Many of our home gardeners and fruit growers use Fly Away BMS pouches or blocks to protect their gardens, berry bushes, and fruit trees. However, our commercial AG producers find buying Fly Away BMS granules in bulk a far more cost effective solution. Bulk granules allow our commercial customers to make pouches customized to their application and severity of their bird problems. For example, they purchase inexpensive nylon material, cut it into 6” x 6” squares, and fill it with a small amount of Fly Away BMS granules thus making their own pouches. If they desire longer applications, they may use 1 oz of granules per pouch; if broader coverage (i.e. more pouches), then s smaller about of granules per pouch might be appropriate. The cost effectiveness of using Fly Away BMS is greatly improved in that a single 25 pound bag of granules will provide 400 pouches – enough to easily protect and acres of berries, grapes, or fruit.
Our field tests used 50 lbs of bulk granules to protect 12 acres of Rainier Cherries in eastern Washington state. The producer purchased inexpensive nylon socks from a local discount store, cut them into sections and loaded them with 1 oz of granules. This approach yielded 400 pouches which had an effective coverage of 4.17 lbs of repellent per acre. The overall analysis estimated the cost of repellent, material, and labor at between $150 and $200 per acre. After harvest, the packing house quality inspections indicate 50% - 57% reduction in bird pecks.
Additionally, our commercial producers typically have several different crops ripening at different times of the year. For these situations, the pouches can be removed after the first crop harvest and redeployed to the next ripening crop, then followed by the third etc. In this manner Fly Away BMS offers an exceptionally flexible and cost effective way to protect multiple crops.
Since Fly Away BMS is an aromatic bird repellent, it can be strategically placed to provide broad coverage over your fields or orchards. The following diagram depicts pouches applied to the edges of an orchard with only a few pouches within the orchard itself. In this application, the natural wind will carry the aroma of the repellent to the inner portions of the orchard.
In cases of severe bird infestation, a more uniform, heavy coverage may be required as depicted below:
Finally, Fly Away BMS has a unique, time-release, formulation. Since deployment of pouches may be required for only a few weeks, pouches can be taken down and saved in an air tight container for next year’s crop. By mixing fresh product with those of previous year’s as depicted below can further increase the cost effectiveness of Fly Away BMS.
“We have been using Fly Away BMS for several years while in development. We use it over our deck at our winery and in trees to keep the deck bird free and clean. We also use in it our vineyards which has been big help in not having to net our vineyards.”
- Brandon, Winery Owner, Missouri