Picture the scene: The sun is shining, there’s a light breeze blowing, and all you can hear is the gentle hum of the waves below as you tuck into a well-earned al fresco pub lunch on holiday.
Then all of a sudden ‘SQUAAARK’, a sudden flap of wings, and there you are face-to-face with a huge seagull intent on devouring YOUR fish and chips.
That’s it, a pleasant lunch has now become a battle of wills. The seagulls hop from table-to-table demolishing leftovers and destroying the ambience, while you wolf your food down or retreat inside.
It’s an inconvenience to be sure, but what if that is your business? And what if those seagulls are deterring customers from making return visits?
Nature and humankind do have to live in harmony and no trip to the seaside in this country is complete without a seagull being spotted – on the horizon preferably.
But when seagulls descend on your business day after day, tackling the problem may have more to do with economic survival. And of course, seagulls don’t only make their home on the coast anymore with more and more making their homes in towns and cities.
Why are seagulls a problem?
Noisy, aggressive and messy, seagulls have been known to attack people, not just their lunches. They also make A LOT of noise, especially during the nesting season (March to September), and speaking of the nests – these block drains and attract parasites.
Then there are seagull droppings, which not only damage buildings with their acidic content, but if there are a large number of birds in the area, can create a public health hazard.
What can you do to stop seagulls being a pest?
Yes, it’s nature at work but none of this is good for business. So, what can businesses (restaurants in particular) do to protect their livelihood?
Seagulls are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which means they are protected from being harmed. However, property owners can step in and seek the help of bird control experts to keep seagulls at bay. It is not advisable to try to tackle the problem without expert help.
Specialists, such as Total Bird Control can install deterrents, which will make the environment hostile to seagulls.
These measures include installing spikes to deter nesting, netting and wires to prevent access, and in some cases electric systems.
While there is no exact science to removing a protected bird, these measures will help to greatly improve problems businesses are experiencing with seagulls.
When the chips are down, don’t give in to seagull aggression, call in the experts to protect your business. Contact Total Bird Control on 08000 35 1000.
