How do you get rid of sparrows?

[crowtrapper]

We've always had a multitude of these rather disgusting and aggressive little birds in our big old overgrown garden, so when 10 years ago we moved to a new house site, with no garden atall, and we established a no-water garden based on Australian native plants and succulents, we thought they would no longer be a problem.

We were OK for about 5 years but since then they have been creeping in, and we now have a regular flock. Terrorising and driving native birds away; pooing on the car in the garage; giving the veggie seedlings hell.

Any ideas about getting rid of them - preferably permanently? So far we have tried poison (they won't touch it), traps (they won't go in), and firearms (they are super-elusive, all take flight at the first sign of human movement).

Help!

[Tamara]

Blackbirds - use rat traps so maybe mouse traps would work?

love Tamara

[bill]

I think it would be like stopping cane toads. You can kill some but sheer weight of numbers and species adaptability makes the result a forgone conclusion. To a lesser extent around Perth we have the same thing with rainbow lorikeets - its too late to eradicate them so they become part of the ecosystem, and other less agressive species are ill equiped to compete.

[pebble]

My neighbour has a sparrow problem. I have virtually no sparrows at my place. They keep chickens, and the sparrows feed from the hen house and pen. We live in a semi-rural suburb, so they are quite close to my place.

So, maybe consider what is about your place, or your neighbourhood that makes it attractive to sparrows.

It might be worth asking the council if there is a problem more widespread too.


Cats can be taught to catch sparrows.



As an aside, in my experience it's hard to get rid of something when you hate it.

[kathleenmc]

Hi ct,

The other day I met this guy who is part of a group of who train raptors. He said that there is a call for natural eradication of pest species in birds by using trained hawks here in Australia, but his group are prevented by gov' legislation. He said they do get call outs and have to operate in secret. A trained hawk will get rid of birds in an orchard after only a few kills as the rest get the message and leave after a couple of days, saves thousands on netting! After watching the sad attempt to capture the starlings in Tammworth on the news the other night I can't believe hawking isn't allowed in this country! I say get into it people...join the Aus association here and start lobbying!

http://www.ausraptor.org.au

So ct, I wonder if you got hold of some hawk like kites and put them up around your garden if that would help. Otherwise it's netting and caging veges that will be the only solution for you. The sparrows are definitely getting fed somewhere to come into your garden regularly... excess chicken feed, or easy access to it, is a definite draw card, for rodents as well....so maybe that's an issue as well?

Cheers and goodluck Kathleen

[crowtrapper]

Thanks everyone for those thoughts. The main mob of sparrows live next door - about 1 km away - big lush garden with mostly English style plantings - the ones we see here at not so numerous, but appear to be the scouts who are on the lookout for new territory.

Someone told me you just have to kill the males, of which there are only one or two in our sparrow population, and that will send the others away, back where they came from.

Might try a hawk kite - unfortunately I guess it will drive off wrens and silvereyes as well, and possibly even galahs and rosellas? We are looking at netting, a bit of a pain but maybe necessary.

Cheers to all

Crowtrapper. ( Should that be "Sparrowtrapper" ??.....)

[TomStarling]

The netting's always a good solution but admittedly a bit labor intensive. You can see some high quality bird netting at http://www.bird-x.com/products/bnet.html. It's UV-stabilized so it won't degrade in the sun and will last pretty much forever. There are other products you can buy. The hawk idea is a good one, though a kite might not do the trick. The TerrorEyes balloon is designed to mimic the hawk and other raptor predators with markings and holographic eyes that follow birds wherever they go. You can see that at http://www.bird-x.com/products/terror.html. Bird-X, Inc. has dozens of humane and economical bird pest control options. I'm sure one of them will work for you. (As an afterthought, IrriTape might work, too, check it out)

[Terra]

If you have had enough of the sparrows then chances are others are feeling the same way , inlist some helpers the birds are probably nesting and sheltering somewhere near by , pinetrees and date palms are a favorite for them and also starlings , so think about hitting them while they are asleep . Follow them just before dark and see where they hide , raid there nests , terrorise them if nothing else it will make you feel better .
Terra

[sweetpea]

I've got to say that bird netting turned into a nightmare for me, and a cruel trap for a lot of other things besides birds. Bats get trapped in it, our best friends when it comes to flying insects and mosquitos, gopher snakes, which took me an hour apiece to clip loose, other birds that are meat eaters and are protecting your crops. It's not good stuff in my experience, I've gotten rid of all of mine.

Here's a link for a sparrow spooker:

http://www.sialis.org/sparrowspooker.htm

And there is red flash tape that is foil red and lightweight, blows in the least breeze and flashes red, which a lot of birds don't like. The grape growers where I am put these all around their grapes to deter birds.

Marinas have problems with birds, too, and here's a site with some help:

http://www.absolutebirdcontrol.com/flashtape.htm

[ho-hum]

Crow,

Trapping is a really effective method of removing sparrows. Sparrows will happily enter traps and respond well to baiting a trap for a couple of weeks so that the sparrows can come and go. Once this habit has been developed you can close the exit.

1\ /1
1 \ / 1
1----1

That is a very rudimentary idea of the shape side on. The entrance way is at the bottom of the v, it can be holes in the netting or a slide in board with holes/funnels in etc. One end is a doorway that originally is left open for the sparrows to enter and leave, when the sparrows are used to using the trap after a week put an escape funnel in the door so they are entering via the 'v'. Give it a few days and then block the escape hole.

If you have ever seen an 'opera trap' used for yabbies you will understand the principle. The birds enter at bottom of the V and fly upwards into both corners to escape.

These sorts of traps were fairly common in the 60s... small ones maybe 3' high, 3' long with the 'drop down' in the centre probably at about 8'' for sparrows and big scale ones were used for crows. I didnt ever see anything except the target species in the traps. These traps if big enough can catch an entire flock.

Bait a sparrow trap with budgie seed or wheat which is spread directly under the 'v'. It is a great idea to put a bit of wool, coir or old mattress stuffing in them too. Sparrows [like most permies] are always looking for free building materials and this will often coax the last few in.

Catch your sparrows at night with red cellophane over a torch, birds cant see in the red light.

Winter-spring is the best time to catch sparrows before the wild grasses seed.

cheers

floot