What you can do against pesky seagulls

Seagulls can be annoying, particularly during brooding season from April to August. The municipality is trying to limit this nuisance as much as possible. Read what you can do yourself.

Seagulls are protected animals under the Nature Conservation Act. This needs to be taken into consideration when trying to limit the nuisance they cause.

Prevent litter

Litter attracts rodents. This is what you can do to keep your neighbourhood clean.

• Do not throw any rubbish or food scraps on the street.
• Do you live in a neighbourhood with underground rubbish containers for your household waste? Do not leave any garbage bags or loose rubbish next to the containers.

Use the free yellow garbage bags

Is your household rubbish still collected in garbage bags? Use the yellow garbage bags available for free from the municipality from 1 March to 30 October. Seagulls are not able to peck open these bags as easily because they are extra sturdy. Place the bags by the curb on the day your household waste is collected. Seal the bags well.

You can pick up the yellow garbage bags for free (1 roll per visit) at:

• City Hall Spui (The Hague Information Centre)
• Leyweg City office (Information and Assistance Centre)
• Haagse Hout and Laak city district offices (from the security guards)
• the public library in the Laakkwartier
• the public library in Scheveningen

Don’t feed the birds

Do you have leftover bread? Do not feed it to the seagulls and ducks but dispose of it in a bread collection bin. Tell people who feed seagulls that they should not do this. This way you prevent nuisance in your neighbourhood.

Adapt your roof

Seagulls like spots where their nest is sheltered at least on 1 side. Popular nesting spots for seagulls are: on a roof window in a sloped roof, on a dormer, on a flat roof (gravel roof), against a skylight, against the edge of a roof or behind a chimney.

You can make adaptations to your roof so that seagulls do not brood there:

• Place pins or anti-pigeon spikes.
• Stretch metal wire in parallel rows to each other across the entire length of the roof. Leave approximately 25 centimetres of space between each row.
• Place nets. A net with a mesh opening of 75 millimetres is most suitable. Make sure that the net is stretched tightly, at some distance from the roof surface. Be sure that seagulls and other birds are not able to crawl underneath it. If the net is not stretched tightly or it allows birds to crawl under it, the animals will become entangled in it. You could contact a company which is experienced in placing nets.