www.mypmp.net March 2010 PEST management professional BG11
Town Lake Construction in Austin, TX, is a preferred
contractor that has installed bird control on
many of the buildings on a local university campus.
The extensive campus is comprised of many buildings
requiring ongoing maintenance. “We won
several bids for work in the 1990s. The university
was impressed with our work and we have been a
preferred contractor for more than 10 years now,”
explains owner Tom Regner.
One of the industrial
buildings on campus
houses a chilling station.
Large, open passages
allowed pigeons
and grackles to roost and
breed inside the building.
The amount of debris left
by the birds had become
so overwhelming that
employees refused to
enter the building.
Bird Barrier’s
StealthNet was an
obvious solution, as it
can completely exclude birds from a structure.
Installing zippers in the netting maintained access
to the interior for university workers.
“The biggest challenge
with this project was the
cleanup,” Regner explains
“Using Dissolve-it, two
Town Lake employees
spent two days cleaning
the area prior to
installing the StealthNet.
The installation process
took two additional
days.”
Of course, anyone who
has ever visited Austin is
familiar with the large
bat population. Regner and his team chose to use
3/4-in. black StealthNet to ensure that neither
birds nor bats could gain access to the building.
Taking Netting to new heights
Several
months
later,
Town
Lake was
called in
again to
address
another
bird
problem.
This
time, the
affected
building was an academic center. Concrete decorative
latticework on the exterior of the building’s
windows had become a favorite roosting spot for
pigeons.
The dilemma extended beyond the aesthetic. A
bird mite infestation was the more serious issue.
An entire floor of the building had to be closed
off to deal with the situation.
Once the area had
been sterilized and the
windows removed and
cleaned, the installation
of StealthNet on
the building’s exterior
began.
Operating on a
campus with 55,000 students
was difficult. The
latticework was 54 ft.
off the ground. Working
at that height required
a lift for access.
“Moving the lift
around the building among the heavy foot traffic
was the most complicated part of this job,”
describes Regner. Ultimately, the installation took
three men five days to complete.
However, because of the quality of both Town
Lake Construction’s work and Bird Barrier products,
they will likely remain a preferred contractor
for this college in perpetuity.
800-NO-BIRDS • BirdBarrier.com
StealthNet Teaches Pest Birds to Keep Off Campus
ADVERTORIAL
StealthNet Benefits
StealthNet denies pest birds access to literally any
architectural configuration, including courtyards, rooftops,
overhands, parking garages, etc. Here’s why:
• It’s nearly invisible: StealthNet is available in
stock colors of black, stone (beige) and white. The netting
is composed of very thin, ultra-strong strands of
polyethylene twine.
• It’s a long-lasting, 100% solution: StealthNet
is manufactured using the most advanced technology
in the world, and has been developed to withstand a
wide range of environmental conditions. Polyethylene
is the most ultraviolet (UV)-resistant netting material
availble, and StealthNet has extra UV stabilizers added
in its raw materials — thus creating a net that will last
for 10 years or more.
• It’s humane: StealthNet provides a harmless and
impenetrable barrier against all pest birds. StealthNet
can completely exclude birds from structures by sealing
off openings like archways and other unenclosed areas.
Using stand-off brackets and weighted cable, StealthNet
can even protect individual HVAC units.
• It’s versatile: Zippers can be inserted into
StealthNet to create access points for maintenance, such
as changing light bulbs. And by using support poles, it
can be configured to protect just about any structure.

We perform quite a bit of research before our company, Town Lake Construction LLC endorses a new odor control product or procedure.  New methods to combat odor problems come on to the market daily.  We try quite a few of them, most of which do not live up to their claims; one of these products being deodorizers. Town Lake Construction flatly refuses to use any kind of deodorant as a means to remove odor from a commercial building, because most deodorants morph the smell of bat guano or bird dropping into something that, in most cases, are intolerable to building occupants. Getting rid of smells, not simply masking them, is our goal at this company.  Whether the smell comes from a dead raccoon enclosed in a wall or roosting pigeons on a privacy balcony, we have the equipment and the odor abatement knowledge to tackle the source of any odor problem.  Quite frankly, we have learned what we know through trial and error.  When I first entered the pest control business, in Austin, TX, some 20 years ago, there was little in verifiable methods for the lasting control of odor. Twenty years and 4000 smell good products later, we have finally determined the good from the bad in treating unwanted smells. Our clients are typically from large Universities, corporations and municipalities.  These institutions usually try to treat odor problems “in house” so by the time they give us a call, asking for assistance, the existing conditions have escalated out of control.  Imagine 10 years worth of bird carcasses stacked up in a hot electrical vault, or 50 years of accumulated bat guano in a county court house attic.  Dealing with this type of odor abatement project is all in a days work for us.  Our staff has the verifiable training, certifications and the experience to do what it takes to make your odor problem disappear.

Tom Regner

Town Lake Construction LLC

06/08/10

Dear Dan,

In response to your email regarding the closing of your clean room. Let me get this straight, you run the maintenance division of a large corporation in Austin, TX  and you have found out that your clean room is overrun with rats and mice. At first, it started with reports of rat droppings. You called your “under contract pest control company” and told them you might have a rodent issue. They came out three days later to perform a brief inspection, check their outside bait stations and set a few traps. Everyone was happy, including your now increasing population of  commensal friends, the rodents, but every day, new reports of rodent sightings come into your office. The pest control company in which you selected was supposed to get rid of these rodent situation. You have seen them advertise on television and you thought they were reputable because their company name starts with ABC and they are  a local Texas company. Well you ask, “what did I do wrong?” Don’t feel too bad, this is typical for the industry. The difference between Town Lake Construction, LLC’s approach to your rodent problem and current pest control company you have under contract is the difference between happy clients and unhappy ones. First, you hired them for their low bid approach to general pest issues, not for a more dynamic, problem oriented companies, comprehensive approach. Unfortunately, getting what you paid for does nothing to solve an over population of rats and mice living in your building. For example, we never utilize bait station on the outside of a building until all foundation openings are closed. I cannot tell you how many sites I have been to like yours with obvious rodent entry/exit points directly adjacent to the bait stations. Secondly, T.L.C. does not have our crew on pest control routes, unlike your first in the phone book “critter ridder”; we stay with your building until we are satisfied that every possible opening has been sealed and the problem has been solved. This approach takes time. We do not have to spray for roaches at noon, kill ants at 2 PM and then try to squeeze you in to deal with hundreds of rodents crawling between the floors of your building. You should never let a route oriented pest control company near a problem like you have described. Hiring a company that won’t cut corners and has building engineering experience like Town Lake Construction, LLC is the right approach. Our staff has the verifiable training, certifications and the experience to do what it takes to make your rodent problem disappear. More on this later ………

Tom Regner
Town Lake Construction LLC

Ahhh, spring. Trees are budding, wildflowers blooming, butterflies emerging and the grass is greening up.

And the snakes are crawling.

Calls about reptiles in backyards — and front yards, houses and attics — are popping up about as fast as oak catkins are falling. Ed Lessard, president of the South Texas Herpetology Association, stays busy answering the phone this time of year.

“I had five calls yesterday,” Lessard said on a recent warm day. The calls concerned other reptiles, too — frogs, lizards and tortoises — but snakes present the most concern to gardeners just venturing outdoors to trim and plant after a winter that left landscapes in need of work.

Spring is when snakes emerge from burmation, a reptilian equivalent of hibernation, said Tom Regner of Town Lake Construction in Austin. “They wake up and establish new homes,” he said, adding he receives calls about snakes from March through August.

One small rattlesnake might have been hunting for a home or food when Kerrville resident Carolyn Roup spotted it under a trailing rosemary bush she was trimming. “I had had laryngitis for 12 days, but I managed to attract my husband’s attention,” Roup said. John Roup caught the snake with special tongs and put it in a plastic tub.

Lessard’s advice to people who see snakes: Do not panic.

“Snakes are very beneficial, so we tell people to leave them alone. Some people will. Some will prefer that we just come get it. If the snake is in the grass in their backyard, and they have small kids and are not sure what kind of snake it is, we will probably go.”

In addition to finding snakes in flower beds and around rocks, gardeners might be surprised to find the reptiles cozying up to the compost pile. If the pile is heating properly, snakes will crawl on top to get warm, especially on cool mornings, Regner said.

Deter them by surrounding the pile with silt fencing, a black fabric used for erosion control. It’s available in 2-foot heights at home improvement stores.

Snakes do not dig, so they won’t go under it, Regner said.

You also can put an electric wire around the pile. Snakes will recoil when they touch it.

Another option is to bury a 10-gallon, smooth-sided bucket in the ground near the compost heap. If a snake falls in, it won’t be able to get out. Use a stick to raise the handle and carry the bucket away.

Most of Lessard’s calls are about diamondback rattlesnakes and rat snakes, which resemble the rattler. The rat snake is grayish when young and turns black as it ages. Older rat snakes also sport a red hue between their scales.

“But if you see that, you are too close for most people’s benefit,” Lessard said.

The rat snake is one of few Texas snakes that climbs trees. It goes searching for birds, which make up about half its diet.

Lessard says if the snake is in a tree, some 20 feet high, it is harmless to people.

The “harmless” label is not a no-bite guarantee. Although a venomous snake has never bitten him, not so for rat snakes.

“I have gone out of a second-story window to catch one on a limb. I try to grab them by the head, but the Texas rat snake will get you quicker than you can get them.”

Lessard has not been bitten by a venomous snake in his 30 years of handling them. Snake catchers use special tongs or hooks, never bare hands. They put the snakes into large buckets with ventilated tops.

“It’s a matter of having respect for them,” he said.

Barbara Elmore is a gardener and writer in Fredericksburg. Her garden and home newsletter is available at www.digandletdig.com.

IF YOU SEE A SNAKE

Stop moving if you hear a snake, then back away from it slowly. An added warning: Rattlesnakes are learning not to rattle. “The ones that don’t get caught are learning to be quiet,” said Tom Regner, who removes snakes from residences in Austin.

Recognize venomous snakes. Texas has four types: rattlesnakes, copperheads, coral snakes and cottonmouth water moccasins. Residents in and around San Antonio are most likely to see the coral snake and the rattlesnake.

Clean up: Get rid of weeds, boards, and junk, which attract rats, lizards and frogs. “Snakes will go where there is warmth, shelter, and to look for animals to eat,”  Regner said.

Removal: If you need help removing a snake, call the City of San Antonio information line at 311 or 210-207-6000. Or visit the South Texas Herpetology Association Web site, www.kingsnake.com/stha. STHA volunteers do not charge for snake removal. They do accept donations to cover transportation costs. In Austin, Regner can be reached through his Web site, www.batspecialist.com, to give estimates for snake removal.

By Barbara Elmore – Special to the Express-News
Web Posted: 04/10/2010 12:00 CDT

A colony of bats have taken up residence in the roof at Akins High School in South Austin.  Students say the smell is so bad it’s making people nauseous.

Air purifiers have been installed and three classes were moved out of the Fine Arts Building Monday because of the bats.

“Just walking into the dressing room, you just start gagging it’s so bad. From all of the bats urinating, dying, it smells like something dead,” said Akins student Crystal Hale.

About 100 bats tested positive for rabies in Travis County last year, according to the Department of State Health Services.

AISD officials say they’re not aware of anyone who has gotten sick from the bats at Akins HS.
Health officials say bats should not be handled because of the risk of rabies.

However, experts say just smelling bat feces can make people sick, if they’re exposed to it for extended periods of time.

“Being in the building everyday, it shows up as other things, like allergies, tiredness, feeling sick, run down,” said Tom Regner, a bat control expert with Townlake Construction.

An AISD spokeswoman says Akins has had a bat problem since it opened in 2000.  Regner says that’s more than enough time to get the problem under control.

“It should not take 10 years and a typical bat proofing job for us takes about five or six days.”

Akins Principal Daniel Girard says custodial staff are trying to clean up the mess and the bats do not pose a health hazard to students.

A private pest control company is also doing an assessment of the campus.

Crystal Cotti
FOX 7 City Beat Reporter

Updated: Tuesday, 26 Jan 2010, 6:29 PM CST
Published : Tuesday, 26 Jan 2010, 12:49 PM CST

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/news/local/012610-Bats-Create-Problems-at-Akins-High

FOX News
Updated: Monday, 13 Jul 2009, 9:45 PM CDT
Published : Monday, 13 Jul 2009, 8:56 PM CDT

Doctors are warning people to watch their step. Snakebites are on the rise this summer , and experts say the lack of water is to blame. They expect the number of snakebites to double this year.

“It was like somebody was sticking a knife, sharp knife quickly into your flesh or an ice pick it was a sharp pain,” said Evonne Brooks as she describes the snake bite she suffered Monday morning.

It was just after 6:00 a.m. when she walked out to her garden in a pair of flip flops to turn her sprinklers on. That is when she felt a Copperhead snake strike.

“You begin to feel that burning sensation of the venom and the pain was pretty substantial,” Brooks said.

She is just one of dozens of cases reported in Central Texas this year. By June 30th the number of incidents at UMC Brackenridge was at 26. However, Dr. Ben Coopwood expects it to double by the fall.

“The most common poisonous snakes that we see are rattlesnakes ,and copperheads then followed by water moccasins and cotton mouths,” said Dr. Coopwood.

Snake expert Robert Ackerman says the dry weather is to blame for the increase in bites.

“Normally the snake can live off the dew off the ground and get enough water but there is not enough dew this year so the snakes are moving big time,” said Ackerwood.

Those snakes are moving into yards, gardens, sheds or any other place to find relief from the heat. He says people should wear protective gear before working in brushes or gardens where snakes may be hiding.

The rattlesnake usually sends out a warning before striking but not always. Doctors say if a snake bites you do not bother trying to kill it. They say just get to an ER as fast as possible.

One drop of venom is enough to cause severe pain and swelling. That’s what happened to Evonne’s foot. When she reached the ER it was already twice it’s normal size.

Snakebites can be quite expensive to treat and usually require several vials of antivenom. In Evonne’s case it took four vials. That can run up to about $12, 000 not including the say at the hospital which is usually two days.

Experts also say if you see a snake in your property, don’t try to kill it yourself instead call animal control or a snake handler to remove it.

When the average person goes onto the internet to find a pest control company to solve their bird or bat problems, what they will find is that every pest control company with a website is the best, the largest, the most experienced and all of the rest of the industry is hugging their coat-tails trying to catch up. Bologna! After all, there can only be one pest control company that is the best, the largest and the most experienced, and that company just so happens to be my company, Town Lake Construction. O.K., you see what I am driving at?

We specialize in high-rise pest control, via bird and bat proofing of buildings, so we gain a tremendous amount of experience in these specific fields. We do not kill ants, trap rats or spray lawns. Day-in and day-out we service high-rise building, municipal buildings and commercial facilities. The same men that the other companies send to your job may have been trapping possums at 10 A.M., spraying for bugs at 2 P.M. and be ready to tackle your bird problem at 4 P.M. I shudder to think about it. Even with the constant exposure to our specific line of pest control, we go through many learning curves daily. When you hire a pest control company to set up a bird-control system 300 feet in the air, the last thing a business owner needs are technicians on their building, that have little, or no experience, which is very common in this industry. We don’t spray to kill bugs, etc. even though we are licensed to do these things. If we are called to do it, we refer them to a pest control company that we like, which may I tell you is few and far between. You may ask why we don’t take on this extra work, after all, everyone else that is the biggest, the largest and the best does it. The answer is, if we don’t have the experience, the “know how”, and the capacity to be the best at it, or pretty close to the best, we don’t want any part of it at all.

–Tom Regner

Let’s talk about Austin, Texas as it relates to the protection and care of wildlife species. I have always heard that Austin, Texas is a certified “bird sanctuary” city. Not hardly. Although it has set aside thousands of acres to help preserve various animal habitats, i.e. warblers and salamanders, it greatly lacks in terms of offering help to injured animals once they are outside of those “protected” environments and sitting injured in your back yard or street. One would think there would be hundreds of resources in this city to help are befriended creatures. After all, we are the “Bat Capital of The World.” Our companies’ name, Town Lake Construction gets mixed up in the phone book directory with Town Lake Animal Shelter. We receive a lot of phone calls daily, because of this, from well meaning people trying to get rid of a bat/bird or to get help for an injured or displaced animal. I always listen politely to their story, before I tell them I can’t help and to call Wildlife Rescue. If you are not familiar with this organization, they are a voluntary group of certified wildlife rehabilitators who tend to these injured animals. However, with their limited staff and budget, there is only so much Wildlife Rescue can do. Can you believe that Wildlife Rescue Service is just about the only place in Austin where you can get help for an injured bat, bird, etc? It’s time for the City of Austin to do more for injured wildlife. How ‘bout we get rid of a few of the city-supported Condo projects and fund more groups, like Wildlife Rescue.

Here are a few helpful phone numbers and agencies I have found in preparing for this article:

• Call 3-1-1 to report: Stray pets (cats excluded), animal bites (9-1-1 for emergency), animal cruelty (9-1-1 for emergency), injured wildlife, or to report the findings of a dead blue jay, crow, or hawk.
• Call (512) 389-4848 (Texas Parks & Wildlife Game Warden) to report an injured deer.
• Call (512) 472-WILD (Wildlife Rescue) to report other injured wildlife.
• Call (512) 854-9613 (Animal Damage & Control) to report problem coyotes.
• The North Austin Emergency veterinarian clinic is located at 12034 Research Blvd. in Austin; (512) 331-6121
• The South Austin Emergency veterinarian clinic is located at 4434 Frontier Trail in Austin; (512) 899-0955
• For information on Texas animal cruelty laws, visit http://www.animallaw.info/topics/spustexascruelty.htm
• For information about West Nile Virus, contact the Health Department at 1-888-883-9997

The hardest part of anything for me is at the beginning. Ideas come easy. Making something solid and useful from my ideas is something entirely different. You know, creating something from what’s between your ears. It sounded like a good idea; “yeah, let’s have a Blog on the new website”. Now sitting in front of my computer, I am at one of those moments…In the beginning, forming this Blog out of thin air and transforming it into what you see before you. Bear with me for a few more sentences while I try to transform some idea to write about. O.K., I’ve got one, let’s try to second guess what goes on in the mind of a, domesticated from the wild, bird. Not ready for it, me neither. Some other time perhaps, when I have had my next encounter with Albert Einstein disguised as a Grackle. Maybe I could talk about when I first starting excluding bats from buildings. I could theoretically do this but and in reality, the events which led up to my first “bat encounter” are much too entertaining and in depth for me to go into at this hour. Now I am at the moment of truth, what do I say now? “I like this industry!” Where can you go repelling off buildings and get paid for it? Some of the places I have had access to, range from the infamous book depository building in Dealey Plaza, The George Bush Governors Mansions, Darrel Royal Stadiums to movie sets and chance encounters with movie stars. I can’t remember how many times I have been interviewed for T.V. and the newspapers. You get the idea; we work in pretty cool places and meet a lot of interesting people. I never thought of the prestige we would gain when I first came up with this concept, way back in”93”. Another thing I really like about my business is the “specialist” aspect of our company. Most of my customers, have tried many ordinary pest control companies, to help them with their (insert animal) problem before I get the first call to do my “thing”. Desperation leads to some pretty accommodating circumstances for my Company, Town Lake Construction, which is now an LLC, formed to protect me from loosing my house. But I digress… so, the desperate conditions we come in to make us look like saviors on chariots, chariots in the form of pick up trucks with ladder racks. The scenario usually plays out like this: Bats are trapped in a building and are now swooping down on the accounting department, which incidentally really likes me now and will pay me in record time for our heroics, after we are finished, of course. After all, they are accountants. I like being “that guy’ who is a true specialist. Re-inventing the wheel and building a better mouse trap is an everyday occurrence for us. At least once an hour, I come up with some sort of contraption or new idea that will revolutionize the industry.

These are the topics which I can write about. So let me tell you about them one at a time…

– Tom Regner

Something about the way the sunlight did not reach all the way to the rocky ground but rather reflected off a shape — a shape that, however still, was obviously alive — gave my step pause in the bright spring day. I was hiking a trail that runs alongside the spring-fed Pedernales River after some bounding over the sluices and rocky outcroppings of the falls at Pedernales Falls State Park.

“Look at that,” I exclaimed to the friend that followed behind me, myself only just processing what I was seeing.

Two large western diamondback rattlesnakes, stretched each to full length next to a ledge of rock. Silent, unmoving and yet connected, intent … suddenly I realized they were mating. The two rattlesnakes were mating. I stood there breathless for several moments, astounded by the beauty in nature’s inert ferocity. It was as if I was watching an ancient ritual, a union so primeval that a prehistoric mind would instantly have created a myth around the event.

So of course I had to make a joke.

“Crikey!” I said, channeling the accent of that famous vexer of wildlife. “That one’s a jumbo!”

Yet I remained transfixed, with a clear view of the eyes of the nearer of the pair. She looked at me, her triangular head coldly appraising my slightest quiver. My friend moved around them in a wide circle, unsuccessfully seeking a good angle for a photograph. I could see her mate watching the motion.

Chit-chit-chit-chi-chiiit.

Nothing but the tip of a black and white striped tail moved, and when it stopped, there was no evidence that the snakes had altered their position in the slightest. Both of us were well away from the snakes and what I felt was not fear, but a thrilling exuberance. While, for some of you Texans, the sound of a venomous pit viper bestowing its eponymous warning may be commonplace, even routine — to a gal from a state lacking poisonous anything (no venomous snakes, no fire ants, no brown recluses or deadly jellies), it was a rite of passage. For the snakes, it marked a countdown to six or so months from now, when a dozen or more rattlesnake young, equipped with venom from birth, will spill into the Pedernales River habitat.

Of course, snakes can be found on trails and many other locations in Texas, and spring being prime time for snake activity, I decided to ask an expert about how to be safe with snakes. Tom Regner, owner of Town Lake Construction LLC, has specialized in the humane removal of bats, birds, snakes, and many other animals from Austin property since 1993. He was kind enough to speak with me about what home and business owners (and yes, hikers and bikers) can do to prevent encounters with snakes, and what one should do upon encountering a snake.

“Snakes nest in large colonies,” Tom informed me, “and they will get displaced by construction and move to where they weren’t last year. The first thing you’ll want to do is check woodpiles, under decks, and garbage cans to get those areas cleared.”

And if you do find snakes?

“Well, most pest companies don’t do snakes. But you can call the police, and they will help, at least to watch the snake or call a wildlife control company like ourselves. You can’t assume a snake is venomous — there are only four types of venomous snake in Texas.”

That’s plenty for me. What are some good rules for keeping a place snake-free?

“One, prevent a snake problem by removing shelter areas. Two, seal up gaps and cracks in your home or deck. Three, eliminate feeding areas. And four, we’re on call 24/7 to handle any problems.”

What does someone do until you get there?

“Most everyone who gets bit — close to 90 percent — was messing with the snake.”

I take his answer to mean, don’t mess with the snake. What do you do with the snakes you catch?

Tom deadpanned, “We put them in your neighbor’s yard.”

I laugh nervously.

He continues, “We do keep them pretty close. Rattlesnakes, for example, are a territorial species, so we don’t want to put one in another snake’s territory. So we don’t go a long distance and I do have a couple of local drop-offs. The problem is, a lot of the snakes people find get killed. They’re all good snakes, we don’t get into: this one is good, that one is bad. They’re all good, and if you kill them, you’ll have problems with other pests.”

What was the strangest removal you’ve performed?

“A python in a movie theater, a megaplex. The theater had just opened, and the owner had a disgruntled employee leave a 10-foot reticulated python in the theater. We found it within about 10 minutes of getting there. We just got lucky. Although when I was told it was a python, I thought it would be, you know, a smaller one, not like something you would find in the jungle!”

What happened with that snake?

“That one we sold to a pet store. Sometimes with snakes and raccoons and other animals, we’ll contact Austin Wildlife Rescue. It’s a volunteer-based organization, and they’re really great — more people should know about them.”

Town Lake Construction can safely and humanely remove bats, birds, snakes and other animals as well as advise new builders and architects on how to minimize or remove habitats. Tom Regner and his staff can be reached at 444-5955.

Austin Wildlife Rescue can help if you find an injured or orphaned wild animal and maintains a 24-hour hotline for help with wild animals at 472-WILD.

By Alexandria Dobkowski
of Austin360.com