WESTON, Fla. – The owner of a South Florida pest control company is speaking about an incident that saw several birds poisoned in Weston last month.
Bill Robles owns AAA Pest Control, a company with over 30 years of experience.
He said the employee that was cited in the incident is one of his best.
“This was purely unintentional,” Robles said.
Last month Local 10 News reported on birds that had appeared to be poisoned at Weston Town Center.
Shoppers capturing the disturbing scene of Grackles, many in distress, flailing around.
Argentinian restaurant Graziano’s confirmed they hired an unnamed pest company to handle what they deemed to be nuisance birds around their outdoor dining area.
After swift backlash, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission launched an investigation.
They later cited 52-year-old Thomas Nickerson with violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Robles defended his employee.
“It was not done intentionally,” Robles said. “He has been with us for over 25 years. He knows what he’s doing. He’s a professional and he’s also a family man. Hopefully these reports are not going to ruin a family man for our company. We have 22 employees here. It’s an unfortunate situation. We’re in the business of controlling pests.”
Robles confirmed his company has used Avitrol and explained what the product does.
“As far as I know, the product was used to its label, I wasn’t on the job site,” he said. “The way the product works, some birds will get sick and basically scare the other birds away. From what I understand, the birds that were affected were affected temporarily and came back to life. One bird was hit by a car is what I’m told. As far as the birds that were affected, they were stunned.”
FWC also alleged Nickerson did not properly follow the product label for Avitrol.
“I don’t know what they found. I don’t know what their investigation will show,” Robles said. “I don’t see how they could determine it was not used correctly. The product is made with corn, impregnated with the dosage. You mix it with regular corn so that only some of the birds are affected to basically scare the other birds away. That’s how it’s used. I don’t know what they found in their investigation.”
Robles went on to say they have never faced an issue like this before.
Nickerson remains employed by AAA Pest Control.