SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Sarasota woman has a unique problem outside of her business.

A pair of nesting hawks is attacking anyone who walks through her front yard.

“Everybody, the minute you go in the walkway here, you get attacked,” businessowner Odalys Hayes said.

She called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to come investigate, and the birds attacked an FWC officer in her front yard.

Aman who cuts her grass was attacked, and her own son and husband have been attacked. She said her husband was wearing a helmet when one of the birds hit his head.

“He’s wearing a helmet, got attacked 8 times on Wednesday, last Wednesday taking the garbage out,” Hayes said. “He almost lost balance and fell down.”

She said her son was not wearing a helmet, and the birds talons injured his head.

“Oh, yeah, very bad, he was all cut up,” Hayes said.

She said the FWC has advised her the hawks are a protected species, and she is limited in what she can do at this time of year.

” I can’t do anything, at all, anything, period, when the nest is there,” Hayes said.

David Voykin works with Gulfcoast Bird Away, and it’s his business to get rid of problem birds, but even he would be limited in what he can do with the hawks.

“Out where we are talking about, hawks are going to be hawks, and they are going to rule the land, and with the guidelines from the FWC, they are protected,” Voykin said.

He suggested removing the nest after the fledglings are out and then putting up noise makers and shiny objects to deter the birds from coming back.

“In the short term, something flashy that would give them a scare or a visual deterrent, and some people say hang wind chimes,” Voykin said.

In the meantime, Hayes is advising the customers of her business to be careful.

“We making sure that we tell them, you know, to park really close to the roof,” Hayes said.