Spring Is Here, And Love Is In The Air

By Hannah Crooks4 min readMar 2021
Spring Is Here, And Love Is In The Air

Spring is here, and love is in the air - especially for Britain's 100,000 breeding pairs of urban seagulls nesting in towns and cities around our nation. Probably on a roof near you! They have become a new inland feature, largely since the end of WW2, and have taken advantage of landfill sites and the food waste found on our urban streets. This, coupled with predator-free nesting sites on city buildings, has led to two distinct populations of urban and rural gulls. Of course, technically, there is no such thing as a seagull. There are, in fact, several different species of gull, mainly herring gulls and black-backed gulls in the UK, but they are known colloquially as seagulls. Some people like to see these new arrivals - but for others they herald many problems.

They can be aggressive, particularly in Spring and Summer when they breed and have young with them. Their guano is caustic and will damage buildings and vehicles, and they are a health hazard carrying diseases which range from Salmonella & E.Coli through to Psittacosis and Fungal Infections. Bad news for any business - but especially so in the food industry where you can face an immediate Stop Notice from Environmental Health. That's the bad news!

The good news is that here at Contego we offer a full-range of services to protect you and your business. These have been developed from our many years as leading industry experts dealing with nuisance birds in a non-lethal way. Birds of Prey - We use our trained hawks to patrol your property and unsettle the gulls so that they move to a quieter area elsewhere. Environmentally friendly, it can be undertaken in conjunction with bird scarers to offer a Green Solution to your problem. Bird Spikes & Netting - these will prevent gulls and pigeons from gaining access to your roof and deprive them of a suitable nesting site. This can offer a permanent solution after the problem birds have been relocated and will prevent their return. Egg & Nest Removal - If birds have already gained access then we can remove their nest and block their access points. Call us on 0800 028 7111 and take the first step to being gull-free this summer.