How to Get Rid of Gulls

Seagulls carry diseases

These birds can cause food poisoning and a number of other health issues to humans by transmitting diseases such as E. coli and salmonella.

Seagull droppings

Bird droppings not only damage the aesthetic of your roof, windows, and car but also cause more permanent damage.

These droppings are highly corrosive, and the acidity can erode your home’s structure over time, instigating large repair costs.

Bird poop is also extremely toxic and carries many of the same diseases as the gulls themselves. If a child or pet were to consume some accidentally, they may require medical attention

Property Damage

Beyond the erosion caused by the bird’s waste, having seagulls constantly leaving and returning to your roof can cause extensive property damage. When landing and taking off gulls can dislodge roof tiles, drains, and gutters, compromising the weather proofing of your home and causing dampness and mould indoors.

Having seagulls building nests on your property is also a huge fire risk. These birds will use pretty much anything to build their nest including smoking cigarettes which can cause a nest to ignite in seconds.

Insects

Bird nests and roosting sites are attractive for some insects like fleas and bird mites, meaning that you could soon be facing more than one infestation in your home.

Food Raids

Urban gulls will do almost anything to secure food sources, from raiding rubbish bins to taking food straight out of your hand. If children are attacked by a gull looking for food debris, they may sustain injuries and be traumatised by the incident.

1) Eliminate Food Sources

Gull numbers in busy urban areas have boomed due to the large amounts of food waste readily available to the birds.

If seagulls know there is a food source on or near your property, they will keep returning.

You should never feed gulls and should make sure all your food waste is secured in bins with a heavy lid.

Unfortunately, there is only so much you can do on your own, and if your neighbours are not as committed to tackling the area’s seagull infestation you will need to combine these steps with other deterrents.

2) Use a Decoy

Another way to deter seagulls is to install a fake bird of prey on your property.

You can buy decoy owls or kites shaped like hawks which will work to scare seagulls away and encourage them to move elsewhere.

Static decoys like plastic models of predator birds may only work for a limited period of time as seagulls are intelligent birds and once they realise the fake isn’t moving they will return.

3) Bird Spikes

Installing spike stripes is one of the best methods to keep pest birds from landing on your property.

Spike strips can easily be applied to affected surfaces and you don’t need to worry about birds injuring themselves as they are designed to make it difficult to land without causing significant harm.

These spikes will stop seagulls from getting a foothold and they will hopefully choose a more convenient nesting site.

Spikes will also prove effective against other pest birds like pigeons.

4) Bird netting

Bird netting is another non-lethal way of preventing wild birds from landing.

Bird netting is particularly effective on business premises and in large warehouses where you want to discourage birds from settling in the rafters but can also be installed on a smaller scale in residential areas.

In urban areas seagulls have so many options for nesting sites, they normally don’t need too much encouragement to move on so an inconvenience like bird netting may well solve your seagull issue.