S....y Seagulls

[Cascader]

No, this isn't a critique of the grand old British outboards, it's a plea for advice on coping with the excrescences of these vile birds.

My fingernails have shifted the fatty globules, but how do I get rid of the white, calcareous-like crust. Its on plastic, fibreglass, varnished wood, perspex, my shorts and my mind. Please help. If you know of a legal way of killing the b....y things I would be very glad to know that too.

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[muminator]

They're a bl**dy nightmare, aren't they?

I may get shot down for this, but I've found the best cure is prevention, and the best prevention we've found is the line of old CD's strung out from backstay to mast. I wasn't convinced, but we've definitely found it helps to protect sprayhood, boom cover and deck. Can't claim much success on shorts, however.

Better than the plastic owl anyway, which seems to be the marine version of the garden gnome, and about as useful...

<hr width=100% size=1>Definition of an expert: An Ex is a has-been, and a Spurt is a drip under pressure...

 

[melosskipper]

Now we don't want to be held accountable for this . . . but according to our teenage son/brat the 'in thing' amongst yobbish teenagers at our local school is feeding asprin to the Shite hawks in the belief that they explode!!! - judging by the sudden amount of dead birds on the roads in our vicinity there must be something in it even if it makes them dopey enough to get run over!

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[m1taylor]

Apparently raw fresh yeast does the same!

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[William_H]

When cleaning up after seagulls it is worth wetting down the mess and giving it some time to dissolve ie half an hour. If you can keep it damp when you come back it is easier to wash off. Seagulls return to a messy place so keep it clean and clean often. Here in spring they like to build a nest which can be very messy so avoid boom tents etc which provide a shelter also make sure there are no small openings for small birds (we call them martins here) they love to nest in an open ended boom.
I have found again here on Swan River Oz that a different location can be quite comparatively free of gulls so a move of a few hundred metres may help. My main problem is cormorants that sit on the bow and stern rail. Anyway you have my sympathy if not much help. Don't be tempted to try a net. The job of removing a live seagull trapped in the net is quite horrible. regards will

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[Guest]

Wartime trick ...

small piece of carbide embedded into a piece of bread .....

<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ... and of course Yahoo groups :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gps-navigator/

 

[Guest]

on of the best things is a long flapping flag or pendant ...... but you need one from stays, mast, boom etc. etc.

but as another has said .... a move of a short distance often effects a cure. I know from my previous having a Cormorant - they like to overview the fish and if you move ...... bang goes their favorite perch to dive and eat from.


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ... and of course Yahoo groups :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gps-navigator/

 

[ex-Gladys]

Prevention... as has been said. A subjective observation is that blue apears to attract them. Boats with blue sailcovers around us are plastered, we only have a few footprints....

<hr width=100% size=1>Larry Botheras

Anderson 26 "Amber"

 

[Guest]

If cover is white ..... gulls think its shite ..... covered all over that is maybe ????

<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ... and of course Yahoo groups :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gps-navigator/

 

[Captain Coochie]

The next question is how do i remove an exploded seagull from my deck ???

<hr width=100% size=1>Rowers ......Man in a boat ......Get the picture ?

 

[MIKE_MCKIE]

Not being able to get carbide when in my youth, we used to pinch baking powder from Mum & put in a bit of dough, or doughy bread. If you got it right there were occasionally spectacular results, but the mess was a good deal worse than a dollop of bird S***!!!
Has anyone tried one of those high frequency garden pet-keeper-offers? Believe they are either battery or 12v, so should be ok for a boat. May be worth a try.
At the risk of changing my luck for the worse, I found that after I had fitted the wind genny, the problem was a lot less, though I have to admit that it is a rather expensive way of solving the problem!
Cheers
Mike

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[steve_l]

Pastic ducks work for me... the hunting decoy kind.
One on the foredeck, one on the stern.
Before, boat was covered in "guano". After, not a trace!

I also have one on the end of my jetty. Watched a gull giving it 20 mins of verbal abuse before it got fed up and flew off without dumping )

Must be some kind of "territory" thing I suppose...

-steve-

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[Seafort]

Drop some cooking oil onto a rag and place over the excrescence untill it softens, a piece of cake from there /forums/images/icons/wink.gif.

Dave.

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[Guest]

But think on the satisfaction ! nm

**

<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ... and of course Yahoo groups :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gps-navigator/

 

[LittleShip]

Walk down the pontoon about four or five boats, throw bread on that boat that should move them??

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I wish I'd been born rich instead of good looking ?

 

[dulcibella]

Re: But think on the satisfaction ! nm

Please don't use the CDs on a string if you berth in Port Solent marina. I live there, and the lighthouse-like flashes produced by rotating CDs just after dawn are most disturbing when they align with my bedroom window!

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[Stemar]

An old gardening trick is black thread across flower beds. It doesn't hurt the birds, so no sadistic satisfaction, but is effective.

I was starting to have problems until I used a length of bungy cord stertched about 6ins above my boom, which effectively means the little b*gg*rs can't land on it. visits are now fairly rare.

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[maxi]

Re: Seafort

Yes but, what do you actually do with this piece of cake? and don't the seagulls quite enjoy cake?

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[mirabriani]

When using a site hut, certain birds used to perch on the telephone line.
We used to give a sharp jerk on the slack inside to launch them like a rocket.
The same ones never seem to come back, must have a memory!
Briani

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[Rohorn]

Hi...recently read book about American treasure hunters, vexed about guano, put a carefully tuned current around rail of their shiny Hi-tech boat. First switched on...explosion of birds skywards as voltage between legs was enough to shock them. All the birds flew off except one. Closer look at the remaining old bird...he only had one leg. After a little while the gulls started coming back to perch as before...but on one leg only. Evolution goes perhaps faster than we think....
This doesn't help at all, but.....
Cheers....R

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