The good people of Dumfries are in a bit of a tiz because of seagulls. The town has always had gulls - even Rabbie Burns, an Excise man at the time, commented on this.
However, then they weren't nesting all over the buildings and dive-bombing the locals.
The problem is far from being impossible to solve, as has been repeatedly claimed. To control them, you have to take out a contract with a firm of steeplejacks and/or a pest control firm.
They must remove all gull nests and eggs on all buildings in the town during April and then again four weeks later.
After five years or so, the problem will have noticeably reduced and the birds will have realised that the town is no longer a safe place to nest.
The contract must be continued indefinitely, although obviously it can be reduced to a monitoring and maintenance basis.