Aja
Well-Known Member
We use pea netting. One piece strung along the boom to protect the sail cover and another on the afterdeck (Moody 346) to stop the little shites shitting on the hatch.
Very successful
Donald
Very successful
Donald
Has anyone ever found an effective gull deterrent for yachts?
- Thread starter KAL
- Start date
Neeves
Well-Known Member
Tie thin thread or cord between the shrouds so it is just above the spreaders, say 50mm, this will deter them sitting there, you should be able to leave it there permanently. I thought if its really thin they cannot see it and so when they touch it they scare and cannot take off easily. This works just above the boom as well, similarly along the top of the stanchions - but it needs dedication to install and remove every time you sail.
Our neighbour has a recording of an eagle's nest, which is exceptionally tedious, but does keep their and our yacht relatively clear - but we also installed bunting.
Owls seem to be a waste of time, those rotating devices, mentioned above, do see to work, but leave gaps.
They are creatures of habit so the more often you are on the yacht the more likely they are to find somewhere that has no disturbances. They get used to stationary deterrents, like snakes and owls
Buy a cat? - which surely is the answer for the oil rig?
Jonathan
Our neighbour has a recording of an eagle's nest, which is exceptionally tedious, but does keep their and our yacht relatively clear - but we also installed bunting.
Owls seem to be a waste of time, those rotating devices, mentioned above, do see to work, but leave gaps.
They are creatures of habit so the more often you are on the yacht the more likely they are to find somewhere that has no disturbances. They get used to stationary deterrents, like snakes and owls
Buy a cat? - which surely is the answer for the oil rig?
Jonathan
macd
Well-Known Member
Every cat I've observed has been scared stuff of herring gulls, the main culprit in N Europe, and with good reason. Herring gulls are about the same size as your kelp gull and often quite aggressive, especially if accustomed to people, as harbour gulls generally are.
Unless, of course you were suggesting cats could intercept incoming poo, which I think would ask rather a lot of even their famous agility - not to mention their fondness for napping
mjcoon
Well-Known Member
Unless, of course you were suggesting cats could intercept incoming poo, which I think would ask rather a lot of even their famous agility - not to mention their fondness for napping
And for keeping clean; preening 2nd only to napping?
Mike.
Orla
Well-Known Member
You could always try one of these, I took this in Inverness a few years ago 
longjohnsilver
Well-Known Member
Tried all sorts over the past 25 years. Gullsweep is good, netting is the most effective, nothing else works, apart from spikes,
Halo
Well-Known Member
+1 I had several years moored on a drying mooring in Whitby. The grokels kept feeding the seagulls which shat all over my decks. I got some sweat pea netting and used some piston hanks from a retired sail to make it easy to clip over the decks. Worked like a charm but a bit of a hassle getting it on and off every trip.
mjcoon
Well-Known Member
Thanks for that; I've just copied the design in the hope of keeping a crow off my bird feeder!
Mike.
Paddy Layback
N/A
KAL
Well-Known Member
Thought of the falcon kite idea, but we've got a Yacht and on a swinging mooring it would just get caught in the rigging when the wind blows up the jaxi.
Haven't had them on the spreaders to date, thankfully.
It's not just gulls, BTW. We have also had wagtails adopt us, coming in to roost under the sprayhood at dusk, or, worse still, in the end of the stackpack. Delightful to look at, the little buggers crap all over everything. Had to tie down the end of the stack pack to deny them entry. Result: our companionway hatch is peppered, along with all the area under the sprayhood.
I think we need to move aboard and live there. They never seem to come when we are there. Now, that's a good idea....
Haven't had them on the spreaders to date, thankfully.
It's not just gulls, BTW. We have also had wagtails adopt us, coming in to roost under the sprayhood at dusk, or, worse still, in the end of the stackpack. Delightful to look at, the little buggers crap all over everything. Had to tie down the end of the stack pack to deny them entry. Result: our companionway hatch is peppered, along with all the area under the sprayhood.
I think we need to move aboard and live there. They never seem to come when we are there. Now, that's a good idea....
mjcoon
Well-Known Member
Arcady
Well-Known Member
What do you do when a bird craps on your deck?
... don't invite her out again!
(to paraphrase a birthday card I bought recently) ?
... don't invite her out again!
(to paraphrase a birthday card I bought recently) ?
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
Get a stuffed seagull & hang it up upside down like a dead parrot
That may scare them off
That may scare them off
Yngmar
Well-Known Member
Owls and other plastic decorations don't work at all. The gulls are far too smart for that. They do hate anything touching them though, so the Gullsweep or above mentioned "Daddy long legs" work, but only in the area they sweep - you'll find a gull quite happily perching right next to one where it can't hit it.
The only thing the herring gulls here are truly respecting are the bigger, meaner versions of themselves, the great black-backed gulls, which in turn are afraid of nothing and nobody and will happily take on an osprey: http://www.arkive.org/great-black-backed-gull/larus-marinus/video-00.html
The best method to keep herring gulls away seems to be living on your boat - they only go to the many rarely used boats here. Never feed them anywhere near your boat and tell others not to do so either. They also do love freshwater baths, so never let a puddle of rainwater sit in your dinghy or pooling in a sagging canvas cover.
Now if anyone has an effective cure for starlings...
The only thing the herring gulls here are truly respecting are the bigger, meaner versions of themselves, the great black-backed gulls, which in turn are afraid of nothing and nobody and will happily take on an osprey: http://www.arkive.org/great-black-backed-gull/larus-marinus/video-00.html
The best method to keep herring gulls away seems to be living on your boat - they only go to the many rarely used boats here. Never feed them anywhere near your boat and tell others not to do so either. They also do love freshwater baths, so never let a puddle of rainwater sit in your dinghy or pooling in a sagging canvas cover.
Now if anyone has an effective cure for starlings...
mjcoon
Well-Known Member
Didn't b****y work, though; the crow has just flown off with yet another 90g fat block...
Mike.
duncan99210
Well-Known Member
The way to deal with the crow nicking fat blocks is to embedded some large fishing hooks on lines in the block and tie the line off to the feeder. The crow won't be able to take the block away and the smaller birds will eat round the hooks. Alternatively, put the block inside a mesh bag and suspend it from the feeder: tits and other small birds will be able to perch on it to feed whereas the crow won't be able to.
Ludd
Well-Known Member
Here in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, someone mentioned the other day that you don't get seagulls shitting all over the pontoons and boats. You see them flying over, occasionally.
So nthere's your answer--- move the boat to the Canaries!
So nthere's your answer--- move the boat to the Canaries!
Sandyman
Well-Known Member
mjcoon
Well-Known Member
Thanks, I shall try something like that. Maybe using bungee, for entertainment! It's a very new phenomenon...
Mike.
grumpy_o_g
Well-Known Member
Be grateful you don't have swarms of Starlings overhead after they've just lunched on Blackberries from the nearby hedgerows
