Any advice for getting rid of sparrows?

[Graham_A_M]

Hey guys, we have an infestation of about 2-3 dozen sparrows at the farm.

Normally I seriously couldn't care less about the birds, but with these insanely annoying birds, they LOVE to congregate on the equipment and cover it in layers of bird shit.

:whipped: I've been using bird shot in our shotgun and shooting at them when they fly away, as they try to stay away from human presence, but this isn't working nearly as well as it should. Since it seems as many as I've shot over the summer, their numbers have held up. Its hard to just shoot at the group of them, since I REALLY dont want to damage any equipment, or have the pellets hit any of the grain bins or anything else.

They've been quite a problem over the years, and Im starting to get quite frustrated since they perch themselves over anything reminiscent of a hanger/perch... and just shit over everything beneath it. With all the hydrallic lines/hoses, this can be endless amounts of bird shit covering everything on all the equipment.


Any poison, or anything else that would work? I dont want to just "scare them away" since they'll always come back, or just avoid anything used to scare them. Frankly I'd love to kill them so we dont have this continual problem.

[KRyn]

.17 HMR?

[RickDaTuner]

Hawk decoys.

[natty54]

They will be gone soon enough as winter will come soon. A few years ago I killed all the sparrows at my place then I had way to many bugs so I now just put up with the birds.

You can also knock down their nests

[A790]

Pellet gun.

[Disoblige]

http://www.birdcontrolpro.com/control_sparrow.htm

Maybe something from there? Hawk decoy looks promising.

[e31]

Modified C02 pellet gun (rifle type) for greater shot power, put .22 wadcutter pellet in breech, then pour BB's down the barrel, ski mask & goggles on, aim for the rafters, POW!

You have to have at least a couple yard cats to clean em up though.

[flipstah]

Kill one and hang it as a sign of things to come.

But sparrows are cool. Magpies are a totally different story. :whipped:

[Graham_A_M]

^ Oh dont worry, I've rid this place of Magpie's a long time ago, haven't seen one in years. Trust me, spend a few days out here and you'll think otherwise about sparrows. Cars & trucks are about the only things out here that aren't regularly covered in their crap, even then..... nothing is safe.

Originally posted by natty54
They will be gone soon enough as winter will come soon. A few years ago I killed all the sparrows at my place then I had way to many bugs so I now just put up with the birds.

You can also knock down their nests

I've been knocking any nests I see down regularly, I even go hunting for them in the trees with a flashlight to look for the hidden ones... but still those little fuckers are persistent.
Every year, they come back.... every year. This has been going on for eons. I just want a solution to get rid of them semi-permanently. I wish there was a poison I could use, I'd have no issues using it regularly to get rid of these damn pests.

I've been using a variety of guns to kill them, .22's, shotguns, etc etc. I just wish I had something with a scope so I could stay way back and peg them off from a distance, without a scope its hard to get decent (much needed) precision when shooting from a good distance. Anytime I come within 100feet, they just bugger off, to which I've been using the shotgun ever since. Its odd though, even with fine bird pellets, I barely drop them ever...... with blackbirds, using the same shot I can drop at least a couple of them when I shoot at a pack of them flying off or hanging out in a tree. With these smaller birds, its like they have a suit of armor or something, I just cant drop these things even with a variety of different sized pellets in the shotgun, despite aiming right at the center of the pack from a good distance. No choke on the barrel either.... :nut:

Good idea on the hawk decoy, I should get a few of those to place around their typical hangouts.

Interesting idea on the bb's in the barrel of the 22, perhaps I'll try that the next I can get my hands on some.


Originally posted by Disoblige
http://www.birdcontrolpro.com/control_sparrow.htm

Maybe something from there? Hawk decoy looks promising.

Great, thank you. Those audible predatorial bird sound generators may just do the trick.

[firebane]

Sparrows are a godamn nuisance on a farm.

Good luck man.

[bignerd]

Anything you can do to try and attract more predators to your farm (falcons/hawks/owls) that would keep them away?

Poison I would be worried about unintentionally killing another animal or bird picking up the dying/dead sparrows.

[Supa Dexta]

We have an audio squawker for our vineyard back east. It only gets used in late summer/fall when the flocks are gathering up (starlings mainly). I think it was close to 2 grand. But it has to be put out before they get a taste of the grapes, they can eat literal tons of grapes in an afternoon when a flock comes in.

Anyways, owning one, Im not sure I would recommend it right off the bat. Id hang a couple dead crows around to start and see if that keeps them away. An owl prop, or hawks may also help. Fighting off birds and coons is tricky business for us.

[Graham_A_M]

^ Yeah man, its that whole cost thing that worries me a fair bit. Crows? are impossible to come by out there... Id have to buy a dead one out here and bring it out there.... which is creepy as hell. Perhaps it would work though, the Hawk decoys are a great idea.... I think I'll buy a bunch of them, then just strategically place them on all the equipment I want them to stay clear of.

Originally posted by bignerd
Anything you can do to try and attract more predators to your farm (falcons/hawks/owls) that would keep them away?

Poison I would be worried about unintentionally killing another animal or bird picking up the dying/dead sparrows.

What amazes me the most? When seeding this spring, there were sometimes 6-10 falcons & hawks in the area to which I was seeding with the tractor.... Yet for some reason, they very rarely come into our yard. I've seen one this summer, and it was gone within a day, haven't seen it since.... Sometimes great horned owls come and go, but its rare. Usually there is one or two that may stay for a few weeks, but they dont really make a difference. Whats really surprising, are doves that stop in and chill... those are really cool to see. I caught a great horned owl once when I was 15, but I wont get into that whole story, hahaha.

I honestly dont know WTF I have to do to attract them.
For the poison aspect? All the animals we have there are seriously pests, so zero fucks will be given if anything/everything dies. Rarely do stray cats/dogs come by, so for that I'd worry, but their quite rare, and most times they know to avoid any of the raccoon traps (etc).

[BigDL]

Hawks won't keep them away. There is several around my bosses acreage and the birds still nest there a lot. I seen them dive bomb hawks in flight in a pack.

[Graham_A_M]

^ Blackbirds do that mostly, they're *very* territorial. So Im happy to say I've rid the farm of all the blackbirds. They used to Dive bomb my cat too, which really annoyed me, but alas, they were all injected with countless fine pellets from the shotgun, so their history now.

Sparrows are a different game.... I've never seen them dive bomb anything.
But holy shit their annoying. So these guys have to go too.....

Im not in the least a hunter/killer per se'. Im just trying to be free of these damn pests at the farm. Its just never ending..... Sparrows, mice, Raccoons, like wow....
:nut:

[Boilerbill]

Sparrows are good for eating mosquitos and grass hoppers, encourage them nest under eves where your machinery isn,t parked. Magpies/crows would drive them out. You can buy .22 ammo from UFA that has tiny bird shot in it and you can shoot at buildings without worrring about puncturing tin or penitrating wood. Awsome for shooting Grackles.