For centuries, humans have made feeble attempts at keeping birds away from buildings, gardens, fields and public areas. Scarecrows, fake owls, rubber snakes and other predator look-alikes are a common strategy. Metal spikes or sticky goo are also used in an attempt to dissuade them from landing on potential perches. None of these techniques have proven very effective. Birds are too smart to be frightened by inanimate fakes for long, and when they encounter spikes or stickiness, they simply settle on the next available perch.
To understand how Fly Away BMS works, think of skunks and people. Most all of us have smelled a skunk at some time in our lives. Skunks have an aromatic defense mechanism that when activated emits a very unpleasant odor – at least it’s unpleasant to humans and skunk predators. The smell of a skunk doesn’t cause humans any harm, but it is sufficiently unpleasant that you don’t want to be anywhere near a skunk. You simply decide on your own to walk away.
Fly Away BMS introduces a novel but natural technology to repel birds and deter unwanted avian behavior. Fly Away is an aromatic bird repellent. The active ingredient (methyl anthranilate or MA) emits a scent that irritates the trigeminal nerve in birds but has no effect on humans. One smell, and birds decide to fly away. It’s disagreeable to them, but entirely harmless. Methyl anthranilate may sound like a hazardous chemical, but it’s actually a grape seed extract commonly used to flavor candy, soft drinks and other foods. All the ingredients in Fly Away are approved by the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) or listed by the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) for animal feed. Fly Away BMS is also registered by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).
The breakthrough that makes Fly Away BMS truly unique is the delivery system. Other MA-based bird repellents come in liquid form, requiring precise measuring, mixing and agricultural-grade equipment. Fly Away is simply hung as a solid block or spread as tiny granules. In either form, MA is released naturally through a time-released process. Keeping birds at bay has never been so easy, safe and effective.
“With 35+ years of growing/managing over 150 acres of cherries, I’ve battled bird issues for sure. I consider Early Robin/Rainier, Chelan, and Santina to be like bird magnetsas these varieties are the first fruit to begin ripening in the entire region. After 4 years of working with Flyaway BMS as a tool, I no longer consider birds as a major pest. Once we place the product to keep the birds away from our earliest varieties, they don’t seem to return during our normal 3 weeks of harvest. Because of the products’ longevity, we’ve also been successful in removing product pouches and placing them into Honey Crisp & Gala blocks to increase the return on investment, truly a great product!”
- Jim Kelley, grower & consultant, Kennewick, WA