Meridian Bird Removal

Eagerly Optimistic
We cannot wait to get to our next assignment. We visualize the adventure and see ourselves victorious. Our team members absolutely love what they do. No matter what the challenge, we are there well before the sun comes up, ready to get the job done.

Humbly Confident
Our team members possess a deep appreciation for the unpredictability of our work. Wild birds are anything but predictable. We, as a company, take this very seriously. Our preparation, equipment, training and methodology take this to heart. We know that much could go wrong at any given moment. Never underestimate your opponent.

Adapt and Overcome
Creative thinking and problem solving are traits that are required nearly every day on our job sites. Unlike treating bugs and mice, birds inside a store present a wide variety of challenges. The ability for our team members to adapt to unique circumstances and devise viable strategies to overcome whatever obstacles they encounter is a fundamental value they all possess.

Commitment to Capture
The mental aspect of this job is something that cannot be taught. Our team members are neither easily discouraged nor apt to cut and run when things get tough. Staying "in the game" mentally is over 50% of the battle. This value transcends much of the skill, physical traits, age and other variables common to our diverse team. All of us have this and it is a huge factor in our success.

Be Above the Bar
We are achievement oriented. We do not settle for just good enough or doing things half way. We set big expectations for ourselves and for the company. We push ourselves and encourage each other to exceed expectations. This includes everything from how we operate the business to how we manage ourselves. We strive to "run the day" versus "letting the day run you." We are persistent in seeking to put our most professional foot forward with respect to our customers.

Help First
We see this play out lots of ways in our company culture. Some may observe it as Above and Beyond, Servant Leadership, Going the Extra Mile, Do a Good Turn Daily or Love Thy Neighbor. We honestly want to help people however and whenever we can regardless of whether it is our "job" or we get "paid" to do it. When a frail grandmother in the dog food aisle approaches us and asks, "Do you work here?" We politely reply, "No ma'am, but is there something I can help you with?" Maybe she can't reach the top shelf or needs help loading her groceries. This sentiment transcends our work lives. Our people RECOGNIZE others in need and ACT immediately to assist.

Our application and interview process differs from role to role, but a standard step by step process looks like this:

1. You submit your online application.
2. We review and send a second questionnaire if approved.
3. We review and schedule a 30-minute phone screening.
4. We send you a series of tests.
5. We schedule you for an initial 1.5-hour video interview.
6. We schedule you for a final 1.5-hour video interview.
7. Offer extended if selected.

Our interview process and selection are rooted in our Core Values.

Search and apply to open roles on https://meridianbirdremoval.com/available-positions/

Our Origins
Meridian Bird Removal (formerly Meridian Wildlife Services) actually started many years ago. Co-owners Brian Burke and David Brugh are childhood friends. They grew up on the same street in a quiet suburb of Roanoke, VA. The two were interested in outdoor pursuits from an early age. They frequented the local creeks fishing for minnows and persuing other wildlife. They fished for anything and everything from rainbow trout to carp, and yes, attempting to catch birds with nets in their backyards (picture Wile E. Coyote vs. the Roadrunner). After high school, each went their separate ways pursuing different paths. David attended James Madison University and obtained his B.B.A. in Marketing, working in the non-profit fund-raising and education sectors, while Brian became a U.S. Marine and opened and operated his own mortgage brokerage firm.


The Early Years
The two reunited after nearly 15 years, now with families of their own, and picked up right where they left off – fishing, hunting and eventually wildlife trapping. One January morning in 2010, as the two were standing in a local dairy farmer's pasture, staring at empty coyote traps and attempting not to notice the effects of the single-digit temperatures, Brian suggested to David they figure out a way to do this for a living! The mortgage industry was certainly no picnic then, reeling from the economic calamity just a couple of years prior, but Brian still had a successful firm. David also had a thriving full-time career as a sales professional with an education supply company. However, both knew while they liked their current jobs, their passion was elsewhere. So, in April of that year, both obtained the necessary state permits and established an LLC. In May, they had their first customer! A local hotel had a groundhog problem. A big one. The groundhogs were causing such a problem, they were regularly opening the automatic front doors at the lobby entrance! In short order, the two had successfully captured and removed 13 groundhogs, four opossums, and three raccoons and become well-acquainted with the local feral cat population. The customer was thrilled, and Brian and David had their first income from what the two could hardly believe was a “job.” It was truly just an extension of the adventure that had begun decades earlier on that suburban street in Roanoke.


The Business Grows
It did not take long for the business to grow and thrive. Solving all sorts of human-wildlife conflicts became the norm. They handled snakes, bats, skunks, honeybees, and then birds. David was still a traveling sales professional during the day. In his travels, he found himself constantly noticing the problems birds were causing. In pursuit of the solution for these problems, David met a sales professional for a national nuisance bird company. The sales rep shared that he had just come from three weeks solving bird problems for a customer in the tropics. The rep's next stop was a Hawaiian island to help customers there. That didn't sound so terrible! From that point, Brian and David, still both working their full-time jobs, began to focus more on learning about birds and the issues they cause and how to develop meaningful solutions for their customers. Through thousands of hours of field research and a lot of elbow grease, the pair began to forge a proficient model for managing nuisance bird problems.


Becoming Birds-Only
Soon other good friends and acquaintances whom the pair knew through their outdoor sports connections were tapped to assist with the growing number of jobs. Everyone was having a great time and enjoying the thrill of helping a budding business grow. As the demand continued to build for more bird solutions from customers, the pair soon found themselves solving commercial bird problems for companies all across Virginia, then North Carolina, then Maryland. It did not take long for the owners to see that, in order to maximize the opportunity and the interest of all those working for the company, a single focus on solving commercial bird problems should be the defining characteristic of the business. It was a difficult decision, but deciding to focus solely on solving bird issues and getting away from all the other nuisance wildlife issues proved invaluable.


Today
Today, the company enjoys their position as premier provider of bird solutions to some of the largest businesses in the world. The company motto of “Embracing New Adventures Daily” is as true today as it was when David and Brian first started. Meridian Bird Removal is headquartered in Christiansburg, Virginia.

Amazing Bird Adventures 4: Good Medicine

For this installment of “Amazing Bird Adventures“, we follow a late night capture inside a pharmaceutical warehouse, where a Cooper’s hawk had invaded the sterile space and needed removing ASAP. Murphy’s law comes into play, but in the end, the BRT’s adapting and overcoming, plus his commitment to capture, win the day.

Setting the scene
The BRT: Mark P.
Based in: Charlotte, NC
The bird: Cooper’s hawk
The partner: a pharmaceutical warehouse in Piedont, SC

I got the call at around 6:00 PM, when everyone else was headed home from their nine-to-five job. Three things caught my attention about the job–it was an emergency, the location was in my hometown, and the bird in question was a hawk. Now, hawk calls are a big rush. They’re always a challenge, even small species like the Cooper’s hawk. Even though this was going to be a night job, I was stoked and my adrenaline was pumping.

Lost in space
When I arrived two hours later, I immediately encountered an unexpected hiccup–the space was huge! This warehouse was the size of two big box stores put together, and normally two or more BRTs are required to capture a bird in a space this large. However, the partner was in a bit of a panic, and forgot to report the size of the space. I was going to have to tackle this job solo. No problem–adapting and overcoming is what we do at Meridian.

The third shift was hard at work preparing vital medicines for shipment. A security guard volunteered to help me look out for the hawk. I gave him a walkie-talkie and we split up to cover opposite ends of the warehouse. We soon spotted the raptor.Cooper's Hawk inside building

Flying the walls
I had a lot of experience with hawks, and knew they would “fly the walls”–hug the corners and edges of the space rather than venture into the open central areas. I set up one of the heavyweight raptor nets and drove the bird toward it. But hawks have incredible eyesight, so this one dodged the net easily. Undeterred, I observed the hawk’s flight patterns, then put up another net in its flight path. That did the trick. Before long, the hawk flew headlong into the net. We had our bird!

Hailing the hawk and the hero
One concern we often have with raptors is their weight and speed. When they hit the nets, they usually tangle themselves up good. That stresses them out, so time is of the essence. Rather than disentangle them, I’ll take surgical scissors and cut the net away, making sure to remove the netting from its feathers. I also place a towel over the bird’s head to calm it. From my many hawk encounters, I knew how to fold its talons so I wouldn’t get clawed (For the record, owls are far more dangerous!). The security guard took pictures, and I released the bird at the edge of the property.

The whole time we were chasing the hawk, the third shift workers watched. They found the chase very exciting, and now they saw how much care I took with the bird. That’s when I realized how valuable our live capture system is. The warehouse workers complimented me on capturing the bird safely and showing concern for its welfare. I came onto the site worried about how I would manage the capture by myself, and I left feeling like a hero. That made the late night drive home worth it.