Re: BEACHNET==> How to deter birds from docks / marinas

[Don Hockaday <hockaday@utpa.edu>]

Title: Re: BEACHNET==> How to deter birds from docks / marinas

> Jessica asked:
> My coworker (cc’ed here) is working on a TMDL and looking for a way to deter birds from docks and marinas.  Does anyone have a solution that worked for them?
>  
Around here:

    The most common method to deter pigeons from boat houses is to hang old CDs by strings.

    People keep seagulls from perching on their peaked roofs by running a mono fishing line about 6” above the roof.

    Some open air restaurants use several lengths of mono across openings to keep out grackles.

    Pointing the tops of pilings or attaching commercially available sets of aluminum or plastic spikes (“spiders”) 
    to the tops of the pilings prevents perching on the pilings. Some sailboaters use “spiders” on their mastheads.

    I understand some aquaculturists run twisted Mylar strips (with one reflective side across ponds), 
    but I don’t know any here who do and have no experience with it.

I expect that to deter birds from docks would include treating every perch opportunity in the entire marina, doing whatever is practical to keep people from feeding seagulls, and provide some way to keep fishermen from throwing wastes from fish cleaning stations in the water.

I was in an oilded bird workshop on Friday and was told that shore birds get use to cannons quickly, and then use them as  perches.

Doing an Internet search for
    bird deterrent docks
will get you a lot of hits on products that are ‘suppose to’ work.
>
Good luck. 

Don