Topic: Exploding seagulls

[SMP1704]

I heard this while driving to work, listening to LBC - did anyone else hear this?

Apparently if seagulls are fed bicarbonate of soda or epsom salts (disguised in bread or fish) they will explode within a few minutes (yugh)  :o :o This is because the birds do not have any means to getting rid of the gas ;)

There were lots of people who live on the coast or by rivers, who are plagued by the gulls, phoning in to confirm that they used this method of 'pest control'.

This got me thinking.....would it work for pigeons :o :o  I don't have a pidg problem - yet and as I find it yucky picking up dead slugs, the idea of finding exploded birds all over the plot is going way too far - but you have to wonder...........

[Roy Bham UK]

Well I suppose you would have to consider how you feel about peeps busting the brains out of baby seals just for their fur :-\ and then think what kind of pain would a seagull feel with a gut full of wind it can't disperse of :-\ and then wonder, do I give a hoot about all the slugs 'n' snails I feed pellets and stomp on just to have a good harvest ???

I'm starting to feel a bit guilty myself. :(

This could be a long thread. :-\

[mat]

If (and a BIG IF) this is true - how would you stop all the birds you don't wish to die eating this?

I don't like the sound of this method... Not very pleasant...

mat

[Mrs Ava]

No, agree with Mat here...don't like seaguls harrassing us on the beach, but I love to hear that sound of them screeching when I am back home in North Devon as I wake up in the morning.  Pigeons drive me mad on the plot, but the collard doves that feed in our garden are such a treat that I wouldn't wish any harm to them.

[Wicker]

 Agree wholeheartedly with EJ, Roy and Mat - don't like this at all.

Where I live we are plagued with pigeons and gulls as they use the building to roost and I know that some pigeons are probably "culled" on the quiet but exploding  >:(  Hope that is just someone's sick sadistic flight of fancy (no pun intended honestly :-[)

Incidentally my "name" on other sites is Scorrie - that's what seagulls are called in Caithness so you can guess why I feel so strongly.............

[DenBee]

I think this must be an urban (coastal?  ;) ) myth.

When you think about it, seagulls can actually be pretty efficient at regurgitating - don't they do it as a form of attack?  I vaguely remember seeing Tony Robinson being hawked at by gulls when he was collecting eggs as part of his Worst Jobs in History series.  And they must regurgitate also to feed their young.  So they do have a way of expelling any fizz from the bicarb.

I could be wrong, but I'm just trying to take it to its logical conclusion.

And I've got a grudge against pigeons too - darn sky rats ate 8 cabbage plants this week.  >:(

[Roy Bham UK]

I saw on TV recently that a council somewhere in the UK culls pigeons more humanely by taking pot shots at their eggs from one of those mobile hoists they use for street lamp maintenance etc:

Messy but effective in the long term :o :P

[Carol]

That sounds d**n cruel and wouldn't want to inflict that sort of pain on any creature whether it can be done or not....... cruel !!!!