East Lindsey District Council receives a number of complaints each year regarding disturbance caused by bird scarers. The National Farmers Union has published a code of practice on the use of bird scarers.

It is recognised that it is essential to protect certain crops from birds however gas guns used to deter birds must be used sensitively to ensure that a nuisance is not caused but crops are effectively protected.

Auditory bird scarers should be used as a last resort after alternative methods of deterring birds have been used. The scarers should also be used as infrequently as possible as birds soon get used to them.

It is recommended that the scarers should only be used between sunrise and sunset and not before 6:00am. They should not be fired more than 4 times per hour otherwise the birds quickly get used to the scarer rendering it ineffective. It may be that two different farms have bird scarers that allow more frequent bangs in an area, in this situation the farmers should liase with each other to prevent this happening.

Bird scarers should be positioned away from noise sensitive properties such as hospitals, homes or schools, it may be that baffles are needed to protect such properties from the noise.

For further or more detailed information regarding auditory bird scarers you can contact the Environmental Protection Service on (01507) 601111 or email Environmentalprotection@e-lindsey.gov.uk