A successful trial of seagull deterrent equipment means there could be a solution on the horizon for Ōamaru building owners.

As another seagull breeding season swoops in, the trial of a revolutionary system that uses electricity to deter red-billed seagulls, has been underway on the roof of 149 Thames Street (home to Don the Barber) since mid-August. 

The gulls are deemed to be “nationally vulnerable”, which means once they build their nests and begin breeding, they cannot legally be disturbed until the breeding season is over. 

The result for Ōamaru, and other coastal towns and cities, is mess, noise, bad smells and blocked guttering for building owners in town, particularly those with the flat roofs the birds find particularly appealing.

Business South Waitaki navigator Rebecca Finlay teamed up with Active Oxy director Brendon Spencer to trial the promising system, which, once set up and plugged in, puts out electromagnetic pulses.

“It does two thing really. It makes the birds feel a sensation of vertigo, and it interferes with their guidance system. It disorients them slightly, they don’t like it, and they refuse to land on the buildings with this system installed," Brendon says.

The units were installed on the top roof of the trial building, and the veranda, including the windowsills. 

The side street veranda and bottom roof were left without the units, as a control measure.

A camera to watch the activity was also installed, keeping track of the birds' behaviour each week.

Brendon says they are pleased with the installation, and footage so far shows the “real reluctance” of the seagulls to land on the building.

“I am happy with the system, and there were no birds at all on the roof and veranda when the system was operational.

“We will need to see the reaction when we are in full nesting season, as they will really try to nest there as they have been doing for decades in the past. The early signs however, are excellent.”

There has been a shorting issue with the wiring on the building, but it is not a major issue, and now it has been identified, it can be addressed when dealing with older buildings moving forward, he says.

“From what we have seen thus far, I believe it will help a great deal of business owners in the area and nationally,” he says.

Charlie Johnson, of Birdzout Electromagnetix, who provided the system, says the camera feed shows the gulls attempt to settle on the rooftop from around 7.15am to 7.30am in the mornings, before moving off elsewhere.

“As expected, some of the gulls are managing to work out where the field is weakest (centred between the lines of the circuit) and are landing down for up to a couple of minutes before flying off. 

“We expect this behaviour may continue for up to two weeks.

“In the random monitoring during the day, the rooftop has remained clear of birds (with the exception of the two fake owls),” he says.

Read our previous story with more detail about the system and how it works here.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the system can email [email protected]