Starlings over taking barn!!!!

[Longview]

Quote:
That seems to be the general consensus; hot dang, I might have to get my FOID card!

 

[sharol]

We have huge flocks of the pests around during the fall and winter where I live. When I lived in town, they tried to roost in my trees. I don't have a gun (or want one), so I got a sheet of plywood about 2x4 or so. I would hold one end down with my foot and pull up the other end and then slam it down on my wood porch or on the cement patio. Apparently they thought it was a gun and they would take flight. I did this near sunset every day for a week or so. They were so flustered at being flushed right at roosting time that they moved down the block to another poor unsuspecting resident.

My experience with starlings (and grackles for that matter) is that you can annoy them away if you are persistent.

I had a neighbor who shot them and tied their little bodies up in his tree by their feet. They moved on. When the police came investigating shots fired, no one had heard anything

 

[wsdareme]

Has anyone tried one of those plastic owls? My feed store sells them, and I know they work well for pigeons (another bird that's as bad as starlings). I don't have a starling problem, so I've never needed one.

Of course, the owl might scare the begeezus out of your chickens.

Maybe be you put it where the chickens couldn't see it. LOL!!

 

[Inkheart]

I am a little hesitant to shoot - as it is a metal barn and the ceiling is 30 feet high - i am afraid i would cause more damage than good - and scare the heck oout of the chickens and the goats! I dont have a SINGLE barn coat that doesnt have starling poooo on it! lol

 

[mmpb1]

Try an internet search for starling.trap and you will get lots of ideas. The link with instructions for the one DH made is no longer available, but others seem about the same to build. Also, you can buy traps already constructed.

After years of shooting the nasty birds, the trap has been effective and it cut back on ammunition expenses. We placed ours outside near a purple martin house, but it would probably work inside a big barn.

Keep a close watch for trapped birds. Purple martins and bluebirds sometimes get to slide down the pipe. Don't relocate starlings. My cats won't eat them, so they must be awful.

Good luck,
Margie

 

[Talihofarms]

I use the .22 shot shells on starlings all the time.
But the best solution for me was when I inived all my sons
Boy Scout pack over for target practice.
15 eager crack shots with BB & Pellet guns.
4 hours,
Hundreds of dead starlings.
Scouts have the opportunity to practice great firearm skills.

Scouts keep asking when they can come back and shoot.
I will have them back when there is a new supply in summmer.

 

[Q9]

Quote:
That is awesome.

Mind if I come over?

 

[Inkheart]

Well i have ordered the "sparrow trap" listed in the beginning of this thread - will let you know how it works! Tho on a brighter side - sort of - my big ole barn cat caught and killed one! What i found intersting is he usually tries to eat mice - birds - whatever - he killed it - and sniffed at it - like it wasnt good enough to even bother with! LOL

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

I just talked to my one my customers yesterday about it and they had the problem. They would go up in the loft of the barn and put glue traps all around with food in the center of about 5 traps..the birds would go for the food, get stuck and he would go up each morning before work and bring down about a dozen and kill them....maybe not the most humane thing, but he solved his problem.

 

[Rammy]

I had that problem the first year or two after I had my barn built. Then.............I got barn cats. Momma cat had kittens in my barn, so I started feeding them. Havent had a mouse OR bird problem since. Cheaper. Easy to maintain. Just get some cheap cat food to feed them with. Trust me, your bird problem will go away quickly. They used to build nests in between the walls of my horses stall. Not anymore<eg>.


Rammy