Vineyard eliminated bird damage by deploying the laser bird repellent

Canada houses over 800 wineries and approximately 30,930 acres (12,517 ha) of land that is used to cultivate grapes. The sales value of wine in Quebec alone amounted to 2.39 billion dollars in 2019. In total, in 2018, “109,130 tons of fresh grapes were produced in Canada1” .

The increase in sales of wine is good news but it also stresses the need for bird control. Winemakers are in a constant battle with birds that damage the grapes, resulting in yield loss. Bird Control Group offers an animal and environmentally friendly solution to this problem.

Laser bird repellent prevents bird damage to grapes

Zach Hall, owner of a private vineyard, Domaine l’Espiègle, in Dunham, Quebec, was able to protect his crops from the get-go with the laser bird deterrent. After learning about the laser technology at a trade show for wine suppliers in British Columbia, he trusted the technology immediately and bought the Autonomic. The bird repellent system is automated and effectively and harmlessly scares the birds away. Birds perceive the laser beam as a physical danger and fly off. Installing the

laser before the first crops started to grow, helped to prevent birds from flying in and foraging on young grapes. The vineyard’s grape production is 15,000 tons a year now and the bird damage is completely eliminated from the very beginning.

Sustainable application of the laser bird repellent

On his 5 acre vineyard, Zach uses one laser bird repellent. The laser is operational during late August and throughout September. During this time, the grapes are growing and the birds like to feed on them. The rest of the year he welcomes the birds, because they need a place to nest and they eat bugs.

Zach didn’t try out any low-tech bird deterrent methods, such as netting, but immediately took advantage of the laser’s capabilities. The reason why Zach wanted to find a better alternative for netting is because it is “costly, takes a lot of work and they block the light to the crops”. He has also recommended the laser technology to his neighbors, who do still use netting.

According to Zach, the best feature of the laser is that it’s automated and therefore saves a lot of time. He finds the software program used to control the Autonomic easy to use. Right now the Autonomic is mounted to a tree, but will be reinstalled on a pole this year.

“I installed the Autonomic 500 before my first crop and I did not have a single berry eaten by a bird. Contrarily to my neighbors, who often times have bird damage to their crops.”