Gulls nesting on my roof wake us at 4am. What can I do?

For this season, not much about the gulls themselves, and that is hard to hear when you are not sleeping. Gulls are protected in many countries, and a nest with eggs or chicks usually cannot be touched without a licence. Nesting gulls also defend their young, loudly and sometimes with dives. So right now the plan is to protect your sleep and your pets and keep your distance. Then, once the chicks have gone, you proof the roof so it does not happen again.

Getting through this season

• Move the bedroom if you can. A room on the other side of the house, even for a few weeks, can make a real difference.
• Mask the noise. Earplugs, a fan or a white noise machine, and heavy curtains or closed windows on the gull side at dawn.
• Give them no reason to stay close. Never feed gulls, keep bins closed, and do not eat outside near the nest.
• Know that it ends. Once the chicks fly, the noise and swooping around your roof drop off.

If lost sleep is affecting your health or your work, speak to a doctor. That is a real problem in its own right.

When gulls go for your pet

Gulls dive at people, cats and dogs that come near their chicks, especially once chicks are out of the nest and on the ground. They are not attacking for food. They are defending.

Keep your distance: keep cats indoors while chicks are around, walk dogs another way, and keep children back from the nest and from any chick on the ground. If you must pass, an umbrella or a hat helps protect your head. Do not throw things at the birds. If a pet is hurt, see a vet. If a person is scratched or pecked, clean the wound and see a doctor if it is deep or looks infected.

A chick on the ground is usually not abandoned: the parents keep feeding it. Leave it be. If it is clearly injured, call a local wildlife rescue.

Before next season: proof the roof

1. Wait until the nest is empty and the young have gone.
2. Have the old nest cleared by someone safe to work on your roof. Gloves, and no sweeping dry droppings.
3. Fit deterrents that stop nesting. On flat roofs that usually means netting or a wire system. On ledges, chimneys and ridges, spikes or wires. A bird control company that knows local rules should fit them so birds cannot get trapped.
4. Have it done well before nesting starts. Gulls tend to come back to the same sites, so the gap between seasons is your window.

If you rent or live in a flat, the roof belongs to the landlord or building, so write to them now, while the problem is fresh, and ask for proofing before next spring.

Licences and who to ask

In some places, action against gulls during nesting is possible under a licence, for genuine health and safety reasons. In England, for example, those licences come from Natural England, and the RSPB explains the options for gulls nesting on roofs. Elsewhere, ask your national wildlife agency or your council. Some councils also advise on gull problems or work with bird control firms. Do not remove or move a nest in use on your own: in many places that is an offence, and it puts you on a roof next to birds defending their young.

Our answer on removing a bird’s nest covers how to tell an active nest from an empty one. The birds guide has more on netting and spikes, and plastic owls and similar decoys are not worth it: gulls soon learn they never move.