With another busy herring gull season coming to an end, we cannot stress how important preventative methods are. From May until September we regularly take calls from people looking for solutions to their gull problems. Unfortunately in May/June the birds have often started nesting on roofs which means that solutions can be limited. This highly protected species is not one  favoured by residents and business owners in coastal areas. Predominantly causing problems on buildings with flat roofs or even large chimney stacks. In particular roofs of varying heights with ledges etc. which replicate the bird’s natural habitats of sea cliffs and rocky edges.

Herring Gulls or Seagulls as most people refer to them, cause a host of problems. Oftentimes noise and aggression are cited as major problems by our customers. Having active nests on your rooftop generally means that any maintenance or access to the roof is off limits as it is simply not safe. The haphazard nature of the bird’s nests also means that a lot of debris and materials are brought up to roofs which can result in rainwater systems becoming blocked. Obviously high levels of bird dropping is a health and safety hazard with the bird guano posing a cross-contamination hazard. Particularly so within pharmaceutical, hospital and food production settings. Furthermore the guano is corrosive due to the uric acid contained within it, this can result in structural damage and damage to exteriors of cars etc. Also worth mentioning is that high levels of guano present a significant trip and fall hazard.

The most viable solution we recommend for herring gull problems is proofing. Our expertly fitted proofing is a humane and discreet way in which to deny birds access to their potential nesting areas (unfortunately birds and their offspring are likely to return to the same nesting site year on year). We use all hi-spec materials to ensure that a robust and effective job is completed.

If you have been afflicted with herring gulls this breeding season, it would be important for you to contact us prior to next year’s breeding season (can commence from as early as February) for solutions such as herring gull proofing Once a rooftop is home to an active herring gull nest, the area is then deemed a protected habitat.