Birds are starting to see the light — on downtown Cincinnati buildings and fields all over the country. This is an update to a 2017 story after Reddit readers started asking questions recently.
The answer is Fifth-Third Bank is using lasers to chase birds off of its Downtown buildings.
Here is more about the technology:
Move over scarecrows
Farmers are taking a new look at lasers as a way of scaring away birds who are eating their crops.
The laser bird deterrent technology, like the one from Bird Control Group, takes advantage of a bird's natural instincts. According to CEO Steinar Henskes, "We've developed a laser beam which birds perceive as a physical danger. So by moving it toward them they get scared and move away. They perceive it like a stick or like a car which approaches them."
Oregon blueberry and cherry grower Justin Meduri is leasing six of the lasers. Before he started using them, he said he was losing about 20% of his crop. The lasers are mounted on a pole and project down on the area. They run off solar panels and recycled batteries.
"And they're on a variable frequency with an erratic pattern that comes on multiple times a day set up specifically at the times you would like them to come on and off," he says.
A green wavelength sends signals from the bird's eyes to their brains.
Bird Control Group says it has 6,000 customers in 76 countries in a variety of industries, including agriculture, aviation, oil and gas, recreation and real estate.
The company has safety controls. If a laser strays out of the predetermined pattern potentially affecting a motorist, the system will shut down. It also doesn't fire any lasers skywards because that could interfere with air traffic.
