Pest control

Gulls

The presence of gulls can cause problems such as noise, mess from droppings and damage to property. To help avoid gulls becoming a problem, residents and visitors to Midlothian are asked not to feed them. If you have a home or a business premises in Midlothian, you should consider proofing your property and making regular checks for signs of nest building.

The Law

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is illegal to capture, injure or destroy any wild bird, or interfere with its nest or eggs. Penalties can be severe. However, the law also provides a general licence system, which allows property owners to take action against gulls nesting on buildings by destroying nests or eggs. The licence system can ONLY be used for the purpose of preserving public health, public safety and preventing the spread of disease and is specifically for the control of Herring, Great Black Backed and Lesser Black-Backed gulls. If action is taken for any other reason, or if other species of gull are targeted, then an offence is committed.

More information can be found on Scottish Natural Heritage’s website.

Environmental Health have no statutory duties or powers to take action against gulls. Only an owner or occupier (or an operator instructed by them) can take action against gulls nesting on buildings.

Things You Can Do

• Do not drop litter or food scraps as this is an offence and you may be liable to a penalty.
• Be a good neighbour and don’t attract gulls to your garden by feeding them. While the wish to help wildlife is understandable, this is not in the bird’s best interest. Their natural diet is based on shellfish and other small sea creatures, bird’s eggs, insects and earthworms.
• Too much human food is not good for them, and when fed regularly they expect everyone to do the same, with the next step leading to attacking people and stealing food.
• Property owners can discourage gulls from nesting by erecting deterrent devices on chimney heads and flat roof areas. Deterrent methods include:
• If gulls nest on your property, you can arrange for eggs to be pierced or oiled to prevent hatching, or have them removed and replaced with imitation eggs. The nests will then have to be checked every three weeks between early May and the end of June to ensure no new eggs have been laid.

Safety first

It is strongly recommended that you take advice from specialist companies before undertaking any nest removal or egg oiling or piercing. Ideally the works should be carried out by an experienced competent contractor who use fixtures specific for use on roofs which don’t constitute a safety or fire risk.