The property of Christopher “Bird Man” Driggins, owner of Northwest Bird Rescue, was overrun with Norway rats and deer mice. Driggins found J.T. Eaton through an online search and contacted the manufacturer’s national sales manager, James Rodriguez, ACE, for advice.
PMP Brad Thorstenson teamed with
J.T. Eaton to help a bird refuge battling rodents. Photo Courtesy of Interstate Pest Management
“I evaluated Chris’ needs, based on the severity of the infestation he described, and suggested a few local PMPs,” Rodriguez says. “Chris reached out to Brad Thorstenson (owner of Kelso, Wash.-based Interstate Pest Management), who generously agreed to help the nonprofit free of charge.”
Rodriguez donated J.T. Eaton glue boards, cobweb dusters, Repeater traps and Little Pete slim traps.
Driggins, his girlfriend, a couple dogs and an alpaca share a three-bedroom house in a rural neighborhood with rescued parrots, hawks, ducks and geese. Most of the birds stay in outdoor cages and outbuildings behind the fenced-in property, but the line between refuge and household is blurred: When Thorstenson arrived, Driggins was making scrambled eggs in the kitchen for a parrot.
“Chris cherishes those birds; he knows each by name,” Thorstenson says.
The property was relatively clean, but cluttered. Piles of bird feed packaging were stored under tarps around the yard, for example. Thorstenson showed Driggins how to set and check the traps and glue boards, and what sanitation practices he needed to implement.
“I also installed an L-screen around the outdoor avitorium connected to the house, and will pay the bird refuge a followup visit in the near future,” he adds.
You can reach Gooch at hgooch@northcoastmedia.net, 330-321-9754.
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