How to Get Rid of Seagulls and Stop Them Nesting | Advice (2024)

Seagulls are a staple of any UK seaside town or resort. These birds are part of a seaside culture, but when it comes to a local home or business owner, seagulls can be a nuisance that will leave residents wondering how to get rid of seagulls.

When getting rid of seagulls, practical traps and repellents are the best options to utilise to ensure the birds are repelled from your property. Falconry, anti-bird spikes, parallel wires, bird netting, bird gels, decoy kites, and lasers are all effective in ridding seagulls from your property.

Even the most ardent bird lovers admit that seagulls are, at best, a nuisance, and at worst a threat.This article will explore a multitude of ways that you can repel seagulls away from your property and ensure that the birds will stay away.

How to Stop Seagulls From Nesting

Seagulls are a type of bird that prefers to stay grouped together in a large colony. Since a seagull population is a coastal bird, when scouting for areas to build their nests, any structure that is far away from humans or other predators will likely do.

Seagulls are not picky birds, which would lead you to believe that it shouldn’t be so hard to keep seagulls away – but seagulls like to breed constantly, which means keeping a large population away isn’t going to be an easy task. Seagull droppings can also stain and discolour rooftops, the sides of buildings and homes, and the pavement down below.

For areas that are closer to popular food sources, methods will need to be increased to repel the birds. Before any measures can be taken to remove the birds, it must be understood that seagulls are protected by law, and harming them and certainly killing them can result in hefty fines and possibly criminal charges.

Seagulls are also very territorial, especially when it comes to areas that harbour safety for their nests. If the birds are left undisturbed throughout a season, they will come back around to the same spot year after year to build their nests all over again.

Once the winter season starts to come to an end, seagulls will return to a previously inhabited site to mate and begin nesting their young. A female can typically lay between 2-4 eggs and the eggs will hatch in roughly 30 days after laid, with the young chicks sticking around the area and near their parents throughout the rest of the summer and into the autumn.

So, how do you get rid of seagulls? Let’s take a look at some of the best methods you can use to make sure the birds stay away from your property:

Anti-Bird Spikes

Anti-bird spikes are a set of attachable spikes that can be fastened to a surface to prevent gulls from perching or nesting in areas you want to keep bird-free. The spikes will not necessarily harm the gulls, which is good in order to stay on the right side of the law; however, the spikes will deter the gulls from setting up shop wherever the spikes are laid.

Parallel Wires

Bird-proofing with parallel wires is a great way to keep seagulls away from your roof or other areas of your home that are attractive to gulls. This method works by using parallel wires that run across the structure that prevents gulls from landing and nesting.

Bird Netting

Bird netting is somewhat unsightly but is very effective at keeping seagulls out of certain places. This mesh netting works much like the previous examples and creates a net barrier that prevents the birds from nesting.

Bird Gels

A sticky trap, or sticky gel, is a bird repellent that keeps seagulls at bay by using a chemical that creates a translucent barrier across structures that causes a bird’s feet to become stuck to the surface, which makes the bird struggle to get free. A seagull would not want to go through the experience of having to break free of the sticky chemical a second time and therefore, will avoid landing on structures that contain the gel.

Decoy Kites

Decoy kites can get rid of seagulls by using a kite-shaped decoy bird image to sway in the wind to deter a seagull from landing in a certain area.

Lasers

Lasers used against seagull populations can be effective due to the piercing light that blinds the gulls once they scout an area for nesting. This method can be initially effective, however, the gulls may become accustomed to the lasers over time.

How to Get Rid of Seagulls on the Roof

Seagulls look for places to hide and nest and there is no better area better suited for this than the roof. When it comes to figuring out how to scare off seagulls from your roof, the best method is to figure out methods that will keep seagull populations away from the roof.

A good seagull deterrent to consider using for your roof is bird netting or parallel wires. These two methods need little upkeep on your part and can work around the clock to keep the birds firmly off of your roof.

If you are wondering how to scare seagulls from roof structures, decoy kites require less installation, but you have to make sure the birds do not become used to the sight of the decoy kite.

How to Get Rid of Seagulls on Boats

Boats are tricky when it comes to a seagull population. Your boat is constantly moving if it’s during the season when you take it out often, therefore, it can be difficult to keep gulls from it and any possible food sources that may be attracting the gulls.

Bird gels will likely be your best bet in this scenario. Gels are not bulky and obvious and can stick to surfaces that may deter the birds from landing on surfaces that have the gel.

You can apply the gel all across the surface of the boat and once the gulls become stuck in the gel and have to wrestle free from it, they won’t want to go through the trouble of having to do this every time they decide to land on your boat.

What Will Scare Away Seagulls?

We have mentioned several products that may be used to get a seagull population to steer clear of your property, but the best way is to use real birds of prey to scare the gulls completely. Falconry is a proven technique that will scare the gulls from an area, even if there is an abundance of food in the area which they like.

Gulls soon get the message that the territory is occupied by a predator, and will feel the need to take wing and move on. Using a natural threat like this is the most humane and effective way to rid your property of pest birds on a long-term basis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Baking Soda Kill Seagulls?

Baking soda will not work as a food deterrent to kill seagulls. Not only is this untrue, but it is also cruel and illegal to contemplate such an act.

Baking soda will simply cause a seagull to become sick and may cause some stomach discomfort, including the release of gas. A seagull will not explode from eating baking soda and will likely not die.

How Do You Stop Seagulls From Attacking You?

A seagull is typically interested in food, and if you are feeding them or, you have food that the gulls need or can use to take back to their offspring, the gull may attack you to retrieve it. Gulls can also become highly aggressive if humans are too close to their nest.

The best method to use to keep a gull from attacking you is to use any of the above measures to keep seagulls far removed from your property in the first place. If a gull does attack you, hitting the bird with a nearby object or even your hands will typically cause the gull to back off.

Conclusion

There are many ways you can keep a seagull from invading your property and most of the above methods will work well if you utilise the products properly. For the best procedures in truly keeping these birds off of your property, consider the use of falconry.

We have expertly trained and well-behaved hawks and falcons that are certain to prevent the need for any of these products. Contact us today to discuss how falconry can benefit your home or business from seagull populations.