact form on there. If you fill that out, we can have someone contact you. We can have someone come out and do an actual site inspection, show you the best way to set up the laser, and where would be the best location for it to go. On average, it does cover about 20 acres, so a pretty long range.

PNWAg: Awesome, and compared to other technologies and strategies, a lot less material and probably a lot less labor, I would imagine.

Bird Control Group: Yes, absolutely. It is, you know, it's a one time you set it up for the season. You can go out and make changes if you need to, but it's kind of set it up and forget it. There's not a lot of labor costs. It's not a reoccurring purchase. There's no monthly fee or anything like that.