Nuisance gulls at Bath manufacturing plant

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Managing health and safety risks from nuisance gulls and feral pigeons

Staff morale was being affected as these nuisance birds will ‘swoop & dive’ at people moving around the very busy factory complex. In addition, client and staff vehicles were being damaged by the acidic nature and high volumes of gull fouling, causing the potential for a serious health and safety concern due to the potential slip hazard this creates. Furthermore, within the site’s large stockroom a feral pigeon infestation and its associated guano (bird droppings) was causing concerns for human health and the stored stock.

Project overview

A manufacturing plant near Bath suffered with a large flock of gulls returning year on year and nesting on the inaccessible and very fragile roof areas of the site complex which had numerous glassed areas.

Our solution

The gulls and pigeons had both been using the site to roost and nest for a number of years without any human intervention, therefore an intensive solution was required.

NBC attended the site and suggested a programme including the following 4 actions:

• Regular falconry with a bird of prey to change gull behaviour and flight patterns over the factory site complex area and to encourage the gulls to move to a more suitable location away from site
• Regular gull egg and nest removal during breeding season to control the gull population and prevent it from increasing further
• Carry out a feral pigeon fouling treatment, including clearance and decontamination of the warehouse area to ensure a safe working area for operative staff
• Carry out a feral pigeon cull within the warehouse to remove all feral pigeons from the area

Following these actions, the pigeon issue has been fully resolved and the stockroom is now a healthy workplace and safe storage environment. Encouraging gulls to leave the site and stay away is a longer process and will continue, but the falconry is working very well so far.

More information on our bird control services

For further information read our article "How to get rid of Seagulls".