Bird Crap

[tetleys]

Whats the best way to stop the seagulls from crapping on your boat when in the marina ?

 

[Cliveshep]

Speak nicely to 'em?

 

[Nick_H]

persuade your marina to play agressive seagull noises through a PA system.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Sprinkle food on someone elses boat? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[tetleys]

Ha Ha. Have tried all the aforementioned and none appear to work !!
Seriously though, is it an owl on the radar arch, placky bags on the rails, cd,s on lengths of cord ??
come on folks there must be something that does the trick.

 

[Kipper]

I have tried allsorts tokeep the little buggers off and the most effective by far was i big Fish wind soch thing on the radar arch. It had a long tail that flapped obout in the wind and worked really well. It blew away in the gails so i'm lookingfor another one on the web at the moment. If you get one about a meter long it should do the job and they look better than plastic bags.

 

[Nat]

32 grams of No 6 shot works perfectly

 

[Ullevi83]

Try "scary eye balloon" type of deterrent. We use them to scare the pigeons away from our hangars at work. Pretty effective. Pigeons are the most difficult bird to scare apparently (ignored several other deterrents, sound, plastic owls, snakes etc.) so should work well with gulls too.

 

[whisper]

Having tried, or seen in action on other boats, loads of schemes, the only ones we've found to work are :- a)All-over netting, spread just above the surfaces of the boat.
b) Fine cord "cat's cradle" stretched ditto.

They both work completely for us and we currently have option b). Both are time consuming to attach however, which is the only downside.

The CD system can be bloody annoying for your neighbours due to the incessant flashing in the sunlight.

 

[Brayman]

Our marina uses "bird of prey" noises through loudspeakers and it works a treat. The calls are only just audible by humans - well me anyway, and I might be going a bit deaf.

 

[longjohnsilver]

What works for me is a length of fishing line from bows to mast and back stretched taught. It "sings" in any wind and the birds can't see it so are surprised when they try and land and don't return.

 

[ccscott49]

I shot two, hung their carcasses from my boom, bit smelly for a while, no gulls came near the boat, even when the carcaases were thrown over the side, they still never came back.
This was in Dartmouth, famous for it's seagull population!
Another way is to shoot all the tourists that feed the effin things, with chips and stuff! But might be considered by some, a little OTT.

 

[Mister_Smee]

[ QUOTE ]
Another way is to shoot all the tourists that feed the effin things, with chips and stuff! But might be considered by some, a little OTT.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds entirely reasonable to me /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Nat]

Yes I used this method round the pheasant pens on the land where I used to vermin control, only with crows & foxes. Keeps the live ones well away from the pheasant eggs & poults.
On the boat hanging the dead gulls off the boom also keeps the flies away from the cockpit.Another advantage /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[epervier]

shooting emits is too good 'angin's the way to deal with shitehawk feedin' tourists, same for them on the New Forest blocking the roads to see the scraggy ponys in the middle of summer,'ang the lot of 'em I say, arh arh.

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[ccscott49]

Thats exactly where I learnt the trick, my dad taught me!

 

[Will]

Don\'t use snakes

Not unless you tell people first. I was moving a customer's boat recently when I trod on one of these "snakes" on the flybridge. Yes it was rubber but no I didn't know that at the time. (it was dusk and I am generally slow on the uptake anyway). Consequently said customer's smart new Princess 67 very nearly got wrapped around a pontoon as I ran away from the controls, screaming.... Plastic bags will do just fine thanks.

 

[Lakesailor]

Don\'t use owls

 

[cliff]

Bicabonate of soda.

get some doughy bread and make little balls of the bread filled with bicarb. Sprinkle them over the deck and go away - the gulls will flock down to eat the bread and will not return!
--------------------

"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity"
sailroom <span style="color:red">The place to auction your previously loved boatie bits</span>

 

[bigwow]

Pet sparrowhawk?