This Australian diner had a seagull problem — so it armed customers with water guns
CBC Radio | Posted: May 23, 2018 9:59 PM | Last Updated: May 23, 2018
'The seagulls really got the hint,' says Perth restaurateur Toby Evans
Toby Evans says he tried everything he could think of to protect his seaside diner's customers from the scourge of hungry seagulls.
"We tried every sort of deterrent we could, you know, all the various devices you could buy from the hardware store," the owner of 3Sheets restaurant in Perth, Australia, told As It Happens host Carol Off.
"Nothing seemed to work."
But he eventually found a tool up to the task — at a toy store.
"I just had this epiphany one morning and thought: water pistols," he said. "It ticked all the boxes."
He figured the water guns would gets rid of the birds without harming them, while letting 3Sheets customers "have a bit of fun."
So he made a shopping trip to Toys 'R' Us then loaded each of his diner's outside tables with a water pistol — "not the real hard-powered ones," he assured — and a note telling diners to spray the scavengers.
The seagulls usually congregate near the waterfront restaurants, but these past few weeks have been particularly trying, Evans said.
"Over the last sort of 10 days they've gotten really bad. We don't know why," he said.
"It's like they went to commando school and learned some tricks and they were just getting pretty aggressive towards the the customers."
Now, he said, the customers are being aggressive back.
"It's been fantastic. The seagulls really got the hint," he said.
"More importantly, the customers knew that we sort of trying to have some fun."
Written by Sheena Goodyear. Interview produced by Samantha Lui.