Bird Netting at Costco’s Salt Lake City Distribution Center

Client

Costco Wholesale — Distribution Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

Industry

Warehouse & Distribution

Service

Commercial bird exclusion — StealthNet netting, structural cleanup & sanitation

Scope

~10,000 sq ft of netting | 870 linear ft of steel cabling | 10-year manufacturer warranty

The Problem

Pigeons had taken over the steel canopy above the security checkpoint at Costco’s Salt Lake City distribution center — one of the busiest entry points at the facility. Birds were nesting in the corrugation and I-beams above the guard shack, and droppings were accumulating on the structure, the roof, and the checkpoint area below. 

For a distribution facility, that’s more than a nuisance. Bird droppings are corrosive to steel and roofing materials, create slip hazards, and can carry pathogens — a real problem directly above a staffed security post where employees work every day. 

Our Solution

We designed a single continuous exclusion zone that sealed the entire canopy structure — not a patchwork of deterrents, but a permanent physical barrier birds cannot get behind. 

Step 1 — Cleanup and sanitation first. Before any netting went up, our crew removed all birds, nests, eggs, and debris from the parapet, skylights, HVAC equipment, and canopy structure, then cleaned and sanitized the entire area. Netting over an active nesting site traps the problem in — clearing and sanitizing first is the step inexperienced installers skip. 

Step 2 — Steel cable framework. We installed 870 linear feet of steel cabling around the perimeter of the exclusion area using cable brackets, Hilti pins, ferrules, and turnbuckles — the anchoring system that keeps netting drum-tight for decades, not seasons. 

Step 3 — StealthNet installation. Nearly 10,000 square feet of 3/4-inch black StealthNet was installed across the underside of the canopy and vertically from the guard shack roof up to the canopy, attached to the cable framework with a pneumatic hog ring tool for an ultra-tight fit. The vertical and overhead sections connect into one continuous barrier with no gaps for birds to exploit. 

Step 4 — Gap sealing. Where netting meets corrugation and I-beams, we sealed small and medium gaps with black PVC-coated metal mesh — the detail work that separates a true exclusion from a net that birds walk around. 

The work was completed using a 30-foot boom lift over roughly one week, coordinated around the facility’s active security operations. 

The Result

The bird problem was completely eliminated. The checkpoint canopy has remained bird-free since installation, with no ongoing treatments, no maintenance visits, and no recurring costs — a permanent fix backed by a 10-year manufacturer warranty on both the netting and cabling. 

Why Facilities Choose Netting Over Deterrents

Spikes, gels, and sound devices push birds a few feet away — netting removes the habitat entirely. For warehouses, distribution centers, loading docks, and parking structures across Northern Utah, professionally installed StealthNet is the only solution we stand behind for large-structure infestations, because it’s the only one that ends the problem permanently.