How do I stop pigeons and gulls roosting or nesting on my roof?

Roof-nesting gulls and feral pigeons are established in most UK towns because there is food and there are flat, sheltered, predator-free ledges. Neither problem is solved by scaring birds, which they habituate to within days. It is solved by removing the food and physically removing the perching and nesting opportunity, in that order.

Safety

What you'll need

• A specialist proofing contractor, for anything at roof level
• Bird netting or a post-and-wire system (optional)
• Solar panel mesh proofing kit (optional)
• Bin lids that latch, and a bin store (optional)
• Mask, gloves and damping spray for droppings

Step by step

1. Check the season before doing anything.It is an offence to damage or destroy the nest of a wild bird while it is in use or being built, or to take or destroy eggs. Broadly, the nesting season runs from spring into late summer, and gulls in particular nest late. Proofing work belongs to autumn and winter.
2. Identify which bird you have.Feral pigeons roost in groups on ledges and under solar panels and produce heavy droppings. Herring gulls and lesser black-backed gulls nest singly on flat roofs and chimneys, are noisy from dawn, and defend chicks aggressively in July. The proofing differs.
3. Remove the food supply.This is the part that determines everything else. Bin lids that close and latch, no sacks left out, no dropped food in a yard, and no deliberate feeding. In some towns feeding gulls or pigeons in public places is subject to a local order.
4. Look at what is under the solar panels.The gap between panel and tile is a perfect pigeon nesting space and it is now one of the most common versions of this problem. A proprietary mesh clipped around the panel perimeter closes it without penetrating the roof or affecting the warranty.
5. Choose proofing that matches the surface.Narrow ledges and chimney stacks: spikes or a post-and-wire system. Flat roofs and valleys: netting or a wire grid at spacing suited to the species. Large open roofs: a wire system rather than netting, which sags and traps birds if badly fitted.
6. Get netting installed properly or not at all.Poorly tensioned netting traps and kills birds, which is both an offence and a welfare disaster, and it looks appalling within a year. This is the strongest argument for a specialist contractor with the right fixings.
7. Do not rely on scarers, gels or plastic owls.Birds habituate within days. Optical gels and audio deterrents may briefly displace them; they do not solve an established roosting or nesting site.
8. Clear the droppings safely.Damp them first, wear a mask and gloves, and do not dry-sweep or pressure-wash without protection — pressure washing aerosolises the material. Accumulated droppings are also a slip hazard and can damage roof finishes.
9. Repair what the birds exploited.Missing tiles, gaps at the verge, a broken chimney pot cover, or a flat roof upstand with shelter behind it. Proofing on top of an unrepaired defect fails.
10. Talk to the neighbours.Roof birds work at a street scale. Proofing one house pushes them next door and coordinated action across several properties is far more effective, particularly with gulls.
11. Get a licence route if there is a genuine health and safety issue.Any action beyond proofing — such as nest or egg removal — requires a licence in most circumstances, granted only for specific reasons and usually arranged through a professional. Do not attempt it informally.

Tips

• Do the proofing survey in winter, when you can see the ledges clearly and no nest is in use.
• A gull that nested successfully returns to the same roof for years. Closing the site once, properly, is far cheaper than repeated call-outs.
• If chicks are already on the roof, the season is effectively over for that year. Plan the work for autumn and use the time to sort the bins out.

Common mistakes

• Removing a nest during the season — It is an offence while the nest is in use or being built, and gulls are strongly protected in practice. It also usually results in the birds rebuilding a few metres away.
• Fitting cheap netting yourself at roof level — Badly tensioned netting traps birds, degrades quickly and creates a welfare and legal problem on top of the original one — and the ladder work itself is the most dangerous part of the job.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask