BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey communities from one end of the state to the other have strung up vulture carcasses this winter to drive away flocks of the damaging buzzards.

On Monday, federal wildlife officials hoisted a dead black vulture about 30 feet up a tree in the backyard of a home in Bridgewater, a suburb of 45,000 about 40 miles west of New York City.

Wildlife officials say it's a sure-fire way to stop buzzards from roosting in the area.

Residents of one Bridgewater neighborhood have counted at least 100 vultures roosting in a handful of pine trees nearby. They've been leaving behind foul-smelling and acidic droppings on lawns and roofs.

Vulture carcasses have been strung up in at least a half-dozen other New Jersey locations this winter.