In Sète, a sterilization campaign to regulate the population of undesirable Gabians

Traitement d’un œuf sur le toit du gymnase du Lido Midi Libre – R. M.

Le gabian est considéré comme un nuisible à Sète. Depuis 15 ans, le service Protection civile, hygiène et salubrité procède à une stérilisation annuelle des œufs de goélands. Les résultats sont convaincants.

Since 2009, the Civil Protection, Hygiene and Sanitation (PCHS) has been leading an annual campaign to drive the Gabians out of the city center. The 2024 campaign has just ended. This approach consists of sterilizing Gabian eggs, during their laying phase, in order to regulate their population. It also shows the gulls that the city center is not conducive to fertility and their development. The objective is for the yellow-legged gull, its scientific name, to return to its natural space, in other words, to the Lido.

A well-established method

The whiteflies took the "wrong" habit of making their nests on balconies or on the roofs of buildings in Sète, to the great dismay of the Sète residents. To disrupt this phenomenon, the method used is simple. PCHS members spread vegetable oil on gabian eggs.

"You need oil with a high density, such as peanut or corn oil, so that it suffocates the eggs, explains the pair Bruce Sellier and Audrey Cabal, members of the PCHS service, while spraying oil on an egg, located on the roof of the Lido gymnasium.

Régis Capelle, project manager at the Agglo, explains that "thanks to this method, the gabians will realize that their eggs do not develop and will therefore judge that this is not the appropriate place to make their nest. As a result, they will return to their natural spaces and move away from the Sète homes.

Since 2009, 3,583 nests have been treated and 7,961 eggs have been sterilized

This year again, 501 eggs were sterilized by the PCHS service. Régis Capelle reports "225 buildings visited and above all a 10 % drop in nests found on roofs."&amp ;nbsp;This last figure testifies to a rather effective method, since’it means that the Gabians are gradually deserting the Sétois city center.

For the record, since 2009, 3 583 nests have been treated, 7 961 eggs have been sterilized and 2 542 buildings have been visited by the PCHS service of the City of Sète.