There's a certain pleasure in having your very own jetty—your own private access to the water. The trouble is that it's not always as private as you think. It's logical that birds that live on and around the water would use your jetty as a convenient place to rest. What is not convenient is the bird excrement that can be left behind. If you are getting sick of having to hose down your jetty to clean up after those birds, you might be interested in some rather efficient ways to make your jetty less alluring to your feathered friends. These are passive solutions to what can be an extremely annoying and messy situation.
A Sonic Bird Repeller
It's as simple as installing a device that scares birds away with a sound. Such devices have been used in agriculture for a long time, periodically emitting a loud bang that sends the birds on their way in fright. This type of device is obviously not going to work in a residential setting. Opt for a sonic bird repeller that emits ultrasonic waves inaudible to humans (but which are highly annoying to birds). Such a device can be attached to the back of your home, facing the jetty. There are a couple of points to consider:
- Make sure you buy a device that has a minimal (or at least adjustable range). You don't want to banish all the birds from your neighbourhood, nor do you want to cause distress to any pet birds your neighbours might have.
- Identify the birds that are causing the problem and find out if they are a protected species. Ask your local council if you're unsure, but it might not be permitted to disrupt the nesting habits of a protected species (even if the nesting and resting is taking place on your jetty).
If a sonic bird repeller is not going to work, then you might want to sweep the problem away.
A Bird Sweeper
A bird sweeper is simply a specialist device that rotates in a sweeping fashion, much like the rotor blades of a helicopter (although it's not sharp and rotates fairly slowly). The ends of the blades are each fitted with a rigid piece of fabric. This can come has a circle printed on the fabric which mimics the eye of some kind of predatory animal. The motion of the blades coupled with the fact that they consider the sweeper to potentially be a threat will keep the birds away. These sweepers are weighted down and placed on the jetty itself. They can either be battery-powered or simply move with the wind.
It's not so difficult to keep those birds off your jetty, and these options are far preferable to having to walk through a bird toilet to get to your boat.
