Van Vynck Bird Control & Pest Control

Gulls

Herring Gull - Larus argentatus

Herring gulls are large, noisy gulls found throughout the year around our coasts and inland around rubbish tips, fields, large reservoirs and lakes, especially during winter. Adults have light grey backs, white under parts, and black wing tips with white 'mirrors'. Their legs are pink, with webbed feet and they have heavy, slightly hooked bills marked with a red spot. Young birds are mottled brown.

Lesser black-backed gull - Larus fuscus

Slightly smaller than a herring gull, the lesser black-backed gull has a dark grey to black back and wings, yellow bill and yellow legs. Numbers are usually lower than the herring gulls although are increasingly likely to nest in urban locations on the roofs and features of buildings.

Great black-backed gull - Larus marinus

A very large, thick-set black-backed gull, with a powerful beak. Adults are blacker than the smaller lesser black-backed gull. It has a heavy flight and can look quite hunched when perched. It will fight off other gulls and chase them to snatch food. Less likely to nest around man but will occasionally use rooftop urban locations.

Why Control

All of the above species will become aggressive when competing for food and particularly during the breeding season when it is not un-common for humans to be attacked if nest sites are disturbed. Roosting gulls also deposit large amounts of fouling which is damaging to buildings contains harmful bacteria and is extremely slippery when wet. This fouling is also unsightly and exudes a powerful odour. Gulls also have long lives some living for more than thirty years and mature slowly. Once maturity is reached a gull will return to a breeding site year after year it therefore important to restrict any potential incidence of nesting to ensure against long term seasonal problems.