Vultures have taken up roost on my house or in my neighborhood. How do I get rid of them?
It is first important to understand what makes your area attractive. This is not necessarily a food source. Vultures are highly social animals, and they prefer to roost in large colonies. Areas that are conducive to this include the stereotypical dead tree, cell phone towers, and even rooftops or porch coverings. Removal of such trees is not advisable for several reasons: 1) these trees are often habitats for other wildlife, and 2) without the trees, the vultures may move to rooftops, a far less desirable situation.
The best way to discourage vultures is to create an inhospitable environment. On the household level, you can hang shiny, flapping objects to frighten the birds, frequently run outside, clapping and shouting, or set off firecrackers. (Note that, after a while, the vultures may discover that shiny flapping objects pose them no risk, at which point these will rather become fun toys. So it is best to initially accompany them with noise or blasts from a garden hose, and to be careful not to hang them somewhere that you would find to be a particularly unesirable secondary vulture roost)
On the community level, vulture discouragement is often accomplished with periodic cannon shots, or other noise solutions.
KILLING THE BIRDS IS NOT A SOLUTION.
Why? Dead vultures will create a very unsanitary environment, and will attract ground-bound scavengers such as coyotes and foxes, which would pose much more of a risk to your family. The carcasses might even attract a replacement population of new vultures. And please keep in mind, there is NO way of poisoning a vulture without unintentionally targeting large quantities of other wildlife.
Unfortunately, having adapted very well to the growing human population, vultures are becoming more difficult to discourage from residential areas. This does not mean that their populations will rise to any dangerous level, however. Like all other wild animals, they are controlled by natural population fluctuations. If the birds are roosting in trees or on cell phone towers, it is best to leave them in peace. They are wonderful animals to have around, as they keep the environment clean and healthy. You will even find that they can be beatiful in flight, and fun to observe.
Source: www.vultures.homestead.com/FAQ.html
Add comment June 30th, 2008
