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Problem neighbours bloody feeding the seagulls

10 replies

blissfulllife · 24/06/2021 07:57

We live on a housing estate in a large city. Not near the coast. But we do still get the odd seagull probably because we are about 4 miles from a large rubbish tip. Lived here over ten years and only ever hear or see the odd one or two.

Over the last 2 years a neighbour a few doors up has been chucking food out onto the grass verge next to our house for the birds. Started off with a bit of bread etc and a few seagulls started appearing. Now he must bloody live them because he's been chucking all sorts of food out for them this last 10 months!. Whole left over dinners, fruit, veg, takeaways etc just strewn over the floor outside our houses!. This has resulted in loads of seagulls now bellowing from 4am every morning, crapping all over our washing, nesting in our roofs and now dive bombing us as they see us as a threat for their babies in the nests!. There's food rotting and smelling that we end up picking up and last week he'd chucked a loath of bread out that got wet in the rain and I slipped on it.

We've (3 other neighbours and myself) tried asking him not too put food out but it made him do it more.

I've been awake since 4am yet again due to the seagulls making a right racket.

Who on earth do we contact to make it stop? And recommendations, advice etc greatly accepted on dealing with this before we go round once again to plead with him.

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QueenAdreena · 24/06/2021 08:03

Report to the council, he’s basically fly tipping/littering. Make sure you get photos/CCTV of him doing it as well.

I would also start picking it all up and posting it back through his letterbox. Why on earth have you all put up with this for two years and not done anything about it?

Berthatydfil · 24/06/2021 08:03

Contact your environmental health department

blissfulllife · 24/06/2021 08:08

@QueenAdreena

Report to the council, he’s basically fly tipping/littering. Make sure you get photos/CCTV of him doing it as well.

I would also start picking it all up and posting it back through his letterbox. Why on earth have you all put up with this for two years and not done anything about it?

Because he's quite elderly and had lost his wife 2 years ago. Then Covid made it difficult for us to get hold of anyone from the council. They sent him a letter but it made him worse
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CatrinVennastin · 24/06/2021 08:09

Contact the council. It will be a slow process though. They will probably ask you to keep a diary.

I would be tempted to pick up the food and put it into the neighbour’s garden.

QueenAdreena · 24/06/2021 08:12

Then keep on reporting him and dump it back on his land. See how he likes it. Being old and losing your wife isn’t an excuse to start making life unpleasant for everyone living around you.

You can’t just report something once to the council and expect immediate action to be take with things like this either, you have to keep on reporting it, provide evidence, make your problem their problem. It’s a pain in the arse but it’s how it works unfortunately.

Crowsandshivers · 24/06/2021 08:14

Are there any rats? That sounds like an absolute nightmare. Rally up the neighbours to all complain too.

thekaratekid · 24/06/2021 08:28

We had something similar with a place we used to live. An unknown person started leaving virtually whole loaves of bread (sliced up) strewn around a small communal green area in the road. They even chucked slices onto the top of huge hedges. We got seagulls, crows, pigeons all fighting over it. Not to mention it looked unsightly and obviously went all soggy. It would be there for days as birds didn't want the soggy stale offerings.

Used to happen without fail on a Friday, which was a day I worked from home. I never managed to catch the person in the act, but assumed it was someone who was passing through, walking their dog or similar. I resorted to going out and just bagging it all up and sticking it in our outdoor food bin. Shouldn't have had to do it, but it was so gross and unhygienic.

It is essentially littering and fly tipping, the only way to resolve it is via the council or potentially you and some agreeable neighbours picking it up and binning it, each and everytime it happens. Our problem reduced from about 30 bread slices strewn about, to about 2 slices. Not sure if someone else caught them, or they got the message that someone was picking it all up.

People are weird.

beardeddragon174 · 24/06/2021 08:30

Sympathy. Agree that you have to report and diary every time, consistently complain.

Sparklingbrook · 24/06/2021 08:33

Oh that sounds horrible.
I live miles from any coast but there’s seagulls about here. I got up one morning and one was on my car roof eating a slice of toast. 😡 And crapping all over it.
I would probably collect it and bin it in the short term and keep reporting. It must be attracting rats etc

blissfulllife · 24/06/2021 08:37

@Crowsandshivers

Are there any rats? That sounds like an absolute nightmare. Rally up the neighbours to all complain too.
No rats thankfully...yet
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