For the past few years I’ve noticed groups of big vultures roosting on top of the houses near water on James Island. I saw some even had to get roofing replaced because of the droppings. Well, starting last month a group of around 10 of them have been arriving daily in the magnolia tree in my front yard plastering the lawn with massive white droppings. Since they’re a protected species and can’t be harmed, anyone have any luck with deterrents? I’m tempted to shoot at them with a spring powered airsoft pistol (not strong enough to break skin or anything just to scare 'em). I’m unsure about the legality of that though.
You might try throwing out some “spoiled” meat.
Yep, go to a deer processer in your area and see if he will give you his leftover guts and offal, that is usually thrown out! Take it very near, to your worse neighbors property line and dump it! Than sit back and enjoy:imp: 
If all else fails, Cut Down The (**()ed Tree!
Contact DNR and see what you can legally do…
Wadmalaw native
1999 16’ Bentz-Craft flats
1994 16’ Bentz-Craft flats
15’ Alumacraft, 1979 35 Johnson
ISLAND ARMORY, LLC - CONTACT ME FOR ALL OF YOUR FFL NEEDS!
I feel for you. That’s a stanky tree.
“Edaniel is a compromising liberal, according to past threads, so consider that info here too.” - mac daddy
Heck, a Magnolia is a dirty tree,even without the Vultures!
quote:
Heck, a Magnolia is a dirty tree,even without the Vultures!
No kidding, and I strongly dislike the smell of the flowers. Cut down tree, problem solved
I know how I’d solve it, but I live in the country and nobody dials 911 when they hear some shotgun blasts. They ain’t living in my yard!
quote:
You might try throwing out some "spoiled" meat.
Spoiled with rat poison.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
quote:
Originally posted by Cracker Larryquote:
Heck, a Magnolia is a dirty tree,even without the Vultures!
No kidding, and I strongly dislike the smell of the flowers. Cut down tree, problem solved
I know how I’d solve it, but I live in the country and nobody dials 911 when they hear some shotgun blasts. They ain’t living in my yard!
quote:
You might try throwing out some "spoiled" meat.
Spoiled with rat poison.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
There ya go, advertise your felonious activities on a public forum…
Wadmalaw native
1999 16’ Bentz-Craft flats
1994 16’ Bentz-Craft flats
15’ Alumacraft, 1979 35 Johnson
ISLAND ARMORY, LLC - CONTACT ME FOR ALL OF YOUR FFL NEEDS!
They had to hang a dead one in a tree in My DIL neighbor hood on Bees ferry road.Still hanging right now.The birds would destroy a roof.
Stonoman
Kill a deer and put it in a neighbors ditch in the next subdivision… Problem solved…
Be careful with poison… Never know what animal will find it…
From the DNR website:
“Vultures are federally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). A permit is required to trap, kill, relocate, or otherwise handle vultures or their eggs. Federal and state permit applications are available from USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)-Wildlife Services (WS). Permit applications are processed by the USFWS. Permits require evidence that non-lethal methods have failed to work. The USDA-WS offers technical and operational assistance to the public and other government agencies.”
I had a buzzard feather in a hat and was told that could get me in trouble. (Civil War reenactor)
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
DF, what are you, an American Indian?
They are exempt! I have a very different remedy! Vote out the Democrats and the Vultures will be gone, within days! They will leave a mess behind, that will take years to clean up, though[:0]
quote:
Kill a deer and put it in a neighbors ditch in the next subdivision... Problem solved...
No it won’t. Once they find a roost that they like, they will come to it every evening and stay until morning. They don’t mind flying a couple blocks for breakfast and coming home after supper. I’ve got a couple of roost trees in my cypress swamp that they have used for 20 years or more. Nowhere close to the house though. Couldn’t have that stinking nasty mess in my yard. It’s a health hazard to people and pets both.
I wonder if DNR knows how many get caught in legal fox and coyote traps. Ever tried to live release a buzzard from a fox trap? Dang, that hurts!
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
I feel for you. I used to be a network engineer for a cell phone company and we had several sights that buzzards would roost at. We had a company put up bird spikes. No good Put up electric fence. They ripped it down. I even went with the suggestion of hanging a dead bird. They will eat their own. We had one short tower that we ran a water sprinkler on a timer. That worked.
Also had a near by landowner that shot off bottle rockets at them. It took a while but they finally left that tower alone. Just have to find something to break their roosting cycle. Don’t publicize it but throw rocks at them and do not let them roost over night.
Good luck! I like the job they do but dang of I would want them roosting around my house!
quote:
Originally posted by Cracker Larryquote:
Heck, a Magnolia is a dirty tree,even without the Vultures!
No kidding, and I strongly dislike the smell of the flowers. Cut down tree, problem solved
I know how I’d solve it, but I live in the country and nobody dials 911 when they hear some shotgun blasts. They ain’t living in my yard!
quote:
You might try throwing out some "spoiled" meat.
Spoiled with rat poison.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
If eating an armadillo doesn’t kill them, I bet rat poison wouldn’t hurt them either!
Redfish Baron Extraordinaire
About a half-century ago, I was in the Savannah River swamp with my trusty .410. I looked straight up and saw a “roost tree” full of buzzards, and not knowing the law, or thinking about the consequences, I aimed up amongst them, thinking: “I can’t miss”. About 100 buzzards looked down at me and said: “We can’t miss!” I missed. They didn’t!
spec
1980 Skandia 21 w/ '93 JohnRude 150 gas drinker
quote:I never said how LONG it was solved... :smiley:
Originally posted by Cracker Larryquote:
Kill a deer and put it in a neighbors ditch in the next subdivision... Problem solved...
No it won’t. Once they find a roost that they like, they will come to it every evening and stay until morning. They don’t mind flying a couple blocks for breakfast and coming home after supper. I’ve got a couple of roost trees in my cypress swamp that they have used for 20 years or more. Nowhere close to the house though. Couldn’t have that stinking nasty mess in my yard. It’s a health hazard to people and pets both.
I wonder if DNR knows how many get caught in legal fox and coyote traps. Ever tried to live release a buzzard from a fox trap? Dang, that hurts!
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
quote:
Originally posted by DFreedomFrom the DNR website:
“Vultures are federally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). A permit is required to trap, kill, relocate, or otherwise handle vultures or their eggs. Federal and state permit applications are available from USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)-Wildlife Services (WS). Permit applications are processed by the USFWS. Permits require evidence that non-lethal methods have failed to work. The USDA-WS offers technical and operational assistance to the public and other government agencies.”
I had a buzzard feather in a hat and was told that could get me in trouble. (Civil War reenactor)
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
Along with the droppings they leave a bunch of really big feathers. So many that I went through the yard and had about 2 dozen foot long feathers around the tree. I’m a sculptor and I use alot of bones, feathers and such I find in the woods or on the beach, I used some of the vulture feathers in a mask I made, I should probably document the ones in my tree to show DNR I’m just picking up what falls in my yard, I don’t want to just throw them away if I have a use for them.
I copied this off of SC DNR
(A permit is required to trap, kill, relocate, or otherwise handle vultures or their eggs. Federal and state permit applications are available from USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)-Wildlife Services (WS). Permit applications are processed by the USFWS. Permits require evidence that non-lethal methods have failed to work.)
If it where me, id shoot the **** out of them with that bb gun at night.
quote:
Originally posted by specAbout a half-century ago, I was in the Savannah River swamp with my trusty .410. I looked straight up and saw a “roost tree” full of buzzards, and not knowing the law, or thinking about the consequences, I aimed up amongst them, thinking: “I can’t miss”. About 100 buzzards looked down at me and said: “We can’t miss!” I missed. They didn’t!
spec
1980 Skandia 21 w/ '93 JohnRude 150 gas drinker
I had a tower crew out one time to replace an antenna and one of em got crapped on about a 1/3 of the way up. He threw up three times before he got back to the ground.