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Cleankill Director sees red after seagulls ruin car

Jon Whitehead Cleankill Director

Seagulls have got their revenge on a Sussex pest controller by causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage to his new car. Jon Whitehead, who lives in Seaford, East Sussex, and is a director at Cleankill Pest Control, returned from holiday to find seagulls had used his estate car for target practise.

Jon, who had only taken delivery of the car shortly before his holiday, says he is furious: “The droppings had eaten right through the paintwork, so I took it to a local bodyshop who told me the whole area needed re-spraying. Part of my work involves deterring seagulls and removing nests so it’s as though the birds decided to get their revenge on me.”

Andy Melville, who runs Motorline Engineering near Lewes in East Sussex, has specialised in classic cars and services such as paint repair for more than 35 years. He says he has seen a 25 per cent increase in requests to repair paintwork that has been damaged by bird faeces and that the hot weather has exacerbated the problems.

He said: “The poo only needs to be left on the car for a period of 12 hours and the damage will have been done and the whole area will probably need re-painting. The hot weather has literally been baking the faeces into the paintwork and setting it hard really quickly. The best advice is to wash it off with soap and water straight away.”

Repair bills can range from £100 to £2,000 if the whole car needs re-spraying and, Andy says, the increase in metallic paints has made repairs more costly. “Most people now have metallic paint which means you have to re-spray the whole area – you can’t just repair the paintwork. With old cars it’s much easier to repair the damage. “ Andy says the colour of the vehicle doesn’t seem to make a difference. “There doesn’t seem to be a pattern – it’s more about where the car has been left. We’re getting lots of customers who live on the coast but people who park their cars under trees in land are also contacting us. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s a seagull, a pigeon or a blackbird – all of the droppings are very acidic but, obviously, the bigger the birds the larger the poo!”

Cleankill Pest Control offers a specialist bird control service for facilities and property management companies in London, Sussex. Surrey and Kent, from the initial survey and specification through to the final proofing solution. As registered waste carriers, Cleankill can carry out full scale removal of bird fouling, as well as contaminated goods and furniture, from infested properties. As well as the feral pigeon, seagulls are becoming a greater problem for property owners. Cleankill can also offer advice and solutions for these pests.