Somerset has quietly become one of the larger rural solar counties in southern England, with significant farm scale and barn roof PV across the Somerset Levels, the Mendips and the rolling country between Taunton and Yeovil. The Glastonbury and Wells area in particular has a dense mix of rural and semi rural domestic solar, and the dairy and arable farms of the Levels carry some of the longest linear runs of panel installation in the south west. JG Pest Control’s BPCA Level 2 Certified Technicians have proofed Somerset solar arrays since the technology started arriving on local roofs, from single domestic installations in Taunton through to long barn roof runs on dairy farms across the Levels.
PV panels sit only a few inches above the tile, and that narrow gap is exactly the warm, dry, predator free cavity that nesting birds spend their lives looking for. The bird pressure on Somerset arrays is mostly feral pigeons and jackdaws inland, with peregrines and other raptors occasionally complicating the picture, plus the seasonal starling roosts that are a Somerset speciality.
Call our local team now: 01278 807000
Free quote on the phone. BPCA Level 2 Certified Techs. Warranty preserving installation.
JG Pest Control covers all of Somerset for specialist solar panel bird proofing. We work the urban centres of Taunton, Bridgwater, Yeovil and Frome, the market towns of Wells, Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet and Street, and across the rural Levels and Mendips. Our technicians can usually reach a Somerset property within an hour and provide a survey within 48 hours of your call. We work to the warranty conditions for SolarEdge, Enphase, Tesla, GivEnergy and Sungrow so nothing we do puts your inverter at risk.
Solar bird proofing in Somerset is mostly a feral pigeon and jackdaw job, but the county does have a couple of unusual considerations. The famous Somerset Levels starling murmurations leave roosts of millions of birds in the reed beds during winter, and on properties near the roost sites we sometimes see starlings investigating panel cavities. The peregrine population reintroduced across the Mendips and the Quantocks also means we occasionally find birds of prey using rural barn arrays as perching sites.
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Why Somerset Solar Arrays Need Proofing
The dominant species causing problems on Somerset solar arrays is the feral pigeon, particularly in the urban centres (Taunton, Bridgwater, Yeovil, Frome, Burnham on Sea, Weston super Mare). Pigeons exploit the 10 to 15 centimetre cavity beneath domestic rooftop panels, build nests on top of the DC cabling, and within a single breeding season can establish colonies that cause both fire risk and significant generation loss.
Rural Somerset has a different mix. The dairy and arable farms of the Levels carry large barn roof arrays that attract jackdaws (which absolutely nest under panel skirts if given the chance), starlings, and the occasional small colony of house sparrows. On the larger barn roofs we sometimes find barn owls, which are protected and require a specialist exclusion approach rather than removal.
The Glastonbury and Wells area sees a particular concentration of small domestic arrays on older stone properties, often with awkward access and tile types that need careful clip selection. Our surveyor specifies hardware on a property by property basis.
Coastal Somerset (Burnham on Sea, Brean, Minehead, Watchet) has additional gull pressure, with marine grade hardware required within five miles of the Bristol Channel coast.
If you have a bird problem on your Somerset solar array, call us on 01278 807000 or contact us here.
Signs you have a problem:
- Droppings on or below the panels
- Cooing, scratching or fluttering from the loft
- Sticks, straw or feathers at the panel edge
- Jackdaw activity around the chimney
- Generation reading drop
Our Somerset Solar Bird Proofing Service
A four stage process. Survey within 48 hours of your call. Fixed written quote covering the linear perimeter of the array, the access (MEWP for most domestic, scaffold for larger rural barn arrays), and any biohazard cleaning required first. Pre installation nest removal subject to seasonal restrictions under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, with guano bagged for biological waste disposal. Then installation of 50mm galvanised or 316 stainless mesh skirting using non penetrating dropper shaped stainless clips that preserve your manufacturer warranty.
Everything is guaranteed in writing.
Call 01278 807000 for a free quote.
Specialist Service by BPCA Level 2 Certified Technicians, call 01278 807000 .
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Contact JG Pest Control now for a free quote on solar panel bird proofing anywhere in Somerset. Every quote is based on array size and access, with a fixed written price after the survey.
What We Install on a Somerset Solar Array
Somerset’s mix of urban pigeon, rural jackdaw and farm scale barn roof work means the specification varies more than in many counties. A typical Somerset job uses some combination of the following.
- 50mm pigeon proof mesh skirt in galvanised steel for inland properties, 316 stainless for anything within five miles of the Bristol Channel coast. Supplied in sheet form, cut to perimeter, tensioned around all four sides of the array.
- Dropper shaped stainless wire clips sized for the panel frame profile. Nothing drilled, nothing glued, nothing screwed into the frame, which is what preserves the manufacturer warranty.
- Wire posts and post and wire systems on the longer linear perimeters of farm scale barn roof installations across the Levels, where the standard skirt is supplemented by perimeter wire on the ridge.
- Stainless polycarbonate gull spikes on coastal jobs at Burnham on Sea, Brean, Minehead and Watchet, where gulls perch on the panel upper edges.
- Biohazard cleaning and disinfection on any array with accumulated guano. All material bagged for biological waste disposal.
- Specialist barn owl handling on the rare occasions a barn owl is found roosting under a farm array. These are protected and we work with the local wildlife officer rather than excluding.
Why DIY Voids Your Warranty
Somerset has a high proportion of farm scale solar where the warranty terms tend to be more demanding than domestic cover, and where the value at stake (often a six figure inverter array on a large dairy or arable barn) makes DIY intervention a particularly expensive mistake. Panel warranties (10 to 12 year product, 25 year performance) from Trina, JA Solar, LG, REC, Jinko, SunPower and Q Cells typically void if any unaccredited third party touches the installation.
Inverter warranties from SolarEdge, Enphase, Tesla, GivEnergy and Sungrow apply the same logic to the DC side. A farm worker climbing up to pull a jackdaw nest out from beneath a panel will almost inevitably disturb the MC4 connectors or the optimisers, voiding inverter warranty cover that could be worth tens of thousands of pounds on a commercial scale installation.
Our installation method touches none of the DC wiring or the optimisers. The mesh clips to the panel frame underside only, so both panel and inverter warranties stay intact.
Somerset Farm and Barn Roof Arrays
The Somerset Levels and the rolling country around Taunton, Yeovil and Wincanton hold one of the highest densities of farm scale solar PV in southern England. These barn and outbuilding installations have a much longer linear perimeter than a typical domestic roof, the rural setting means high jackdaw and starling pressure, and the access is sometimes complicated by working livestock in the surrounding yards. We work with several Somerset based agricultural solar installers on planned proofing at the time of commissioning, which works out significantly cheaper than retrofit and avoids the productivity loss that comes from a year or two of bird fouling between installation and proofing.
For coastal Somerset (Burnham on Sea, Brean, Minehead, Watchet) we always specify marine grade hardware. The Bristol Channel salt air is corrosive and lesser specifications fail within a few years.
Areas We Cover Across Somerset
Our BPCA Level 2 Certified Technicians provide solar panel bird proofing across Somerset, including:
- Taunton
- Bridgwater
- Yeovil
- Frome
- Wells
- Glastonbury
- Street
- Shepton Mallet
- Burnham on Sea
- Weston super Mare
- Minehead
- Watchet
- Wincanton
- Crewkerne
- Chard
- Ilminster
- Bruton
- Castle Cary
- Cheddar
- Axbridge
- Langport
- Somerton
- Wiveliscombe
- Williton
If your town or village is not listed, we still cover it. Call 01278 807000 for solar panel bird proofing anywhere in Somerset.
Frequently Asked Questions: Solar Panel Bird Proofing in Somerset
How quickly can you get to my Somerset property?
We aim to survey within 48 hours across the county. Most of Somerset is within an hour of our locally based technicians, and same week installation is usually achievable once you have accepted the quote.
What does solar bird proofing cost in Somerset?
Every quote is based on array size, perimeter, and access. Free quote on the phone, fixed written price after the survey. Domestic single storey is at the lower end, farm scale barn roof arrays at the higher end. Call 01278 807000 .
Will the proofing void my solar panel or inverter warranty?
No. We use non penetrating dropper shaped stainless clips that attach to the underside of the panel frame without drilling, and we do not touch the DC wiring or optimisers. Both panel warranties stay intact, as do the SolarEdge, Enphase, Tesla, GivEnergy and Sungrow inverter warranties. DIY removal almost always voids one or both.
I have jackdaws nesting under my panels, can you proof for that?
Yes. Jackdaws are one of the species we routinely deal with on Somerset rural and barn roof arrays. The standard cavity skirting handles them, with the proviso that any active nest cannot be removed during the breeding season under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
What about peregrines or barn owls on my array?
Both species are protected and we cannot exclude them in the way we exclude pigeons or jackdaws. If we find a barn owl roosting under a panel or a peregrine using a panel as a regular perch, we will discuss the situation with you and where appropriate consult with the local wildlife officer.
Do you cover the Somerset farm scale solar market?
Yes, extensively. Farm and barn roof PV across the Levels, the Mendip fringe and the country around Taunton and Yeovil is a major part of our Somerset workload. We work with several local solar installers on planned proofing at commissioning. CHAS and SafeContractor accredited.
Is the gull problem in coastal Somerset as bad as further west?
It is significant in Burnham on Sea, Brean and Minehead but not as severe as in Cornwall or North Devon. Marine grade hardware is essential within five miles of the coast, and on properties with active gull activity we combine cavity skirting with supplementary stainless polycarbonate gull spikes on the panel tops.
What qualifications do your technicians hold?
All our installation technicians hold BPCA Level 2 in Pest Management plus IPAF or PASMA for work at height. We carry full public liability insurance.
Ready to book? Call 01278 807000 for a free quote on solar panel bird proofing anywhere in Somerset. For our full UK service see our main solar panel bird proofing page.
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