With the arrival of the breeding season, the seagull also hovers above the city again. Alkmaarders are slowly going crazy from torn open garbage bags on the street and the nightly screeching. Stadswerk072 provides various tips to prevent breeding seagulls from terrorizing your roof.
They tear open garbage bags, keep people awake and can be aggressive when they have young. Since the fox chased the seagull from the dunes, Alkmaar has been dealing with a lot of nuisance.
The municipality has a package of measures to keep the nuisance within limits. For example with tolerance zones. Seagulls are allowed to lay their eggs undisturbed on the roof of the old printing plant of the Noordhollands Dagblad. Last breeding season – not entirely without danger – we were guests there with urban ecologist Roland-Jan Buijs:
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A guest at the gull on ‘tolerated roof’: “They are not flying rats” – NH News
Preventing gulls from building a nest and laying eggs on roofs, according to City work072 still the best way to prevent nuisance.
“Have you been bothered by breeding seagulls in previous years? Then there is a good chance that they will also lay eggs here this year. It is important that your roof is clean, because seagulls also like to nest on dirty roofs.”
If seagulls have previously nested on your roof (gutter) or chimney, you can make them an unsuitable breeding place with nets or chicken wire. “Make sure that the seagulls cannot get entangled in these repellents,” warns Stadswerk072 on the website.
Pills and earplugs
A few years ago, Gré Ranzijn from Alkmaar told NH News from her bed that she uses sleeping pills and earplugs against the shouting next to her bedroom window.
View the report below:
Seagulls terrorize Alkmaarders: why are these animals protected? – NH News
It is important not to feed the seagulls and not to leave food scraps or waste lying around on the street. “When gulls find food, they call their peers. This will bring more and the gulls will quickly return to the same place.”
‘With your back against the wall’
For aggressive attacks from the air, for example at a chip shop, Harm Niessen of the Fauna Protection has another tip: “A number of seagulls indeed specialize in hunting for food. They always attack from behind. So if you have chips, go stand with your back against the wall. Then they’ll leave you alone.”
Due to the protected status of the herring gull, the common gull and the lesser black-backed gull, the municipality cannot simply intervene. An ecological expert must first determine the degree of nuisance and appropriate measures.
In the event of extreme nuisance, the municipality can have the nests of the three seagull species moved. In the case of the latter species, the eggs are sometimes also allowed with oil greased so that they do not come out. Alkmaar has an exemption permit for at least another three years.
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