It's the bane of many a mariner — bird dropping. Sea gulls, cormorants, sparrows, swallows, ducks and geese. If you're not aboard, the birds don’t mind making themselves at home and leaving a mess behind.

BoatUS asked some skippers their remedies for shooing off the mess-makers and got a ton of creative answers. Boaters put everything from copper wire to Halloween masks to use keeping the birds at bay.

One captain found a cheap and decorative solution — pinwheels. He plants one or two on each side, plus one on the bow pulpit. The lightest breeze makes them spin and he claims his remedy is so successful that the marina began doing the same thing.

Check out some other remedies on the Web site.