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Old 02-21-2005, 01:52 PM   #1
Dave e Victoria
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Pigeons & Sea gulls

Laying on the couch tonight looking out the window I see two big grey birds, either female sea gulls or pigeons sitting under the awning over the bedroom slide. Jumped up and chased them away. They landed on my neighbors airconditioner. Never thought of it before but, this is probably a common problem. How do you keep these pesky feathered varmints from roosting on the fiver -- especially under the canopies. Hate to think of having to clean off the top of the slides under the canopy.

BTW: we are at El Golfo about 90 miles south of Yuma AZ on the Sea of Cortez. It's been raining almost steady since we arrived last wednesday. The beach is wonderful -- sand in every direction -- local restaurants are great. The park is nearly full. Can't wait to come back in late April or May when all the snowbirds have flown north.
 
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Old 02-22-2005, 01:14 AM   #2
BillyRay
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can't say I've had that problem, but will be an interesting post! sorry I couldn't help.
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Old 02-22-2005, 01:28 AM   #3
smc
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Gardeners use statues of owls etc. Maybe one of those windsocks in the shape of a predators, or anything that flutters????? Might make the neighbours roof look more attractive!
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Old 02-22-2005, 05:19 AM   #4
VanMan
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One of the tips on RV Today was a piece of that blue or white styrofoam (whatever thickness is right) cut to size to actually occupy the space. Light weight - stores inside when in transit
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Old 02-23-2005, 05:45 AM   #5
Treecounter
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Ok. we were in El Golfo for six weeks and the pidgins tried to nest on our slide covers. They packed in twigs string etc. We went on the beach and got some fish net that washed up. Used close pins to hold in on the fabric and duct tape on the sides. No more nesting. They are looking for safe place for their eggs where the gulls can't find them. We will be in Yuma lakes until Mid March.
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Old 02-23-2005, 06:30 AM   #6
HamRad
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Dave e Victoria,
Hi folks. I guess we just missed you. We spent a few days in the Playa del Oro CG in Puerto Penasco. Rained on us one night and turned a little cooler but all in all it was pretty nice. We sure enjoyed the area and will probably go back next year and spend a lot more time there. I have a friend who will be bringing a small boat for fishing. Should be a lot of fun. I can't remember the name of the place we plan to stay but it is just west of the huge condo complex they're building. That may be the CG you're staying in. Anyway I hope the weather improves for you soon. The roads were all mud puddles.... even the main street was really muddy. Fortunately it dried up very quickly and was sort of nice to not have a lot of dust flying around.

Treecounter,
We spent about 4 nights just a bit north of you up at Mittry Lake. It is just a boondocking area so no hookups. And of course it rained the entire time we were there. Of course if you've been there for any length of time you know all about the rain! We had a good time driving around Yuma and going to the flea market area out by the airport. Also went down to Algodones, MX and stocked up on a few prescription drugs. Quiet a place. I was impressed. Tried taking home some of the Casino money but it didn't work out!

Hey.... if you all are going back next year maybe we'll see you down that way. Let's hope it is a bit drier next time.

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Old 02-23-2005, 10:07 AM   #7
jrgwdenner
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The birds might be mourning doves. My son had a pair that decided the best place to nest was on top of an outdoor ceiling fan on their porch. They were determined. Nothing could discourage them. When the ceiling fan was turned on, they walked up and down their kitchen window ledge and cooed at them!
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Old 02-23-2005, 01:22 PM   #8
sreigle
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Dave, normally I'd suggest a shotgun but you have neighbors closeby so maybe a bb gun. I am not a fan of either seagulls or pigeons. We have the seagulls here at Tybee Island, GA, too, except the gulls here are white instead of the gray ones on the west coast. I usually just wash it off when I wash the rig or truck. I'm more worried about walking underneath those nasty birds. I remember them well from my Navy bootcamp days and watching them squawkingly swoop down to snack on the puke some of the boots deposited on the ground during PT. By the way if they have a little hook on the end of their beaks, they're seagulls.
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Old 02-23-2005, 01:27 PM   #9
Montana_657
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Gee.. I guess all the stories of how trouble free the toppers are might be a bit exagerated. How do you get the trash out from under a 12 foot slide topper before you close it??? How do you know it's full of bird poop before you bring the slides in????
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Old 02-23-2005, 01:56 PM   #10
Glenn and Lorraine
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How about squirrels?? My neighbor has been having problems with squirrels under his slide toppers.

Gruffy asked a good question, Just how do you clean under these toppers??
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Old 02-25-2005, 03:18 AM   #11
Treecounter
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HamRad, if you are going to fish from a boat in the Puerto Panasco area get the proper permits. We were staying at The Reef at Sandy Beach. WE watched the Mexican authorities board as sport boat to inspect it. Don't know what happened but they followed the the official boat in. We plan on being back down there nest year. We like the Reef because has a lot more room, better water pressure and fifty amp service. It a little more expensive and farther from town. They have a boon docking area $5.00 a day and $7.50 to dump when you need to.
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Old 02-25-2005, 03:52 AM   #12
thundercat
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The easy way to keep birds away from the top of your rig is to get either a blow-up snake or owl and set it on top of your rig. You can tie it down with monfiliment fishing line. These can be purchased at any mariner or marine supply store. I have used them on my boat when moored on the ocean and they really work.
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Old 02-25-2005, 04:41 AM   #13
sreigle
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Gruffy, we've not had to get anything out from under out toppers. Not ever, not in more than four years with slide toppers. It's possible a bird could decide to nest in there if we are in one place long enough and in the right time of year, I suppose, but a tree would be a much better choice for most birds. It's really not a problem. And if it does happen someday, I'll deal with it. I sure wouldn't give up the advantages of the toppers over one incident that still hasn't happened in four years. AND, I've never had to brush debris off the top, nor chop ice, nor sweep snow so I could get the slides to retract. The toppers take care of that. After more than four years with toppers, it's an easy choice for me. We will keep the toppers.

If the birds Dave mentioned did poop under the topper, you either clean it with a broom handle with a rag on the end of you retract the slides and clean it from inside the coach. That would get it on the seal but that's not a big deal. I would clean off the bird poop but I'm not real concerned about keeping the slide roof sparkling white.
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Old 02-25-2005, 05:16 AM   #14
CountryGuy
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Only time we have had to clean the toppers is when we have had wet leaves in the fall. Al had to go up and broom those off the toppers, the leave would never have slid off when retracting the slides. Ice came off, with a nice crash, remember me saying Al thought I blew the windows out of the unit , and how glad I was that he was not standing near the slides that day?? . Snow came right off, rain comes off, but we do take that into consideration and move slides in a bit at a time, allowing the water to run off. We will keep ours too, Steve. Works for us, might not for others, but works for us. We also have the wind here in the Rio Grande, really gets to rumbling the toppers, and this is the one thing that does bother us just a little, the rumble. Not bad if for a few hours, but because we are truthful, after 36 or more hours, it can grate on your nerves. This is the only place we have had the long term rumbling, and it is the small price we pay to be here in somewhat warmer weather vs Michigan and somewhat colder weather!

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Old 02-25-2005, 06:52 AM   #15
Montana_657
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Don't think I'll invest the money at this point. My slides have worked faultlessly for over 2 years and I can get up there and treat all the seals every so often... not just the ends.
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Old 02-25-2005, 01:19 PM   #16
Dave e Victoria
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Gosh, Never thought I would start a controversy about toppers. Actually, the post has generated some good ideas. Fortunately, we moved from the subject site before any droppings occurred. My own experience with and with out toppers made me a believer. Last year, before I had tehm installed, we camped for a month under the trees on Drummond island MI. What a mess. Luckily, I had invested in a collapsable step ladder. Even with that help, getting all of the debris off before closing up was a real chore. I've never had any problem with the toppers and I always check before we close up. I'm with Steve -- never be without them again.
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Old 02-25-2005, 03:05 PM   #17
sreigle
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Carol, come to think of it I did have to sweep the leaves off the toppers last Fall like you did. But I would have had to sweep them off the slides without the toppers. We had no leaves on the slides themselves, just on the toppers. Like you, we don't care for the flapping in the wind but it only gets irritating when it's real windy/gusty.

Gruffy, that's the whole idea. Personal choice. I can't say anyone else should have toppers. I can only say they're the best choice for us. I'm sure there are many members who feel equally strongly that toppers are not the right choice for them. Sorry I got out of joint a bit.
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