BIRDBUSTERS

The receptionist who coordinated everything was pretty professional. The real problem came when the so called 'technicians' came out to perform the service. I have a woodpecker that had begun to peck a hole in the side of my house and called them to fill the hole that had started and to hang some balloons which they had done in the past to keep the woodpecker from returning. The first day they came and filled the hole and didn't hang the balloon. I called the next day and they told me they would send him back out to hang the balloon and fill the new hole that the woodpecker has started right next to the one they had filled. So he came back out again and filled the 2nd hole, but hung the balloon about 3 feet higher than the other 2 balloons that were already on that side of the house. This again didn't deter the woodpecker at all. I had used this company a couple years ago and they did a great job which is why I called them again. However they have clearly deteriorated since the last time. They hung the same balloons as before, even though they know woodpeckers get used to the balloons after a while and when I contacted them again to say that they hadn't solved the problem and asked if they have any balloons worth a different design the receptionist told me she spoke to her lead technician and they told me their was nothing more they can do. So for $385 I got 3 balloons replaced (they were the same ones that I already had) one new balloon placed in the wrong spot, and still have a woodpecker hole in the side of my house. Whatever you do DON"T use this company. Complete waste of time and money if you do. Run don;t walk away from these people!

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unknown

I bought my house in March and the inspector had noted at least one nest in February. I wasn't aware at the time, due to me being somewhat new to the area, that Starlings like to begin hunting for breeding grounds right around February. The previous owners were not keeping up the home very well, so I inherited their problem, and money got tight. The chirping got unbearable, so in May I called Northwest Nuisance Pest Control, who referred me to Bird Busters. I had Bird Busters come out and do a bird control and removal assessment. Two guys in a marked van did a walk around of the home and determined that 28 attic vents needed covers, and they saw 4 nests. That's without going in the attic, which made me nervous, but the estimate made me nearly pass out, mostly because of the number of vents (which I admit is quite a lot). "Cindy" contacted me to discuss the estimate, and I advised her it's a bit too steep to eat at that time. She offered a flexible payment arrangement that was more within my budget. I really appreciated this, as I did need the work done and I wanted to do it as quickly as possible before the problem got even worse. Unfortunately, the guys would not be available again for another week. I told her I would check with my work to see if I could take time off. Unfortunately I got busy (imagine that) and didn't get around to it until Thursday; they couldn't do that week but could do 5/20. Agreed to that. The same guys came, 10 minutes after they were scheduled to arrive, and went straight to work. I'm going to estimate they were at my house all of an hour tops. One guy went into the attic and cleaned for 30 minutes. No live birds, a few dead ones, and apparently, 7 nests instead of 4 (!!). The other guy was like a spider, all over the roof, efficient and fast, even on a two-story home with an odd-shaped roof where another contractor freaked out over the pitch. Both guys were polite and respectful, and they honored the original quote even though there were apparently more nests than they thought. The attic guy even pointed out a gap in the dormer that allowed free access to the attic; the vent guy put a screen over it. These folks were a pleasure to work with. Unfortunately, after they left I had Independent Pest Control and US Animal Control both in the attic to assess cleanup and pest infestation. Independent identified that there was very little evidence of cleanup from Bird Busters; there was compromised insulation left in places Bird Buster claimed to have cleaned. They also identified there was an opening in the roof that hadn't been closed with mesh. US Animal Control confirmed these findings and indicated that enough nesting was left over that they were skeptical of what had actually been done. I went up later and did see evidence of some nesting left over; it wasn't a dramatic amount, but I figured the cleaning would be more thorough. For the money that was quoted, I didn't expect this outcome. Fundamentally, all they did was put up screens to block additional future birds and remove dead birds and some of the nesting. While the screens have been effective (Starlings attack them every time the rain stops, to no avail), I feel the price was way too high for the service offered, which I don't feel was comprehensive.