SOS - Starling Trouble

[phldave]

Expert exterminators:

I have a male starling that is making a nuisance of himself. I have taken care of all the females he has attracted thus far, but he won't leave. He is too big to enter compartments or gourds so conventional trapping is no help. He sits right on top of the pole my house is on and shoos everything away that comes near. I have zip tied a compartment trap to the roof but haven't enticed him to enter yet.

Here's my question. What is an irresistible bait for starlings?

Thanks,
Dave

[avesrun]

Peanuts
D
Tim

P.s. absolutely no signs of martins over here outside w. Des moines. Had at least any flyovers of late?

[phldave]

Had at least any flyovers of late?

Nope! It's been way too quiet lately, I haven't seen anything either. Very discouraging. Of course Mr. starling hasn't helped matters. Sure hope it doesn't come down to doing something I'm not suppose to do in city limits.

[pmlover]

you neeed an s &s controller trap
it looks like a purple martin house on a pole but has one actual hole
the starlings go in the hole and fall down in a trap and you kill them. Ive caught 86 in in this year but now have all most 200 eggs thanks to the trap. I cant say enough about it
dick

[avesrun]

An S&S trap is on my radar, but first I have to come up with the $$$$ to either build one myself or purchase. My wife has cut me off on martin related cash spending since I took up this hobby almost a year ago.... I appreciate the approval rating though on the trap. Cause it's prolly going on my Christmas list if nothing else..........

And Dave: I'd be more worried about neighbors than city limits.......just sayin.

[MamaBruff]

I think your fellow may only be attracted to lead. Have you thought about offering him some when everyone is gone to work/school? Perhaps a nice pile of peanuts on the ground will entice him away from your house, and he can have all the lead he wants!

Yeah I want a S&S repeater trap like pmlover has, but I've spent waaay over the top this year! So far, my PMCA nestbox trap has been an all star starling catcher, so I can't complain.

Hope you are successful catching Mr Yellow Beak.

Mary

[Matt F.]

Here's my question. What is an irresistible bait for starlings?

Dave,
I've read that suet cakes are a big starling attractant.......

[phldave]

Hey everybody:

I built a repeating trap with 2" hole into my shed which I caught 10 starlings starting in the months of March and April. Now they have shifted their interest to the martin house and I have caught 7 in compartment traps so far in May and June. I have also caught 20 HOSP in gourds and compartments since March. Last year I caught 21 HOSP, and starlings were not even an issue. I was kind of hoping I have paid my dues and some martins would grace me with their presents. I am starting to get tired of playing only exterminator with nothing to show for it. Sure hope that someday the neighbors and my wife get to see why I am going through all this. Is one pair too much to ask?

Sure doesn't seem fair for us wannabes. Thanks for listening to me vent.
Dave

[KathyF]

You can build your own NB repeating trap - I used a coffee can - it's still going strong!

Starlings can't resist a big round hole, esp. if you have SREH on your martin nest cavities.

http://purplemartin.org/forumarchives/a ... wpage4.htm

[Tony]

What size hole is best to put on a trap built to attract starlings ? Would a 2" or 2 1/2" be good or is there a better size for attracting starlings ?