AVIX Autonomic laser: the modern-day scarecrow

One of the biggest issues faced by horticultural operations across Australia is crop damage caused by birds. It's a problem that effectively wipes millions of dollars off farms' bottom lines every year.

According to the Australian Department of Agriculture, there are at least 60 different bird species known to feed on and damage horticultural crops. With each species possessing marked differences in feeding strategies and movement patterns, getting rid of each and every one of them is an almost impossible task.

There are a multitude of methods available to farmers to solve their avian problems, but each has its shortcomings. Using scare guns or other sound-based methods creates noise issues for neighbouring properties, while visual methods such as scarecrows just don't quite cut it anymore.

However, a Dutch company, Bird Control Group, has set its sights on helping farmers around the world to eliminate bird damage issues – without physically harming the birds or creating any associated environmental concerns, such as noise pollution.

The crux of the company's solution lies in the utilisation of laser beams that spook birds without hurting them.

The AVIX Autonomic is one of the company's newest systems that can be fully automated. It's effectively a set-and-forget operation that allows farmers to focus on other important tasks while it keeps pest birds at bay.

The product is essentially a laser projector mounted on a stand or pole. Running via a 240-volt system or a self-contained solar set-up with panels and batteries, the projector emits a bright green beam of light that deters most pest birds in the laser's path.

According to AVIX Autonomic's exclusive Australian distributor, E.E.Muir & Sons, the beam of light not only frightens birds away but also deters them from coming back.

"They feel like something's coming towards them; they see it as a threat and they need to get away from it," said E.E.Muir & Sons National Livestock Production Coordinator, Emily Harrison.

"It's a bit like when a car comes towards us – we'd never get used to it and would want to get out of the way every time. We've never seen birds get used to it."

With the AVIX Autonomic, farmers have full control of the system – from the duration of the laser projection, to the speed of the light, to its pattern of movement across the farm.

All of that is programmable via an easy-to-use app on a smartphone or tablet.

Another key benefit of the laser, according to Harrison, is that it makes no noise.

"It's quiet. You don't hear it, so there are no complaints from the neighbours," she said.

The AVIX Autonomic has a projection range of about 100m for every metre it is mounted off the ground, Harrison added.

"Most of the time we would get the lasers about five or six metres off the ground," she said.

"We've got some growers who have got about a kilometre of projection out of the laser on lettuces.

"More importantly, depending on the type of bird you'll need to figure out the best speed for the laser to move to make sure you're deterring them from coming onto your crops."

While horticulture farmers make up the key customer base for bird-repelling technology, a range of other industries such as construction, aviation and rigging also stand to benefit from the system, Harrison added.

"They have been used in offshore rigging operations, airports, universities, prisons, and ports where birds such as seagulls can cause issues," she said.

"Councils and shires are also starting to use them in their streets now to stop birds from doing their droppings on everything, not just because it's an eyesore but because the dropping is quite potent and can reduce the life of whatever the buildings are constructed from.

"It has been used to keep birds off solar panels as well, to keep the panels clean of droppings and stop birds from picking the wiring out."

Gazzola Farms on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula is one of Australia's leading vegetable growing operations. It grows a wide range of varieties such as lettuce, celery and Asian greens, and sells them all across Australia.

It runs two sites in the region – one in Somerville and another in Boneo – farming about a thousand acres of land in total.

The operation bought and installed its first AVIX Autonomic system from E.E.Muir & Sons about two years ago and says it has experienced a significant degree of success. It has installed another three since, with another one to be installed at its Boneo site soon.

"It's hard to give an actual percentage of bird reduction, but for us it would be approximately 90 per cent," said Dean Gazzola of Gazzola Farms.

"Previously we were having quite a lot of ducks and crows on the farm every day, but since the lasers have been installed, we've got almost no bird activity at all on the crops covered by the lasers.

"The area not covered by lasers at the moment, which is soon to be covered, is where the birds seem to congregate at the moment. And we're hoping that once the last laser is installed, we will have almost no bird life on the farm at all."

Pricing for the AVIX Autonomic laser with a complete solar set-up, including panels and batteries, is about $20,000 per unit.

Harrison said while the initial cost might catch people off guard, the reduction in crop damage over time makes the system a sound investment.

"We produce some of the best food in the world, so why not protect it?" she said.

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