Bird poo

[30boat]

A flock of small birds have taken to spend the night on my boat and the amount of poo has to be seen to be believed.I was surprised by loads of tiny birds taking off from the cockpit when I went to to the boat some nights ago.The boats on the moorings nearby are untouched.What can I do to discourage them?I suppose I could make a mesh awning but it would have to cover the whole boat to be effective and would be a pain to remove and store.I need something more practical.

 

[Eric79]

A fake hawk or other bird of prey might work, I think you can buy them online.

 

[oceanpilgrim]

Try a fake rubber snake ,it worked ok for me

 

[duncan99210]

Although designed to deter gulls, I suspect that this would do the trick with most birds http://www.gullstop.co.uk/daddi_long_legs.asp . We used to have two on our boat in the Menai which used to be thick with seagull poo - really good bits of kit at a pretty sensible price.

 

[30boat]

Although designed to deter gulls, I suspect that this would do the trick with most birds http://www.gullstop.co.uk/daddi_long_legs.asp . We used to have two on our boat in the Menai which used to be thick with seagull poo - really good bits of kit at a pretty sensible price.

At first I thought it was gulls so I've layed ropes across the boat from the guardwires and over the boom along most of the length of the boat and indeed there was almost no poo for a while but now the gulls have been replaced by small birds that have no trouble flying between the lines . I think that device wouldn't work as it's ment for larger birds.

 

[Chalker]

I run bunting from stern to bow and back the other side, then into the cockpit.
Plus thin bungee from gauardwire to guardwire across the cockpit. Where these bungees cross winches I have plastc standoffs to raise them from the winch tops.
Works for me in Portsmouth.

 

[Lakesailor]

A fake hawk or other bird of prey might work, I think you can buy them online.

I think not

Rubber snakes do work

 

[colind3782]

A shotgun would do the trick but may have an adverse effect on the gelcoat.

 

[30boat]

A shotgun would do the trick but may have an adverse effect on the gelcoat.

The thought has crossed my mind believe me...

 

[aslabend]

I like the rubber snake idea, might give that a try next summer.

 

[Rossynant]

Had plastic owl high in the rigging and clean decks. But I've taken it off and forgot to hoist back there when leaving for winter...
So come spring will know if this makes a difference

 

[davidwf]

Used to be something similar to this http://www.scarem.co.uk/bird-scaring-kites/scarem-hawk-kite at Neptune marina in Ipswich was flown from a pole next to the lifting dock often thought it looked like a good bet. Might have a problem getting it tangled in the rigging though.

 

[reginaldon]

A string of old CDs, especially James Last might work.

 

[sarabande]

these self-launching hawk kites are beginning to find great favour amongst farming businesses. Silent, no power, detachable...

http://www.scarem.co.uk/

and a good video

http://www.scarem.co.uk/#!prettyPhoto[rt_theme_thumb]/0/

 

[nigelmercier]

A bird once shat all over my deck.

I didn't ask her back.

 

[Boo2]

Rubber snakes do work

That's unexpected. Where would a British seagull have ever come across a snake ?

Boo2

 

[sarabande]

it's atavistic

 

[Lakesailor]

Yep. Birds are not too bright. It's all in their genes.

A bloke on our moorings built this from a stick and a couple of tin cans

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[Boo2]

Yep. Birds are not too bright. It's all in their genes.

A bloke on our moorings built this from a stick and a couple of tin cans

Well the birds at the SYC are made of sterner stuff than that, I was standing at the foot of the mast and rattling halyards to try to get rid of them. They went in their own good time.

Might try the rubber snake thing though...

Boo2

 

[30boat]

I'm getting a few rubber snakes,they're cheap on Ebay .I'll put them all over the decks.SWMBO will have a fit next time she goes to the boat though.http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-WILD-...rations_Occasions_ET&var=&hash=item51a0906d06