Help....Starlings

[Guest]

Well, 4 Starlings have decided to hang around my PM houses. Orignially I had just the regular entry holes in the pod houses, but as soon as I noticed the Starlings, I replaced them with the SREH's. I know, I should have had the SREH's in there to begin with....I'm still learning and obviously making some mistakes here. Although I have not seen the Starlings try to enter the houses since we put in the SREH's, they still come and perch on the perching rods above the houses. I am assuming this is not good. Will they eventually leave if they cannot get back in the houses or do I need to take more drastic measures? I haven't seen any PM"s yet and want to get rid of these Starlings as soon as possible. I can't shoot them due to houses on the other side of the lake. I do not have a Starling trap but maybe that is what I should be considering. Any suggestions?

[Louise Chambers]

You mentioned you had Heritage Farms Quad Pod housing. Do you have the crescent entrance plates? Change from round entrances to crescents and starlings should not be able to get into the housing.

Another inducement to get some martins to stay is to hang a few gourds below the Pods. Use starling-resistant entrances on those, too, for safety from starlings.

You can get various traps for starlings and house sparrows but need to monitor them carefully. You can fit a universal trap (on PMCA site) inside a Quad Pod by placing it to the back of the unit, and turned so entrance faces to the side. Hard to explain that but it will work. Only problem is you can't see trap shutter, and won't know if it's gone off or not. So only use that method on Pod that has house sparrows or starlings actively nest building. Don't place it in Pods at random as you don't want to catch martins, bluebirds, etc. If you use starling-resistant entrances, you will only have to fight the house sparrows. good luck -

Louise

[starling shooter]

You're likely in good shape with SREH entrances. Starlings will likely move on. If one/pair manage to get in, you can get a nestbox trap. The ones the PMCA sell are devastating to starlings. I painted mine white and painted fake holes on the other 3 sides. Works extremely well.

[RC Moser]

If you can get about with 10 yards of them you can get you the shotgun B.B. gun by gamo called the Viperexpress and shoot them on the fly. it shoots about 18 #9 shot in a little plastic cartiage. 15 yard is probably the maximum range and I dought they go very far and they probably rain down like when we are duck hunting shooting straight up.

[Dan Clodfelter]

You can get close to starlings or right underneath them if you have a camo hunting blind & shoot them with a pellet gun.Just set the blind up right next to the house and open a window just enough for the pellet gun to stick out.Or you can put bread on the ground below the house & shoot them on the ground when they land.

[loco for purple]

It has been my experience the starlings might not be able to
enter the housing at this time, but they could. Remember those new entrances are starling -resistent.
I have seen them breech some crescent gourds of mine during the winter And even if they can't enter they could
scare any martin investigating your housing. As soon as the martins show up, so do the starlings. Some members
have given you some good ideas on how to deal with the starlings. If you want too succeed in attracting martins
you need to get rid of the little devils first. GOOD LUCK...

[Craig Dyer]

I have all crescent entrances, and this deters the starlings for the most part. I have had an occasional starling breech the crescent entrance. A good pellet gun remedies that. Starlings are most prevalent early in the season. I shoot them whenever I can. They seem to become less numerous later on. Maybe they finally get it, that they cannot get into the housing. Or maybe word spreads on the starling street, that there is a martin lover with a sharp eye and a pellet gun near by.

[Courtney-NC]

I JUST heard the dreaded sound. That awful clicking 'song' of the starling. UGH!!! My 4 year-old heard me say, "Where is that flying rat?" Then he wanted an explanation. He is now walking around talking about "rat birds." He then said that those "nasty birds could go to bad people jail." I was on my way out to do errands and I slowly drove past the sound but I couldn't see it. I guess it was in the trees. No doubt my neighbors really think I'm nuts now! Now to get that NB-Compact trap up...

[djmains]

The S&S controller is a exellent trap for starlings and sparrows .you can build your own or buy one from the link not allowed in pennsylvania. It will control the s&s while your away,however they do migrate so they may be detered by the entrance and move farther north.