We found this comment on the Facebook group Full Time RV Living. We couldn’t resist passing it along.
Any RVer who’s spent any time in an RV park has had his or her share of obnoxious neighbors. They play their boomboxes late at night, watch Rambo movies on the outdoor TVs with the speakers cranked way up, or smoke their cigars right under your bedroom window.
But here’s a new one we suspect you’ve never heard before. The post reads:
“I’m not sure how to handle this. The trailer spot we were given for 15 days is next to a man that is feeding the sea gulls…. and I’m telling you it looks like an Alfred Hitchcock birds movie.
“The campground let us move to a different spot until Saturday but then we have to move back to the spot next to this guy. Any idea how to drive off the gulls he is feeding? There are about 100-130 birds. Maybe I’m being too sensitive but the birds are being aggressive, they are pooping all over the site, and I really don’t want a ton of it all over my new trailer especially on top of the slide. The campground seems unwilling to talk to him; also the spot is already paid for.”
What do you think? Please leave a comment.
Seagulls are not only annoying, with their persistence and squawking, but are dirty. Their poop can carry salmonella bacteria…not exactly something we want around picnic tables and bbqs. If I were in this situation, I would check in with a local health officer and discuss the situation. Yes, you could leave and also leave your $ behind (you said you are paid up) however these birds aren’t going to stop coming once buddy leaves…maybe the health dept. can step in and talk to park mgt.
always use a shot gun
I don’t think people should be feeding Sea Gulls…especially with so many responding to the food. I have to admit though, I like to feed the desert birds in Arizona..the Quail, Road Runners, etc. are fun to watch. Then the little cotton tails come up and clean up. One time when we left our site for a trip into town, a man came over and was sweeping up all the left over bird seed at our spot..he was upset about me feeding the birds. I guess it’s a bad idea if there are others around.
My campground in Arizona is adamant that you can not feed any animal other than your own and the hummingbirds! Seed feeder or scattering the seeds is grounds to be removed. The spillage from the seed feeders attracts the PACK RATS! We are removing all the prickly pear cactus in the park because pack rats nest in them.
It’s a bad idea to feed any wild animal – folks like yourself, thinking they are doing a good thing or that it is harmless to feed the various animals encountered, are usually unaware of the harm being done “just this once” to the animal and the surrounding environment. Feeding the animals 1) habituates them to seek food from other humans (likely in unfriendly ways); 2) generally is not the type of food that the animal needs for its own best health – becomes too ‘heavy’ to find its own food or lacks sufficient capacity to also consume its usual nourishment; 3) you could be poisoning the animal- do you know what the digestive system of each species tolerates? Resultant waste = excessive! Etc
Sounds like the pan handlers I see while waiting at intersections.
Bird seed brings rodents. Rodents eat wiring and attract snakes.
Perhaps, it could be the son or the grandson of Eddie Rickenbacker. Rickenbacker fed the seagulls, and if you Google his name, you’ll understand why. It makes for a good read.
Inspirational, Military, Space / Aviation / By Rich Buhler & Staff / March 17, 2015
“The story of a man who would routinely take a bucket of shrimp to the end of a pier and fed them to seagulls. He would say “thank you” to them as he did. It turned out to be World War I military hero Eddie Rickenbacker who regarded a seagull as the beginning of a series of events that saved his life while drifting for 24 days in a raft after a plane crash into the Pacific.”
This is akin to those who feed pigeons. Yuk.
Seagulls are known to attack and eat the young of other, endangered birds. There are signs all over the camps we are at, including this one at Ft. Pickens National Park. Please don’t feed gulls. They don’t need feeding.
First get on the internet and find out if its legal at your location. Assuming you’ve used comparisons, like this is similar to a barking dog, and exhausted all reasonable discussions with the management its time to subtly threaten: tell them you are considering calling the police or local animal control people, you are considering complaining to the town council, you will be posting online reviews, or you are moving out and will be canceling the credit card charges.
Feeding the birds/Seagulls …many places (especially here in Florida) have restrictions…”Do Not Feed the Wildlife” (that includes birds). The birds/animals
become dependent on that and when you leave, it leaves them looking for other sources–which can become a problem for the birds as well as people. it’s a great temptation to feed them, especially the beautiful cranes with the red heads –but, in the long run, not doing them a ‘favor’.
The solution is simple…..move to another campground.
Patrick, it used to be easy to just pack up and move to another campground. These days the other campgrounds may be booked solid or they’re junky, or they’re somewhere far from where you want to stay. You say it’s a simple solution, but in my opinion it’s often not simple at all.
I am surprised that the campground allows feeding of seagulls. On my frequent visits to the Texas Gulf Coast, I see many notices by businesses, not to feed the seagulls. It is a safety, enjoyment and health concern. I could suggest bringing a shotgun but that, also, would be wrong.
Feeding wildlife is often a bad idea for myriad reasons. I would leave the campground or consider calling the Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division or similar agency. As indicated, in the quantity described, that must be an unhealthy volume of food and poop. The health department may have something to say about it too.
If management really won’t refund the money, I would also not be shy about sharing on social media, the details of which park this is and the unwillingness to help
Is it illegal to feed them? If so, don’t waste time with Park management. Simply call the local Wildlife Management agency, and report the Park not enforcing the law. I bet it’s illegal to feed them. If you have a dog, use a longer lease, and let it bark. If you don’t have a dog, maybe you can borrow one. Find a cat that doesn’t like birds. Audio gun shots, or fireworks, might scare birds too.
I would also review the park on line, after you leave, and copy in Park management.
If feeding them is illegal, let park management know you’re reporting someone to proper authorities. If no help, audio gun shots, or fireworks, might scare the birds, and neighbor.
You just have to bring your pet Coyote.
Throw a bunch of “gull food” on top of his rig whenever he’s not around. Works well for birds that pack at the ground for there food. Don’t know just how well it’ll work on gulls though.
Being a jerk to pay back a jerk just makes two jerks in the park.
I was thinking owls or snakes so I googled it and found this:
Gulls don’t like bright, scary owl faces on masks or balloons (often called “terror eyes”), and some will also avoid wooden owls, kites shaped like hawks, and decoy coyotes. So if you don’t mind a few lawn ornaments, you can at least keep the annoying birds guessing.
Good one. It’s more humane and less invasive dealing with the neighbor
Oh, that’s easy. If you put the park on your credit card tell them you want you money back and leave the park. If they refuse to give you your money simply deny the charges on your card and contest them. Put this park in your rear-view mirror!
Best idea. I pay for everything with a card now. Have been ripped off twice from merchants on line and the card company always sides with the consumer. If they get rude with you just tell them what you will do and suddenly their attitude changes and become cooperative.
I saw the same type of logic down in Zephyrhills Fl,. this winter. One person , in the back of the RV park , was feeding these huge birds that were crapping all over the place and stopping the cars for entrance and exiting. Needless to say, I did not choose that park.
In another park, that I stayed , it was animal friendly,which I did not know in advance. It reminded me of Animals before people. Even though leash laws were in force. People rudely let their dang dogs get close or next to complete strangers. I had to walk huge circles away from the walking areas to avoid these Canines. If I never hear “OH he/She won’t bite”, it will be soon enough. Total BS. Tell that to the thousands who get bit.
Maybe it’s his only joy. I try very hard to see behavior through the eyes and actions of the “offender” and have often been surprised by what is real. Maybe his DW is in the hospital and he is trying to manage without her. We don’t know why people do what they do. We can only control how we react to it. In this situation, if you are unhappy, realize that this is a temporary situation for you, and hopefully your next experience will not be as difficult for you to tolerate. Another option is to go out and adventure away from your camp site during the day.
I agree Daisy, you never may know why he is doing this. Maybe you should just go over and talk to him and make friends. He probably does not realize that it is such a problem for you.
What type of park is it? A year round or long-term park? You will probably be facing a loosing battle with management. Especially if he has a longer “lease” than you and has been there longer. You have a couple of options ( in no particular order): ask for your money back and move on down the road, talk with management about your concerns like you did in your comments above, call the health department about a health issue…if in fact there are 100-130 birds (can’t imagine the poop and mess), tell management you will call the health department ( be prepared for backlash), write a review on TripAdvisor, RV review, talk with neighbor and your concerns. Document what you’ve done.
This might be a good time to use those booming outside speakers that a lot of rigs seem to be equipped with now. Maybe play the 1812 overture or something?
Or The Ride of the Valkyries, the music the Robert Duvall character played in Apocolypse Now ( before saying, “I Love The Smell of Napalm in the Morning”).
Fighting fire with fire just makes a bigger fire. This is the wrong approach.
Go out and flip the switch on the electric post where they have their power supply. When asked, just say they were using too much power and the switch flipped OFF. I have done this a few times, the loud bangers seem to get to understand after a couple of times loosing power.
Why ask for a fight? That makes you just as bad as the other RVer.
The cigar one gets to me. I’m very sensitive to cigar smoke, and it can waft quite a long distance. We’ve had to retreat to the RV and close the windows on many an occasion. It’s really disappointing, but the smokers are within their rights so I do not approach them and just hope for a different prevailing wind on the morrow.
Someone on one of the forums suggested getting one of those Big A** Fans (that is the brand name Scotty Kilmore uses) and set it up to blow their smoke back towards them.
How about just going over and talking to the guy. Like one other poster said maybe there is something going on in his life and feeds them because he is coping with something or just plain lonely. Especially if he is more senior than you. Maybe you will leave with a new friend.
That situation is for the birds. The first thing I would do is politely approach him about the problem and explain your concerns. While doing that you might also let him know that sea gull poo is dangerous.
90 percent of seagull feces contain Enterococcus, which causes antibiotic-resistant infections. Seagull droppings have been known to contaminate food and water when a diseased bird defecates into a human food or water source. Besides Just being around that much bird poop isn’t at all healthy.
If he continues I would go purchase an air horn like the ones you see at sporting events. Once the birds are gathered I would give it a short blast. Each time they re-gather I would give it a short blast. If he complains gently explain that you do not wish to be exposed to Enterococus and the horn is your way of insuring you are not exposed to infections. Or maybe tell him you are part of an air horn band and you are practicing? Nah, that probably won’t work.
Radical? Yes. I’d try diplomacy first.
Don’t most states have laws about feeding wildlife? If so, then the owner of the park had to bring it to the attention of the guilty camper.
This is a rare case but my daughter saw a seagull swoop down and fly off with a beachgoer’s Chihuahua puppy! Yikes!
About two seconds of research and I found this: “Kevin McGowan, a project manager at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, agrees that it’s very unlikely, as gulls don’t have talons like other birds of prey such as raptors. He added that since gulls and chihuahuas weigh around the same, it would be near impossible to accomplish such a feat.” So, I’d have to call B.S. on the claim she actually saw this happen. She probably heard the (not true) story about it.
Put up a large plastic bird of prey like used in a Garden, it keeps the birds off the Rig on the land.
If you can’t beat them , join them! get your self a bottle of Gin and a loaf of bread, crumble up a slice or two of the bread, dip the small pieces into the Gin, have your self a drink of choice, toss the pane in the butt birds a piece at a time into the air, sit back and watch a drunken air show!!
I don’t know how true this is ,……
But I heard of two guys that placed dry ice inside pieces of bread and fed it to the gulls. The dry ice expanded gasses inside the gulls and they couldn’t fart…
They just blow up!
My dad was career navy until he retired. He told me that the sailors would sometimes wad up an Alka-Seltzer in a ball of bread and toss it to the gulls…
Call the Local health Department for review of the unsanitary conditions the Park owner/manager allows to continue. If the gentleman wishes to feed the birds he can find an alternate location that doesn’t force the unsanitary condition to others.
Local health department should help. Feeding birds most probably is illegal. You might let the park owner know this.
Leave .
The man who is feeding the seagulls should be told to stop by the RV Park manager/owner. I would think that feeding them is against the rules of the park/campground. That kind of behavior is unacceptable in any RV park/campground. You don’t feed wild animals! Period!! And if he doesn’t stop, he should be told to leave/served with eviction notice.
Park management is asleep?