Crawford has modified a haze machine and come up with a grape concentrate-based solution that irritates birds without permanently harming them. When birds breathe in the substance, they cough and feel irritated, and keep away from the area. However, the solution does not affect other animals or people, says Crawford, who famously worked on effects for Steven Spielberg's E.T.
The Guardian Birdhaze machine emits a transparent, nearly invisible, haze that lingers in the air for up to four hours in an enclosed area. Outside, it spreads out over an area quickly, but remains effective. Tests in places where birds or their droppings are a problem have shown good results, Crawford said, and with the growing threat of bird flu, he expects interest to grow. CITC has worked with the US Department of Agriculture on the system's development, and now is talking with potential clients, including Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which uses cannons and other devices to scare birds away from runways, where they can get sucked up into jet engines.
"What I like is we've always done things that made people happy, and now we're doing something that really helps people," says CITC's Stephany Crawford.
(Lee Baldock)
