It makes sense to me. EPA is in the process of licensing a goose
repellent, the active ingredient of which happens to be the same chemical
which gives grape juice its flavor to us, only geese hate it. It would be
sprayed on grass in urban areas which the geese eat.

Fortunately, pest control technology is moving very rapidly in the
direction of pest-specific repellents/toxicants vs the broad-spectrum
insecticides with which nozzle-noses formerly hosed down problem sites.
These play upon the weak link in the target species' physiology, and focus
on an attribute(s) not shared by most/any other species. The public has
made pretty clear its increasing impatience with the killing of lots
of non-target species in order to get at one pest in many environments
(particularly around homes and children), and millions of research dollars
are being spent annually to find and exploit pest species' vulnerabilities
while providing safety to humans and non-targets.

I don't know about this squirrel-repellent and bird safety specifically,
but a lot of research is going into this type of pest problem. Hope this
helps.



Charles Easterberg
University of Washington
easterbg at u.washington.edu