How to Keep Birds Off Your Boat

by Alex A. Kecskes

It’s spring, and if you’re a boat owner, it’s time to open up your boat for all those parties and excursions with friends and relatives, and for those racing events that bring trophies to your mantle. Unfortunately, unless you implemented some effective bird control measures last year, your pride and joy will be covered with bird droppings from bow to stern.

Acidic bird droppings can stain and degrade canvas covers and damage rotating antennas and other electronic gear. Bird droppings can also create a dangerous slip-and-fall hazard for you and your guests. Removing dried bird droppings is no simple task, even with powerful cleaners. There’s also the problem of dead fish and bones that gulls leave on your decks and covers. If you host a party on your boat, you’ll have to be ever-vigililent for birds dive bombing for food and annoying guests.

Either way, if you failed to protect your boat with bird deterrents, you’ve got a number of problems on your hands. But you won’t make the same mistake this year. You’ve learned your lesson: keep birds off your boat with effective bird control devices—the kind the professionals use—or suffer the consequences of pest birds.
Here are two effective bird deterrents the pros use to keep birds off their boats:

Solar-Powered Bird Repeller

This nifty device uses rotating, motor-driven “arms” to harmlessly prevent birds from landing on your boat. You place the unit wherever pest birds tend to gather most often and the repeller does the rest. Its arms spin around continuously at 30 RPM to deter even the most determined birds. The best bird repellers feature adjustable arms that protect up to a 5-foot diameter area of your boat. And since the unit is solar powered, it saves energy. It even works at night because it has the ability to store electricity during the day.

Bird Spiders

These devices feature wildly flailing arms that bounce and whip about in the breeze. No bird worth his salt will go near one of these bad boys. They’re maintenance free and easy to set up on decks, rooftops, and virtually any flat surface of your boat. They'll keep gulls, cormorants, pelicans and pigeons off your boat covers and canvases. Bird spiders come in various sizes--including 2-, 4-, 6- and 8-foot diameter arm lengths to create ever widening diameters of protection. Look for bird spiders that feature a glue-on base for easy mounting. Some spiders come with railing mounts for easy attachment to boat rails. Other attachments include a removable sand bag base that makes it easy to place them on boat canvas and Biminis. Additional boat bases let you mount spiders on masts and radar units. Bird spiders are easily moved to areas wherever pest birds tend to gather on your boat. The best bird spiders have a U.V.-protected polycarbonate base for lasting durability in harsh sea weather.

A Bird-Free Boat for Summer

by Alex A. Kecskes

 As a boat owner, you want to keep your boat in ship-shape condition, ready to sail without a lot of clean-up or maintenance. That means your radar units, canvas covers, masts and Biminis must be free of bird droppings and debris.  If you're an experienced boat owner, you know that preparation is the key to keeping your boat in tip-top condition.  You know that an ounce of prevention now can keep you boat free of pest birds for all those summer excursions, harbor cruises and parties. The last thing your guests want to see is bird droppings all over your boat as they snack on food and drinks. You also don't want your guests--especially landlubbers--to trip on your deck because of bird droppings, which you know can be slipperier than a banana peel.

Problem:  Unless you're prepared with effective bird control measures, your boat can easily become the victim of many types of pest birds. These include egrets, blue herons, crows, doves, and seagulls, even an occasional pelican. Some species of seagulls, such as the Heerman's gull are protected by law. Destruction or removal of a nest may result in legal penalties. So the idea is to keep birds from gathering and nesting on your boat in the first place. No matter which species invade your boat, you'll have quite a mess on your hands. The droppings and food scraps they carry can be both annoying and destructive, especially if left to gather on masts, spreaders, and riggings. In most cases, the droppings, once dried, can be nearly impossible to remove from certain surfaces. Cormorant droppings, for example, can be like epoxy. The worst part is, the high concentration of uric acid--extremely high in sea bird droppings--can erode stainless steel, discolor paint, and permanently stain your jell coat and blue covers. Bird droppings can also carry any of 60 known diseases, so if you're cleaning off the dust, be very careful.

Fortunately, there are ways to keep birds off boats. But you must act now before your boat becomes home to these pests.

Solution: To whip birds away from those high areas of your boat that birds find irresistible, consider investing in Bird Spiders. These popular and highly effective bird deterrents typically have stainless steel "arms" that wave wildly in the breeze to discourage all manner of pest birds. Birds don't like to feel threatened and bird spiders make them feel unwelcome. They come in 2-, 4-, 6-, and 8-foot diameter arm lengths to cover ever-increasing areas of deterrence. They're easy to place on masts, spreaders and railings. Some spiders come with an optional base, so you can literally place them anywhere pest birds tend to gather. They're also easily removed and stored when you're ready to set sail.

For the very tip of top of masts and other high areas of your vessel, consider installing some Bird Spikes. These intimidating looking bird deterrents simply won't allow birds to land. They come in stainless steel and in 3-, 5- and 8-inch widths to deter virtually any size pest bird. The best spikes feature a U.V. -protected polycarbonate base, which is 1.5-inches wide, so you can easily attach it with zip ties. Bird spikes won't harm birds and have been approved by humane groups worldwide--including the U.S. Humane Society and PICAS (Pigeon Control Advisory Service).

Related articles

• Get Rid of Pest Birds with Stainless Steel Bird Spikes (birdspikes.com)
• Bird Proofing Your House or Boat (getridofbirds.info)