Attn: sparrow trappers...

[~Patrick~]

For those of you with repeating bait traps (such as Uncle Blaine's), post nesting is an excellent time to get even with house sparrows. I've trapped in excess of 30 in the last 2 days. Granted, they aren't the adults that are nesting in one of my gourds, but these young, inexperienced house sparrows are getting trapped in droves and you will surely reap the benefits in seasons to come. The best bait is a trapped bird. I caught 1 in a live trap with bread crumbs. I put that bird in the repeating bait trap and let them do the rest. It sure feels good.

Patrick

[The Walvoords]

Hey great job Patrick. Where do you locate your trap? Is it near trees or in a more open area? I have been trying to get sparrows to come to my repeating trap, but not a whole lot of luck. I would say since April I have maybe only gotten 4 or 5 HOSP to go in it. I have re located it a couple times hoping to find the right place, but results are the same. For bait I use the same bird food from Fleet Farm that I know they like. I have also tried nest materials too. Seems all the white cap sparrows, chipping sparrows, and recently baby finches love the trap. Now I just would like to get the young HOSP population interested.

Anna

[Guest]

I'm very excited with mine. I have it located in a tree line near where I dump food scraps. I have killed 34 hosp's so far this year and I'm still working on more!!!!

[~Patrick~]

Anna,

I place mine in the open underneath my houses. The advice from the manufacturer is that it seems to work better elevated, like on a picnic table, a box, or something. I'm not sure why that is. I have the Uncle Blaine's repeating bait trap. It really works best with a bait bird and that first bird might take a while to get. I use a hav-a-hart trap to catch the first one, place it in the repeating trap, and that does the trick. I have caught a mockingbird 3 times but it's the only non-target species I've had to deal with this round.

[katkola]

What do you guys do with them after you trap them? I don't think I could bring myself to break their necks!

Thanks,
Kat

[The Walvoords]

Hi Kat,

This website is rich with information, and it is where I found out the most humane way to dispatch trapped HOSPs.

Go to this web address and you can choose if you want to do it this way.
http://purplemartin.org/forumarchives/a ... Humane.htm.
You can also click Martin FAQ from the main menu and scroll down to #16.

Anna

[Guest]

I know it is bad but you have to make sure you dispatch them!! Don't take them somewhere and release them because at best you are just dumping your problem on other landlords and you never know they may just return to your place!

[~Patrick~]

Yes, I "dispatch" all of the sparrows I catch. They are aggressive non-natives and displace and/or kill countless native songbirds. There is no place for them in our environment.

Patrick

[CHenry]

What do you guys do with them after you trap them? I don't think I could bring myself to break their necks!

Thanks,
Kat

spray a shot of ether in there face...night night.

[katkola]

Thanks to all who answered my question about what to do with HOSPs after trapping.

Now, another question. Do you also "dispatch" the female HOSPs?

As you can tell this is a difficult topic for me. I ordered a Repeating Bait Trap yesterday after witnessing some sparrows on my gourds. I have my first pair of PMs this year and there are 5 eggs in one gourd that should start hatching around June 27th.

I also saw a Starling, the first one I've seen in a while, on my gourd rack.


Kat

[Louise Chambers]

Kat,

Yes, both males and females need to go, no sense letting any slide - they have multiple broods per season and are so destructive to martins, bluebirds, and other cavity nesters.

I am helping care for a new site here, at the S TX botanical gardens. HOSP have pecked and ruined several eggs, discouraging some SY pairs from nesting. Fortunately, the one ASY pair fledged 4 young and just last week, a subadult pair is laying eggs. It could not have happened without HOSP control - I removed 7 adult HOSP before the SY pair laid their eggs, then one more pair last week.

I know it's no fun to kill them, but you WILL feel good about the end results, and knowing that you have protected your martins, bluebirds, etc, from HOSP.

[jasmemphis]

Yes, I "dispatch" all of the sparrows I catch. They are aggressive non-natives and displace and/or kill countless native songbirds. There is no place for them in our environment.

Patrick

Could also be said of the invading humans who "discovered america". Aggressive, non-natives who displaced countless native americans. Don't be so quick to kill what you don't find favor with. Yes, I'm a martin landlord and yes, I do displace the sparrow nests in my martin housing. I do all I can to protect the purple martins but killing sparrows is not on my list. Don't be so gleeful about killing nor so bold as to broadcast the number killed.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

I get rid of them permanently. My black lab does it for me, I hand the starling or the sparrow to him, and he does a quick good job. That makes me feel good to know that I am protecting the native American birds, they need our protection, the sparrows and starlings could wipe out our beautiful bluebirds, martins, chickadees, etc. if we didn't protect them from these ugly mean nonnative birds. The problem with these nonnative birds is that our American birds cannot exist with them, they kill the native birds just to take away their nests....by the way, my black lab is called Spanky if you want to thank him, I will pass on the thanks to Spanky if you desire.

And sparrows and starlings are a long long long way from being human.

[~Patrick~]

jasmemphis,

Whatever.

[KellyG]

I have no problem with disposing of sparrows. If in doubt, just look at a nest of 5 half grown baby bluebirds that have been tortured and killed by a male sparrow as I di back in March. When I first moved to this house, I built and installed a 16 hole martin house and it filled with martins the first years. Now, it is a constant battle with the sparrows to help the martins survive. I gladly do my part to help the martins continue onward. Emil, say thanks to Spanky for me.

[Louise Chambers]

A discussion on the topic of House Sparrows can certainly continue BUT please remember that courtesy is necessary. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and welcome to voice it here, but only if they are able to also show respect for others' opinions. Please remember, no name calling, rudeness, or sarcasm.

[The Walvoords]

Last year my colony had a bad time and I decided to either give up having Martins or get busy helping them. Since the Martins are just soooo wonderful and fun to watch and enjoy, I chose to help them. #1 on the list was weekly nest checks and better documenting. #2 was getting control of the HOSPs and Starlings which were a serious issue here. #3 was putting up a feeding station in case we get a run of bad weather. ( Still working on that one )

Since I have gotten control of the HOPSs, I have not only had 0 eggs destroyed this year, but the martins are not dealing with HOSPs harassing them constantly. Everyone can make their own choice on killing HOSPs, but I have found that getting rid of as many as possible really has made a big difference here. Evidence speaks for itself, I won't be changing my mind.

Anna

[KathyF]

Kat - courage, girl! It will pay off in the end - I promise. And Louise is right - you will feel good about the results in the end. I was where you are now about 4 years ago....but that all changed when I started hosting martins.

Anna - you GO girl!!

After the death of my 5 baby tree swallows last year by a male HOSP who pecked them and threw them out of the nest I am adamant about killing HOSP wherever I find them. I killed 35 last year and I trapped & killed 25 HOSP at my neighbor's house at the beginning of this year. Finally- after trying for 2 years and having all lookers run off by HOSP, my other neighbor (an elderly man who just lost his wife) has been able to get 3 pair of SYs this year. He's so happy that he's not having to battle HOSP this year and talks about the peace his martins now have.

I found another landlord overrun with HOSP and his 3 pair of martins were doing battle all day with them. I just trapped 51 HOSP at his house and his martins are much more relaxed and feeding their young now. I caught so many at one time at his place that I ran out of ether.

HOSP elimination works. They're not native and they kill our native species for no good reason. Have traps & gun - will travel.

Emil - tell Spanky thanks for me too! Good doggie!!!

[Guest]

I just thought I would share what I do with HOSP. I have multiple varieties of traps to capture HOSP and Starling. We have a pond that is stocked with Channel Catfish and Large Mouth Bass. I found out a few years ago that my Catfish will eat HOSP and they seem to like them very much. It helps me feel a little better to know they aren't a total waste and have some value. However they don't seem to like the Starling for some reason. So if you have a farm pond or know where one is with Catfish or Bass, feed the fish. With Bass the Sparrow would have to be alive to attract the Bass.

Another thing which I'm sure has been brought up many times is the crescent hole versus the round hole. You should never have any problems with Starlings in Martin houses with properly sized crescent holes.