Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter discusses literatures and studies related to the present investigation.

It consists of three (3) parts: (1) Birds as Pest; (2) The Repulsive Property of Ultrasonic

Frequencies; and (3) Synthesis.

The first part, “Birds as Pest,” elucidates how birds become problematic to

different economic sectors.

The second part, “The Repulsive Property of Ultrasonic Frequencies,” elucidates

how ultrasonic frequencies can act as a repeller device because of its repulsive property.

The third topic, “Synthesis,” summarizes the literatures and studies cited.
Birds as Pest

Many common birds prove beneficial to man. These benefits include down

feather production, insect and weed population control, pollination and the sport of

watching and feeding. Yet many problems may arise when birds associate too closely

with people. Common bird problems range from general nuisance and building

defacement to food contamination and disease transmission (DoMyOwn, 2018).

The acid in bird droppings is highly corrosive and can therefore damage building

exteriors. Birds can also cause damage to your home or office by dislodging roof tiles and

leaving debris from their nests in drains and gutters. In time, this can cause blockages and

problems with flooding when heavy rainfall occurs. While not much can be done about

the odd bird dropping, if a flock of birds nest around a building or structure, the area will

eventually become overridden with the mess of bird droppings. In addition to its

corrosive property, most bird droppings give off a foul smell. They have been known to

return to their nests with cigarettes that are still lit, making them a big fire hazard. They

frequently foul entrances and pavements. This can be dangerous when slippery. During

breeding season, birds may attack people when their nests and younglings are provoked.

One of the main reasons why birds are sometimes classified as pest is because they carry

ectoparasites such as mites. These can be transferred to humans and cause diseases such

as Ornithosis, E.coli, and Salmonella. Their molted feathers can also cause respiratory

problems and their droppings sometimes contain parasitic worms that can take up

residence within the human body (Stait, 2017).

According to a report, birds could also be causing drastic decrease in crop yields

by destroying them, which calls it as an emerging concern in agriculture. “The avian

species inflict losses in agriculture by damaging crops during sowing, seeding and

ripening stages, leading to economic losses to the farming community,” states the

interministerial report of the Committee on Doubling Farmer’s Income (DFI) – Volume

X titled “Risk Management in Agriculture,” released by the Ministry of Agriculture.

“Birds are known to cause considerable economic damage to a variety of crops during

vulnerable stages in different agro-ecological regions of the country. The extent of bird

damage to any crop depends on several factors like concentration of local bird

population, total area under the crop, cropping pattern habitat of the area, season and

physiological status of the birds,” also stated in the report. It identified 63 bird species of

birds, 1364 from 19 families that caused damage to several crops. A whopping 52 bird

species attacked cereals, pulses got attacked by 14 bird species, while oilseeds faced

damage risk by 15 species, and fruits by 23 species. They also caused damage to the

crops of smaller grains such as pearl millet and sorghum as well as corn. Moreover, bird

damage was found to be more in isolated, early or late maturing fields, varied between

regions, seasons, number of species, their density, concentration of migrants and their

food habits (Down To Earth, 2019).

The aviation industry is also frequented with bird strikes. A bird strike is strictly

defined as a collision between a bird and an aircraft which is in flight or on a takeoff or

landing roll. Bird strikes are common and can be a significant threat to aircraft safety. For

smaller aircrafts, significant damage may be caused to the aircraft structure. All aircraft,

especially jet-engine ones, are vulnerable to the loss of thrust which can follow from the

ingestion of birds into engine air intakes. This has resulted in a number of fatal accident

(SKYbrary, 2019).
 Between 1960 and 2014, bird strikes were responsible for the destruction of

approximately 150 civil aircrafts and the death of 271 people (Hedayati & Sadighi,

2015).

The Repulsive Property of Ultrasonic Frequencies

Ultrasonic devices operate through emitting short wavelength, high frequency

sound waves that are too high in pitch to be heard by the human ear – generally accepted

to be frequencies greater than 20,000 Hz (Elert, 2016). Humans are usually unable to hear

sounds higher than 20 kHz due to physiological limitations of the cochlea, though there is

considerable variation between individuals, especially at such high frequencies. Some

animals, such as bats, dogs and rodents, can hear well into the ultrasonic range

(Ryckegham, n.d.). Some insects, such as grasshoppers and locusts, can detect

frequencies from 50,000 Hz to 100,000 Hz, and lacewings and moths can detect

ultrasound as high as 240,000 Hz produced by insect-hunting bats.

The use of ultrasonic frequencies to repel away pests such as mosquitoes and

rodents have been studied and tested multiple times.

Ultrasonic waves are used in repelling animals, specifically, mainly by means of

the characteristic of wide acoustic frequency bands of certain animals; ultrahigh-

frequency ultrasonic waves are used for repelling mice, dogs, wolves, cats, and certain

insects; and high-power ultrasonic waves repeatedly stimulate auditory nerves of animals

so that the animals are made fretful and uneasy and then flee the uncomfortable

generation environment due to endocrine dyscrasia (Liu, 2017).

In a study conducted by Saini, et al. (2017), ultrasonic waves have frequencies

more than 20,000 Hz which are inaudible to humans but not in insects. When mosquitoes
come in contact with ultrasonic waves, they sense the waves from a special hair or

sensilla present on their antennae, which will create stress on the nervous system and jam

their own ultrasonic frequency and force them to leave that area. The frequency ranges of

38-44 kHz can be used effectively to repel mosquitoes and flies.

Ultrasonic frequencies were also used in a study to repel away pests in a farm.

Results showed that the implementation of the device in the farmland has shown a great

reduction of bug attack compared to others which doesn’t have one (Rashid, 2014).

Birds are now also being tested in the effectivity of ultrasonic frequencies. The

use of ultrasonic frequencies (which human ears cannot detect, but are perceived by small

birds) is a novel technology that can effectively repel such birds from designated places.

Ultrasonic waves create a hostile environment for the pest birds and had a repulsive

influence on them. Though they have a small radius of action, they were eventually

driven away from the designated locations (Ezeonu, Amaefule, & Okonkwo, 2012).

Results of a study conducted by Whitford (2004) clearly showed that birds

experience severe distress in the presence of ultrasonic frequencies. His studies of

ultrasonic devices used in the field show significantly reduced bird populations and bird

droppings. These findings have been carefully documented in recent years by the highest

scientific authorities on the subject of bird behavior and bird control efficacy proving that

ultrasonic devices are, in fact, an effective bird control method.

 Synthesis

Birds are a part of the natural world order. They prove beneficial to man and the

environment as natural pollinators and insect population control. But, when birds increase

in number and associate more closely with humans, they become nuisances or pests. The

agricultural and aviation sector suffers the most when it comes to bird infestation.

Yielded crops substantially decrease in quality and quantity because of bird pests such as

swallows or maya. In the aviation sector, bird strikes frequently occurs during takeoff,

damaging aero planes, posing a risk to human lives. Birds can also be carriers of diseases

and their droppings can be corrosive to man-made structures. Numerous efforts have

been made to eradicate this problem. Like mosquitoes and rats, birds are proven to hear

ultrasonic frequencies. Ultrasonic frequencies are sound waves that is only heard by

certain animal species; humans the exception. Studies shown that insects and rodents

have an almost immediate reaction when exposed to ultrasonic frequencies. Birds are also

now being tested in the latest studies which aims to repel away birds from economic

sectors. Several devices have been used to control bird infestation in airport runways and

in agricultural sectors. These however, were found ineffective because of the species

diversity of birds with different frequency sensitivity. Thus, this research aimed to

construct a solar-powered multi-technique bird repeller.