Pesky Gulls

[Taff in Glaws]

Anyone know of any aesthetically pleasing gull proof devices I can fit around my chimney stack and probably on the pot. Swooping gulls are even irking my neighbours Buddhist belief system despite baby Taff cooing over the 'iccle cute babbies' popping up. :evil:

 

[MdB]

(may be a tad difficult to get onto the roof...)

Top tip for visitors to Cornwall: Do not feed the flying rats. It is a sure fire way to annoy the locals...

(unfortunately, I don't have any sensible suggestions. Long spiky things seems to be the favourate thing here but they look horrible)

 

[alice]

Hmm... I bet if you thought about it you could make one of these pretty easily.

http://www.birdbusters.com/pigeon_control_repellent.html

In Lowestoft, the gull deterrents of choice are the spikes and nets. The nets are very ugly and I hate to see them draped across the fronts of buildings, but I suppose they're needed. My mother had gull problems, but when she got the crazy women next door to stop feeding them, they went away.


alice

 

[Flyfisher]

If someone is feeding them, you'll never get rid of them. Nets and spikes won't stop them flying around houses if there's food being left out. "Flying rats" is a good description, and we all know how resourceful rats can be.

You could try taking up falconry :wink: A friend used to run a business based on his falconry 'hobby' and had contracts with various USAF bases throughout East Anglia and some municipal rubbish tips to keep the areas clear of birds. I understand it worked well on the air bases but his hawks were swamped by gulls on the rubbish tips. They also returned very quickly.

 

[another_richard]

Best way to get rid of seagulls is for one to be shot on top of your roof; leaving the corpse up there deters future invaders for years to come. Trust me it works.

From:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northwest/fun/pages/whenseagullsattack.shtml

 

[Penners]

You could try taking up falconry

A hundred or so years ago, when I were a lad, we lived in St Mawes, Cornwall. The seagulls were a hell of nuisance whenever the fishing boats came in, so they tried getting a falconer in to scare them off.

The flippin' falcon was terrified of the seagulls - wouldn't go near them. Needles to say, the seagulls laughed like hell at him.

 

[michael]

Have you considered a roof mounted electronic bird scarer? Have a look at http://www.pesthelp.co.uk (10th item down the list)

 

[michael]

Sorry,not quite right. The above website is correct but you then have to select "Garden pests" then "Birds" and then its the 10th item down the list

 

[Taff in Glaws]

The 2 gulls have only recently nested on chimney stack and it is very probable they have previously been guests of Taffy Heights prior to us moving in last year. Previous owner had a love for all God's creatures and she probably even soaked the beams for the little old woodworm!

Gull chicks have fallen out of nest onto lower roof levels and have been snatched commando style by my ex para neighbour (divebombing vigilant gulls are tricky customers). So hopefully gulls will b off soon and then I can spike around the pot and put some wire mesh device to prevent further roosting. Not particularly a problem all year round so I'm not particularly keen on shooting them as it's illegal :shock: and I don't think it would look particularly pleasing to the eye having seagull corpses draped on your roof unless your Damian Hirst.

Thanks Micheal for pest help site there is a mesh device you can place in pot to stop roosting and doesn't look that ugly.

 

[Penners]

Have you considered a roof mounted electronic bird scarer?

Yeah! That'll zap the b*ggers!

 

[Taff in Glaws]

I'll take one of them can they deliver today!

 

[Penners]

I'm afraid I can't personally recommend this model. On the plus side, it'll fry your gull in a nanosecond. On the minus side, you need a 50,000-volt electrical supply to your house.

 

[Gervase]

I remember going up to the aerial platform at the top of the Post Office (or BT) Tower some years ago and seeing some of the frazzled pigeons that I was assured had inadvertently strayed too close to the microwave transmitters and roost became roast.
Maybe some sort of Blue Peter trickery with a Tesco microwave, some sticky-backed plastic and a lurid imagination would do the trick...

 

[Penners]

Here's one I made earlier...

 

[alice]

The tomatos are a nice touch. Would they be good gull bait?

alice