How to deal with bloody gulls?!

[Seagullhell]

Posting in AIBU shamelessly for traffic, sorry, but getting rather desperate for some help!

We moved to our new house earlier this year. Our bedroom is in the extension with a flat roof, upon which, we quickly found out, are nesting seagulls. And OMG, the NOISE 😭

It annoys me a fair amount, but I'm generally capable of going back to sleep after being woken. But it's starting to make my DH ill. He's always been a light sleeper, so when they start up at 4/5am stomping around (it actually sounds like they're dropping rocks), he can't get back to sleep. He works in a high pressure job and has a long commute half the week. It's reached the point where he's called in sick - in nearly 20 years I've known him to do this once, maybe twice.

Since this all started we've discovered he has a B12 deficiency, and he's waiting for an appointment to delve into and hopes to get injections prescribed which we hope will help with the lightness of his sleep generally. But what else can we do?!

He tried sleeping on the sofa - can't sleep. The other rooms are occupied or face a busy main road. He's tried earplugs, but can't sleep in them. He's taking B12 tablets until his docs appointment along with magnesium to help, but they don't seem to do anything.

We've got to the point where we can't help but wonder about just kicking the bloody nest off the roof. We know this is illegal, so we won't, but it's hard watching him reach breaking point and not feeling a bit murderous.

We need tips to get him through the summer where the babies will have flown the nest and we can engage professionals to do something to hopefully prevent them from coming back.

Can anyone suggest any other supplements, aids, remedies etc to help him get better quality sleep until that point?

(Also any suggestions about things that will actually work to get rid of the bastard gulls highly appreciated too!)

Because they're endangered, that's why. Same way tigers are endangered, snow leopards are endangered, polar bears are endangered, sharks are endangered and rhinos are endangered. Except for the fact that you and your children aren't very likely to get eaten by your average Herring Gull, that is.

Apparently the gull population has lost 10% of its breeding population due to bird flu recently, so all you anti gull people can celebrate. If it continues, perhaps numbers will reduce even further and you can go about your lives free from the burden of at least one wildlife species. Wildlife is such a nuisance isn't it, you'd think the government would have done something about it by now. I suppose insects are practically wiped out now, so that'll reduce other bird species as well as bats (disgusting clicky flying things) so it's moving in the right direction at least 👍🏻

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And when the bees are gone because they buzz too much, how dare they
No fruit and veg.

Some people are just selfish and evil

That’s so horrible. It would have been better to put down something preventative in the first place.

You have my sympathy. My DN lives in a coastal city and recently cannot let her dog or her Ds in the garden because the gull on the roof dive bombs them to protect it's nest. Hopefully over soon and in the non nesting season you might find a solution

They used to nest on the roof of a school I worked at - school got someone to dip the eggs in oil so they wouldn't hatch - this meant the gulls wouldn't return to nest the following year - don't know if it's illegal to do this nowadays

He could try Magnesium Glysinate, it did knock me out. Sounds awful OP.

Highly illegal as they are a protected species

it's also illegal to drive above the speed limit.

Destroying the nest is illegal, even at that stage.

Struggling to see the connection here…

Nytol
Silicone ear plugs

The babies should be mobile now. Arrange for a professional to net the roof with strong netting. They return to our house in February.
I hate them with all my being.

Oh and they might try and nest elsewhere on your house. A water pistol was useful!

Squawking sky rats.

.

My neighbours removed a nest on the roof of their small house. It was a lovely little house built to fit in a small place and the roof had many small flat areas and nooks and crannies and flat areas ideal for nesting - on top of their bedroom. He gull-proofed it - so he thought. He knew removing the nest was illegal but was prepared to face the consequences after being unable to work through exhaustion. When he climbed onto his roof the noise from the gulls was earsplitting, they were dive-bombing and physically attacking him. I lived directly next door and the noise used to start at 4am and woke me even though I kept the all the windows closed.
Later that year he gull-proofed the roof yet again and finally solved the problem. He was a lovely guy and a great neighbour and I would have never dreamt of reporting him - his actions then were so out of character.

I’d say
Not such a lovely guy

Herring gulls are protected by law because their numbers are plummeting globally. There's a lack of nesting sites, and reduced food in the ocean, just for starters.
I know people get super annoyed by them and see the frustration of having them nesting on your roof. But I would urge everyone not to use netting. Birds get their wings trapped in nets and die a slow and horrible death. And feeding gulls - however well intentioned - is a hard no. You don't want gulls to associate humans with food. Full stop. I live by the sea and there are signs everywhere telling you not to feed them.

Not sure what that even means? Do you live nearby by them? Are you woken during the night? Do you have to get up in the morning?

Do you know that they're not actually endangered and living quite happily in towns far away from the coast and living on scraps from fast food outlets...not really their natural habitat?

Why? Have you lived with the ear splitting noise which is all day and night?

I have lived in such areas, yes. And yes, I do work. And they are actually endangered - what with humans destroying their natural habitat and food sources - and then providing fairly good facsimiles of cliffs and a neverending supply of feral pigeons, fried chicken and general rubbish for them to survive on.

Ah, I note you don't live there now. I wonder if you would like to live in close proximity to an ear splitting noise 24/7? It's maddening. I am pretty sure you would hate it

And actually no, they are not endangered, that's just something the conservationists like to peddle. I will bet they don't live in close proximity to them.

Please don’t use spikes, cats often walk across flat roofs at night.

What?! I have yet to hear of any cat being impaled on anti gull/pigeon spikes. They have whiskers for this type of terrain!

Is there a bylaw or moral expectation that gives cats right of way on privately owned flat rooves, over and above the wellbeing of the occupants of the building?

I've always had cats and I think your request is INSANE 😂

Meh, it's better than parties going on all night, domestic violence, somebody getting their DIY finished around midnight or the local big bollocks property developer starting their latest construction with 3 months of pile driving, then 13 months of building, then all of those people moving in and the next development starting up opposite whilst the local junkies sit on the front wall arguing whilst waiting for their dealer to deliver.

See also foxes with a den in the garden, crows, rooks and jackdaws nesting in the trees, major starling roosts in November, living by a wildfowl sanctuary, a flock of rose necked parakeets - all fine. A husky breeder next door, not fine. Living next to the nearest pub to the main line, not fine. Living underneath the Gatwick flight path or the A3, not fine.

Shytehawks yelling from the roof are far, far better than human noise.

In the interest of fairness @Tutorpuzzle I have done a Google AI search on the number of cats injured by the spikes that could solve the OP's problem. It couldn't find any documented examples. Here is the summary:

In summary, although it is possible for a cat to be injured by anti-bird spikes, especially sharper types, most widely available spikes are designed to deter rather than injure. Using blunt-tipped plastic or rubber spikes, along with careful placement and installation, can further reduce any potential risk to cats or other animals.