Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

The seagulls have invaded us this year and insist on roosting on the biminis of the pontoons at our marina. The outside boats (mine included) take the hardest hits. I have put up some flag deterrents and fishing line over the bimini which helps but I still get some roosting and the occasional dive bomb.

I did clean mine using my dealers recommendation which was 1 cup of liquid Tide in a gallon of water, let soak for 10 min., then hit it with a power washer. Worked pretty well but it was a lot of work.

So any recommendations on both deterrents and cleaning would be helpful. I have ordered a couple of Gullsweep devices that I plan to put up tomorrow. Any comments on these would be appreciated.

I really think a 12 gauge would work well except that the DNR looks poorly on this solution.

Pellet gun would work well and is very very quiet

I second the pellet gun!

How about an plastic owl, they are a natural predator, hang it on a different corner each week.

Hang some cd's off that fishline, use cord instead of fish line, but hang it some what slack so if they go to roost it moves and they can't balance on it.

Best of luck, we have been lucky they have left our lift alone, but those out on the end by the water have been pelted.

Secretly put some poisoned fish for them where only they can get to it

I don't know much about birds, but I've been told that 2cc's of antifreeze injected into a hotdog helps with dogs and cats

The_Hellbilly wrote:I don't know much about birds, but I've been told that 2cc's of antifreeze injected into a hotdog helps with dogs and cats

I'll have to remember this one....

UUUUUUUUHM

So my barking boney skinnny neighbors dog that NEVER saw the inside of the house got really sick one day.........

I mistakingly left my old antifreeze out after a change don't know if it is related?

I was gonna say 12 gauge

i would just shoot the damn birds with whatever was needed to keep it a secret.

i would never poison a dog unless it was putting my family at risk. it can backfire
quickly--someone's dog digs under the fence once a year and comes over and eats
the poison hot dog you left for rover next door. so now some kids have a dead dog.
that's a **really** shitty thing to risk.

if a dog is putting your family at risk, shoot it and throw it into a ravine. but these
situations are pretty few and far between.

now a cat, well, that's a little different. people who leave their cats out all night to
bug the neighbors, well, what do they expect.

of course if someone left their damn dog loose all night, then that could get tiresome, too,
i suppose. i've been lucky to have good neighbors all these years, i guess.

I second the vote for the pellet gun.... a few years back we bought a contemporary style house where the upper story was all cedar... 2nd day we were in the house I woke up to the sound of woodpeckers beating hell out of the wood. They literally destroyed the back of my garage, knocking holes the size of softballs in it.. then they would roost in the attic. I tried everything, wooden owls, inflatable owls, rubber snakes, pie pans hanging from the eaves.. you name it we tried it.... Finally started killing them with a 22 rifle... That worked great til one early morning I took a shot at one in the attic... my usually very quiet 22 ( outside ) sounded like a freaking howitzer up in the attic...... ended up buying a high powered pellet rifle.. worked great.. problem is you can only stand guard so long.. sooner or later you have to leave and when you're gone, the birds return... I spent thousands over the years repairing and replacing cedar planks... finally gave in and bit the bullet and put siding over the wood.... no more problem, except my bank account took a hell of a hit.

Flote,

I was being facetious. I thought about it though, let me tell you goddamn renters suck!

Had a simlilar thing happen when the ducks, which the neighbors like to feed discovered that the interior of the toon is a lot more comortable than the wood dock. Our semi-outdoor cat took care of that problem quickly. Maybe you need to invest in a cat for the marina.

pontchartraintoon wrote:Had a simlilar thing happen when the ducks, which the neighbors like to feed discovered that the interior of the toon is a lot more comortable than the wood dock. Our semi-outdoor cat took care of that problem quickly. Maybe you need to invest in a cat for the marina.

Be careful with cats or you may end up with claw marks in your seats. I can post you some pics of what a cat can do over night.

I doubt a cat will do much to deter gulls and a blue heron would probably kill it or at least blind it. I have seen one go after a 35 pound raccoon that was egg hunting on the mangroves.
To get rid of gulls, shoot the people who are feeding them with your BB gun..