Avian Enterprises, a subsidiary of Stone Soap Co. Inc. in Sylvan Lake, has developed a way to prevent bird flu from infecting chickens and causing another potential spike in egg prices. The company has taken an existing product called Avian Migrate Bird Repellant, formulated with the active ingredient MA (methal anthrinilate), and combined it with InvisiDye UV Marker. The marker causes the product to appear as a color that only birds can see.
“Geese and large birds just can’t stand MA. It’s like tear gas,” says Jon Stone, president of Avian Enterprises. “When you combine that product with our InvisiDye UV Marker, they see it as a different color as they fly, and associate that area with the bad reaction they had.”
Since the Avian Migrate Bird Repellant also impacts hens, users of the product “create a barrier 50 to 100 feet away from the chickens, outside the facility, so the product doesn’t affect the chickens,” Stone says. The bird repellant has been around for about 15 years, according to Stone. Its primary market has been agricultural, with one exception. MA comes from an extract of the Concord grape. “We sell a lot of product to grape-growers, except those who grow Concord grapes,” Stone says.
The addition of InvisiDye UV Marker and an additive that extends the effectiveness of the MA from a day or two to a week or two has opened the door to several other industries and markets. In addition to egg producers, new customers include golf courses, municipalities, schools, corporate campuses, airports, landscapers, and even homeowners.
Avian Migrate Bird Repellant comes in half-gallon to drum-size containers. Stone says it works best if sprayed manually rather than being incorporated into a sprinkler system. It sells for $75 to $200 per gallon, depending on the size of the purchase.
This isn’t the first time Stone Soap or its subsidiary has responded to a national crisis. Known as a leader in the car wash industry, the company created a biofuel alternative during a gas shortage in 2008. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it produced hand sanitizer and a delivery system adopted by Ford Motor Co. and other customers.
Avian Enterprises itself was founded when a Chicago-area refuse transfer station needed help with a bird problem. “Avian Enterprises is a growing business,” Stone reports. “With these new industries for the bird repellant business nationally, the business is growing between 30 percent and 50 percent annually.”
