Date: 5/6/25 2:52 pm From: Ellen Blackstone via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] bird noise deterrents
Sandi et al. --
Edmonds, on the shore of Puget Sound, has many MANY flat roofs, several of which are year-round roosts -- and seasonal nesting places -- to Glaucous-winged Gulls. Late last summer, after the young gulls had fledged, one company hired a "pest control" company to scare the gulls away from their roof. [Name? Rentokil. Scary, eh? https://www.rentokil.com/]
It irritated the neighbors no end and deterred the gulls not at all, and they stopped it, probably after several complaints. I talked to the owner of the company and explained to him that many of the species nest in colonies and that a ruckus might feel like home, rather than being frightening. (And yes, one set of sounds is like a gull being dismembered. Ugh.) The pair of gulls is happily getting ready to nest again this spring.
One thing that worked in my old Wedgwood neighborhood was a gadget that was either motion- or sound-triggered. It was a giant spider that was tucked up under the eave, but when the flicker came around and did whatever flickers do, the spider would drop down with a bounce. That DID seem to scare the birds away. ALAS, I just found that the product is no longer available, and they offer this instead: https://bugspray.com/deterrents/visual/bird-intimidator-flasher But maybe your neighbors could visit Archie McPhee and have them help rig something up.
