Boathouse Birds and Bees

S

Sandhill

New member
A long time ago there was quite a discussion about what would discourage birds from pooping on our Dories kept in boathouses, also mud dauber bees, spiders, and various tiny reptiles (microsauruses).

Against the birds, what I finally hit on was CDs. I ran a long strip torn from an old sheet through the hole of each old CD and tied a knot, so they are horizontal, then tied another knot about halfway down, both so they swoop around more unpredictably, even in the slightest breeze. I used three in all.

For evicting spiders, bees, wasps, and lizards, a neighbor turned me on to giving all the wood in the ceiling a fair soaking with diluted Pinesol. With the boat moved out for an hour, I used a little pump-up garden sprayer, well-rinsed first of course. Pinesol is also way less toxic than insecticide, as the wind will spray some back on you.

Did those tricks work? Absolutely, with not one spot, big and white, nor tiny and black, in five months, though I may have to redo the Pinesol one day. "Your mileage may vary", but I'm sold.
 
The only thing that works up our way is the Gull Sweeper. They birds definitely prefer canvas tops because they are warmer and softer and I thought I would be in the clear last season. I had almost no poop atop Napoleon last season until the last two months of the season. I came to the boat one day and there had been multiple sorties. Unreal...anyway I installed the Gull Sweeper and started scrubbing.
 
Sandhill":3tvng5iv said:
A long time ago there was quite a discussion about what would discourage birds from pooping on our Dories kept in boathouses, also mud dauber bees, spiders, and various tiny reptiles (microsauruses).

Against the birds, what I finally hit on was CDs. I ran a long strip torn from an old sheet through the hole of each old CD and tied a knot, so they are horizontal, then tied another knot about halfway down, both so they swoop around more unpredictably, even in the slightest breeze. I used three in all.
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How about a picture?

Thanks
 
I had a terrible problem with birds in my boat house. I tried all the owls, snakes, ribbons but nothing worked well. I finally incased my boathouse in netting. They make commercial netting for this but in my cast I used mesh from some old shrimp nets I had. At first they still tried to get in and a few succeeded but afte a while they moved on to the neighbors unprotected boats. The netting is barely visable and has really been my salvation.
 
Quote: How about a picture?

Well, they swoop around so well that the pictures come out all blurry or they fly out of the camera's picture frame, and I can't back up far enough to fix either without falling in the water. When they are still, it's dark out. ;-)
 
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