HOSP control

madattiver · Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:12 pm

On a note closer to home... My dog apparently found the biddle trap today and ate all the bread and seed. She left her hair all tangled in the trap for evidence. I moved it to higher ground and reloaded the trap with bait in hopes to finally catch my first sparrow in this trap.

EGunterTX · Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:33 pm

Michelle-- wow, just wow--
Thanks for the reminder.

taxidermy lady · Wed Jul 09, 2014 6:19 am

Shooting is all I do! But I am in the country and work right by my site! That's a great advantage. They only land on the houses and I go after them. I am going to make the biddle trap! Looks like it will work by the neighbors chicken pen. They raise sparrows there

they are everywhere! But they are scared to death of me ( except the young ones just fledged). The young ones are not aware of the taxidermy lady with a shotgun!,

akp · Wed Jul 09, 2014 9:38 pm

I would be tempted to let them hatch and then try to get them. I have a difficult time getting close enough to kill them, although I am persistent and usually get the job done. Maybe if they have hatchlings, you can get closer if you need to shoot them. They are very sneaky around here.

I have had luck trapping them in a big trap, but I have had trouble with my T14 trap. It's almost like they know I've put it in there.

I have my best luck with a shotgun. I live out of town and can usually get close enough if I rush the house when one goes in. They're almost too small for me to pick them off with the pellet gun.

I have grown to hate those little monsters. Can't stand the way they sound. I notice that ugly little chirp everywhere. I was watching a movie the other night and could hear a house sparrow in the background. Awful little creatures.

taxidermy lady · Thu Jul 10, 2014 5:31 am

Yeah it is a serious problem and they are hard to get. I shoot. It seems to keep them away. Martin houses need to be sold with a trap to accommodate the house.
Maybe if all of us made signs like a yard sale sign and hang it on a stop sign in town saying, "TAKE DOWN MARTIN HOUSES IF YOU LET SPARROWS NEST!!!!

4th Gen Martin Fan · Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:25 am

Sharon,
Yesterday, I finally found a home owner who has a dilapidated sparrow haven in his back yard. The martin house is overgrown with trees and each compartment is filled with HOSP nests. There were sparrows actively working the house.
When I greeted him at the door, I was initially relieved to see a man who looked like an active outdoors man.
When I offered to clean out his martin house, he gave me a look of horror and said I was not to interfere with those cute little birds. At first I thought he was joking but soon realized that my mantra of Education, Patience, and Persistence was not going to help.
I bid him a good day and headed next to the local home improvement store. In the parking lot were about 10 sparrow fledglings hopping around and eating cracker crumbs that someone had thrown out for them to eat.
I just about screamed.
Yesterday's score was: Sparrows-20 Me-0
Mark.

Don Strickland · Thu Jul 10, 2014 2:10 pm

I know a fellow who shoots squirrels for getting into the bird feeders, yet he lets Sparrows build and raise their young....Amazing....
Hey Mark, it's sparrows zero and me 4 so far today....couple of fantastic (lucky) 50 yard shots with the Marauder, and two in my repeating trap.
Don

taxidermy lady · Thu Jul 10, 2014 3:12 pm

Don we need to give that guy a tune up!!!

Don Strickland · Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:19 pm

I've been telling him the horror stories about Starlings and Sparrows, so I can do no more..
Don

4th Gen Martin Fan · Fri Jul 11, 2014 8:22 am

When I told my wife about the home improvement store experience with fledgling sparrows, she said it reminded her of the children's song, "Little Bunny Foo Foo."
She said that the good fairy is going to turn me into a "Goon!"
Don't worry, she does not like the HOSP either.
Mark.

taxidermy lady · Fri Jul 11, 2014 9:19 am

Those darn sparrows are everywhere. I go to grocery store I hear squeaking, I go to wal mart I hear squeaking , I take a walk I hear squeaking, this is what is declining our martins. They are horrible. The houses that are not managed are producing these things so fast. A martin has no cavities to nest in except for the people who eliminate the beast! I have to get some business cards and receipts printed out. I am taking 30 dollars and making flyers that say KEEP SPARROWS OUT OF PURPLE MARTIN HOUSES! That's my donation, surely someone will listen.

Brad-AL · Fri Jul 11, 2014 5:20 pm

Thanks goes out to everyone who is trapping and shooting House Sparrows. I still hate those things. Good luck to those of you who have made the traps I provided plans for. I wish I knew how many HOSP nationwide had been caught in those things. It would have to be 10's of 1000's.

I quit my public job a little over a year ago and now own my own business. It's hard to describe what we do but it's basically a heavy duty truck and trailer repair, hydraulic and metal fabrication business, and it's located in town. I don't see how you good folks who live in cities can keep HOSP out of your Martin houses. Those things are everywhere around our shop. I am going to put some traps in use there this fall and see how many I can catch. I would not be surprised to catch 500 in a short period. They are everywhere.

One of our main lines of work is repairing bulk feed, auger trailers. We try to keep the place clean but there is always a small supply of chicken feed somewhere on the grounds for the HOSP to feed on. They are truly feathered rats. They come in droves.

I also found out this year that they are not limited to cavities when nesting. I have found them nesting under the roof of our wash bay on top of the posts that hold the roof up.