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Electric Tape Scares Birds Away
Farmers use electric fences to keep livestock in. Now you can use the same idea to keep birds away.
Mark Ravenelle originally designed KABA electrical bird tape (keep all birds away) for billboards. It's not very appealing for restaurants to advertise on billboards covered with bird droppings, Ravenelle points o
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Electric Tape Scares Birds Away BIRD CONTROL Bird Control 32-3-43 Farmers use electric fences to keep livestock in. Now you can use the same idea to keep birds away.
Mark Ravenelle originally designed KABA electrical bird tape (keep all birds away) for billboards. It's not very appealing for restaurants to advertise on billboards covered with bird droppings, Ravenelle points out.
The peel-and-stick clear tape is 1 3/4 in. wide by 1/16 in. thick and encases two aluminum wires. "When a bird's foot touches it, a spark jumps, traveling through the bird's foot," Ravenelle says. "It's harmless, but it gets their attention."
He explains that direct current pulses are emitted every second. The system is powered by a DC power board that plugs into a standard 110-volt AC receptacle for up to 3,000 ft. of tape. Or it can be run off a solar-powered battery for up to 2,000 ft.
The flexibility to contour to objects and the ability to blend the tape into the environment sets it apart from other pest bird products on the market, Ravenelle says.
"It will get a stronger and stronger bond as it dries," Ravenelle says. Once it dries the tape will stay on in both hot and subzero temperatures. Ravenelle says tests indicate that the bonding strength grows for 20 to 30 years.
Ravenelle sells the tape, connectors and power boards through his website. Tape starts at $4/ft. retail, with volume and contractor discounts. When customers call, Ravenelle asks for details about the site and type of birds that are a problem to help the customer create an effective system. A few rows of tape may be needed on a ledge where small birds land, for example, while one row may be sufficient for pigeons.
Customers rave about how well KABA works, Ravenelle says. Usually one or two jolts are enough to keep a bird away for good. Besides business owners, other customers have come up with other applications, such as wrapping it around a bird feeder pole to deter squirrels. At a marina it's being used to keep seals and pelicans away.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark Ravenelle, KABA Corp., 654 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack, N.H. 03054 (ph 603 566-8595; info@kabatape.com; www. kabatape.com).
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