Automated bird deterrent lasers decrease bird damage up to 90%

Santiago, Chile– A new laser bird deterrent technology has been successfully used at South American crops. The technology is designed and manufactured by the Dutch fast growing company Bird Control Group. Agrilaser technology is proven to decrease crop losses by 70 to 90 %. 

Bird damage to crops in South America

In South America, pest birds like eared doves destroy each year between 5% to 25% of the crops at a farm^[1], resulting in enormous money losses to small farmers as well as large agricultural operations, especially in crops like sunflowers. A lot of bird damage also occurs in high yield orchards with fruits like cherries, table grapes and blueberries. Many of these fruit growers in Chile and Peru are suffering from great losses due the attacks of birds when the color of the fruit changes throughout their ripening process. 

Automated bird repellent lasers show successful results in South America

Bodega Catena Zapata Farm was one of the many Argentinian farms experiencing significant grape losses due to the local parrot flocks. In order to protect their grapes effectively, they decided to test the automated laser bird deterrent system Agrilaser Autonomic. This technology is inspired by nature and takes advantage of a bird’s natural instinct: birds perceive the approaching laser beam as a physical danger and disperse to seek safety. Due to the installation of Agrilaser Autonomic, Bodega Catena Zapata successfully reduced the presence of parrots by almost 100% and saved thousands of dollars on bird damage.

Also Agricola EU used the technology to avoid losses in the cherry farm in Chile. Germán González, the Operations Manager, decided to try Agrilaser after experiencing difficulties with choosing the right bird deterrent to protect the crops. With the installation of Agrilaser Autonomic he achieved immediate results and reduced the crop losses by 90%!

Positive results have been also observed at Syngenta, a global producer of agrochemicals and seeds. The Syngenta sunflower seed producer in Argentina was experiencing a problem with pigeons and parrots destroying sunflowers and eating the seeds. They tried bird watchers and fireworks but none of these methods gave long-lasting results. After the Autonomic was installed, bird presence has decreased by 80%.

Mirko Yakasovic, a Chilean producer of table grapes saved 165.600 kg of grapes at 76 hectares by using this innovative bird repellent system. Prior to the installation pest birds used to eat up to 50% of his crops. He claims that: “Compared to the other methods the laser simply works, giving me a peace of mind for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The birds do not get used to the Autonomic Laser, deterring birds and reducing the damage drastically.”