January 16, 20215 yr Our builder has just finished installing rubber flat roof sections. Before now we had a more complex roof structure without any flat roof. Some mornings, and right now, we have a handful of crows going nuts up there, either fighting or mashing up their food. Very concerned about the rubber if they continue to use the handy area for their hangout. Can anything be done to deter them (scare crows / other devices / natural deterrent), or protect roof in some way?
January 16, 20215 yr I chose to use fibreglass rather than rubber No particular reason other than I’m a tight git and thought I might have to pay someone for installing rubber But I can sympathize with you We have magpies and wood pigeons That sound like they are wearing clogs We had considered putting Sedums there More birds but a softer surface
January 16, 20215 yr Simples https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-PACK-GARDEN-SCARE-CAT-PEST-DETERRENT-REPELLENT-SCARER-NUISANCE-CONTROL-FOX-NEW/383594231904
January 16, 20215 yr They won’t damage it and it is illegal to shoot any bird (except under certain general license conditions, etc) personally I find it depressing and reflects poorly on our species that the response is “kill everything”. We share this planet, remember...
January 16, 20215 yr @tanneja what about using a protective layer on top of the rubber? Traditionally with older flat roofs this would be a layer of gravel but you could use other products eg Astroturf
January 16, 20215 yr What about a owl? https://www.pigeoncontrolresourcecentre.org/html/reviews/anti-perching-plastic-owls.html (Any PhoneShop fans? ?)
January 16, 20215 yr Author You hear polar views on the effectiveness of fake birds of prey / cats, but willing to try something. Scaffolding comes down in a few weeks so simplest to get something up there (1st floor roof) now. Perhaps a second layer of rubber over the main open part of the flat roof would be some insurance in case of a pecked hole, we have some left over. AstroTurf is interesting, wondering if it might negatively impact rain drainage. At the very least it is disturbing when it happens while my partner sleeps after a night shift, so a deterrent would be good. Could affix reflective tape to the chimney too, although if that is effective, I would imagine it would need somewhat frequent replacing as it gets weathered.
January 16, 20215 yr Author Maybe fit a net a few inches above the roof surface somehow, to stop them from landing https://birdbarrier.com/stealthnet-bird-netting.html Edited January 16, 20215 yr by tanneja
January 16, 20215 yr 2 hours ago, andy said: They won’t damage it and it is illegal to shoot any bird (except under certain general license conditions, etc) personally I find it depressing and reflects poorly on our species that the response is “kill everything”. We share this planet, remember... I apologise if you took my comment seriously. I’ll try and add a few extra sarcastic emojis next time to show it wasn’t serious.
January 17, 20215 yr 4 hours ago, andy said: They won’t damage it and it is illegal to shoot any bird (except under certain general license conditions, etc) personally I find it depressing and reflects poorly on our species that the response is “kill everything”. We share this planet, remember... Easy Tiger! I don't think he was seriously suggesting shooting at the crows. It would likely damage the EPDM in any case. On that subject, a neighbour had kids who liked to play football. One morning her husband had gone to work and she cam round to our house in tears because a crow had got caught up in the football net and was very distressed. I valiantly and hastily went round to free it and it bit the hell out of my finger. Bastard!
January 17, 20215 yr 10 hours ago, Thorfun said: I apologise if you took my comment seriously. I’ll try and add a few extra sarcastic emojis next time to show it wasn’t serious. Glad to hear you weren't serious about it too
January 17, 20215 yr 8 hours ago, Mr Punter said: I valiantly and hastily went round to free it and it bit the hell out of my finger. Bastard! Similar situation but it was a seagull stuck in my compost bin....... next time I will wear gloves.
January 17, 20215 yr Corvids are really intelligent and I find them fascinating, as they are very trainable . However, I can understand why you wouldn't want to be woken up by them every morning! I just found a website called getridofcrows.com which has lots of advice about spiky things, scarecrows, fake owls, snakes, shiny CDs, predator recordings and ultrasonic scarers etc. I too would vote against netting though, you could trap all kinds birds and animals accidentally. It seems like you need to deter them before spring as they have a tendency to return to favoured sites for mating. I'd try the snakes as those plastic owls look the pits.
January 17, 20215 yr When I lived in a caravan on site during the build magpies used to congregate on the roof early morning and yes they sound like they had hobnail boots on.
January 17, 20215 yr When I lived in Weymouth, seagulls were a real pest. I was tempted to put super glue by some chips. Would have been noisy for a few hours, but I am sure the rotting carcases would have deterred others. Still find it funny when they take a small child's ice-cream. Edited January 17, 20215 yr by SteamyTea
January 17, 20215 yr Grain soaked in whiskey, an old poachers trick for pheasant. I bet crows are sensible enough to drink in moderation mind! Or scatter raisins on the roof and cover with a sheet of glass. They'll knock themselves out trying to peck through it... ?
January 17, 20215 yr 6 hours ago, Jilly said: Corvids are really intelligent and I find them fascinating, as they are very trainable . Not that bright really. One used to come and try to attack it's reflection in one of the upstairs windows when I was building our house. The windowsill had flecks of blood all over it every morning. In the end I had to pin strings across between the reveals so it couldn't land on the sill. Only happened on one particular window.
January 17, 20215 yr 1 hour ago, PeterStarck said: Not that bright really. One used to come and try to attack it's reflection in one of the upstairs windows when I was building our house. The windowsill had flecks of blood all over it every morning. In the end I had to pin strings across between the reveals so it couldn't land on the sill. Only happened on one particular window. Maybe that one has a low IQ from a bump on the head.
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