UK Pest Control Official Warns Seagulls Could Kill People With Their Poop

In the UK, the pest control chiefs are warning the citizens that seagulls could kill them this spring with their toxic poop. According to the Daily Star portal, Paul Blackhurst, chief of the UK’s Rentokil pest control company, has warned the public and businesses to be cautious in the coming weeks.

He warned that “heavy gull activity” is expected countrywide and that their droppings contain deadly E.coli and Salmonella. E. coli (Escherichia coli), is a bacteria commonly living in your intestines. Salmonella infection (salmonellosis) is a common bacterial disease that impacts the intestinal tract. “This can lead to the spread of infection through surface contamination or inhaling bacteria from dried droppings,” Blackhurst said.

Blackhurst particularly warned the people living in the coastal urban areas. He said that the increased gull activity at this time can lead to potential interactions between the public and these birds.

According to the pest control company chief, seagulls can become extremely aggressive during nesting season. This nesting season lasts between late spring and early summer, as these birds protect their nests and search for food for their offspring. Blackhurst said that the nests and roosting sites of birds also attract many pests such as bird mites, textile beetles and fleas. Bird mites, also called chicken mites, are pests that live on the skin of some birds.

Therefore, Blackhurst said that gulls at a home or business premises can bring about infestations from other unwanted visitors. Blackhurst’s company installs bird spikes and netting to protect properties from seagulls and a bird-scaring gadget.

Meanwhile, as reported by the Daily Star, refuse collectors (people whose job is to empty people’s dustbins and take the rubbish away) have been mocked. They have been ridiculed for fixing skirts onto bins to beat raiding seagulls. The skirts were added to stop pesky birds rifling through rubbish in a seaside town. However, these ideas have been termed ridiculous and an absolute joke by locals.

A shopkeeper named David Marsden claimed that the material used to make the designer flaps for dustbins was dirty. The shopkeeper added that he would not have objected to this arrangement had the workers used clean plastic.