Seagulls

[Shemlock]

Those dirty birds!!! First visit to the boat in 3 weeks and I could not believe the F***ing mess!!! Im looking at a hanging horned owl to deter them.Has anyone had any experience with this? Another question would be "is there a true solution to this problem" before I go spending money on junk.
I would appreciate any success stories you have.
Thanks for your time in advance.
Shemlock

[mbianka]

Just be glad you don't have to deal with cormorants like I did last year!
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: THE HAZARDS AND BEAUTY OF FALL
From what I've seen the horned owls eventually become non effective. The power boats I've seen use the sweeping bar driven by the wind or colored streamers (which make the boat look like a used car lot) but, seem to deter the seagulls.

[skipmac]

My experience owls, scarecrows and any other static device doesn't do much good. After a few days or even a few hours when the local birds see that the "owl" never moves they figure out it is not dangerous. You need something that moves, jumps, flutters, reacts to bird presence or blocks where they perch.

If you just need to keep them off your spreaders a lot of sailors report good results stringing a piece of mono-filament an inch or two over the spreader. Hanging old CDs like a mobile that blow around and flash in the sun is another option.

If the gulls are hanging out on your deck one thing I have tried at home for 4 legged pests is a very effective and ingenious device. It is a motion activated water sprinkler, based on the same type that is used to water your yard. The type that has a spring loaded arm that bounces back and forth into the water stream coming out of a nozzle and goes chck-chck-chck-chck. Uses a 9 V battery and the sensitivity of the motion sensor adjusts as well as the range, width and angle of the spray. Any time anything moves into the sensor range the spray pops on for a few seconds. Scares the s&&t out of any critters. If you are at a dock it might be a problem if you can't set a spray pattern to not wet your neighbors or their boats. Also, has to hook up to water pressure to work but that could be rigged to your regular on board water system.

[zeehag]

owl doesnt work--watched the gulls laugh at them...
i have a real live CAT... he is a large cat and guards boat very well. caught a seagull--i have had no problem with gulls.
short of getting a feline companion, stringing monofilament the length of your boom, just about an inch or 2 above the sail cover does work, as the birds cannot perch on it.
my tarps seem to keep off the birds who enjoy my mastheads--the flapping scares em off....

[p_everette]

I'll have to see if I can find them, but I have/had pictures of seagulls perched on the fake owls, pooping on them.

[micah719]

If anyone ever goes fishing on the old Pyrmont swing bridge in Sydney Harbour (under the Anzac Bridge), watch out....there's about 10000 gulls living on the permanently open bridge, and if you wake them at night they'll all circle over you, and they are floodlit by the Anzac's lights. Be warned! Wear a sou'wester, and watch your bait.

Sheer Impudence:

[Cotemar]

Use Zip Ties pointy side up on your mast spreaders.

Arrange them an inch or so apart on the spreaders with the tails pointed straight up and it will discourage birds from using the spreaders.

Has worked for a few boats in my marina

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by micah719

If anyone ever goes fishing on the old Pyrmont swing bridge in Sydney Harbour (under the Anzac Bridge), watch out....there's about 10000 gulls living on the permanently open bridge, and if you wake them at night they'll all circle over you, and they are floodlit by the Anzac's lights. Be warned! Wear a sou'wester, and watch your bait.

Sheer Impudence:

Also a reminder not to leave any lightweight cameras, keys or other items lying about when seagulls are in the area:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: BOATERS BEWARE OF THIEVES IN THE NIGHT

[micah719]

Still, could be worse......

[HopeFloats]

Originally Posted by micah719

Still, could be worse......

BWahahahaha!

[bobconnie]

LOL Just be glad ya don't have Pelicans like we do LOL They make a worse mess and can get aggresive at times !! Even our dogs cant get rid of em !! just saying it could be worse!

[Eleven]

I have seen hawk models on long whip sticks. Wind makes the 'hawk' dip and swing, very lifelike, if your a gull. Like an unstable kite but it doesn't come down when the wind stops.

[pwhitburn]

I have used the Gull Sweep which I originaly purchased from West Marine however now available from other retailers. Having tried Owls, Snakes, flags, bird scare and CDs without success I am pleased with Gull Sweep or equivalent.
Its not 100% effective but better than the rest. Keep in mind that the gulls like to land into the wind so positioning is important.
Good luck

[sctpc]

Last year we had them lay eggs on our boat and the ***** was everywhere took hours to clean. so this year I put a fine fruit net over the boat About 3 inches off the deck and not even one ***** on my boat, down side it take 5 mins to remove the 2 nets and ten to put back up.
Hope this helps.

[micah719]

Thanks Cap'n Whitburn! Didn't know what a gullsweep was, so I looked it up:

Welcome Aboard to Gullsweep, the finest bird deterrent for boats