PM defense

[C.C.Martins]

Our public site rules keeps me from shooting sparrows, but I can trap. So these are my sentinels positioned near the colony. We call them sparrow distractors if asked by the public.
Three old trio houses fitted with 20 spare o doors and 2 van ert traps. One house i took a floor off, and went a little crazy with the flat roof...I like the look.
Yes, you can get a van ert trap in a trio house. Have to trim the trap a few inches and move up the trigger "v" about a half inch to keep the trigger clear of the floor. That moves the access hole up just a tad higher than a normal spare o door but that won't dissuade a sparrow.
Also really no reason to open that door once sprung, cut an access cap in the side so I can get them out and reset the van ert from the inside.
No way I can afford 20 spare o doors, 14 of them were made last year and some this year.
I'm always finding wasp nests in them, so this year closed up all the vent holes with glued wire screen and ill spray a thin coat of WD40 on the uppermost inside surfaces.
Its an idea, dont toss the old trio houses, clean them up, straighten them out, give them some TLC and turn them into a trap.
Last, the house on the left is a knocked together bird house, stuck a spare o door on it, painted it white, added exterior porches and painted big black circles over the false porches...this house is near the colony between the housing development across the street and two of the gourd racks.
Hope all have a good season and this helps generate ideas to protect your birds!
Tom

[flyin-lowe]

Ive said it a bunch on here. Keep up the hard work, sparrows have a pretty small home range and you can make a difference. My first PM colony was on my 1 acre lot and surrounded by farms on the other three sides. Within a couple hundred yards of my housing was a cattle barn. Full of straw, feed, water, rafters etc. The ideal area for sparrows. The first year I got over 100 of them. Then next several years that number slowly dropped and a few years later I was getting less then 10 a year. Within a couple years of us moving out of that house I noted the sparrow population appeared to be back to normal. All it takes is a couple breading cycles and their numbers begin to compound quickly.

[C.C.Martins]

Agree 100%. Too many colonies lost to sparrow tolerance.
Here, the first wave are those seeking nests mid feb. Some stragglers through to August, then it ramps up again when the fledges start coming around but those guys go to the ground trap. Iv shot maybe 6 in the past few months, almost nothing.

Its not hard making a spare o door, need an original to copy it, it is exacting and time consuming, but we are geared to details anyway.

[flyin-lowe]

The air rifle I bought has so far been my best purchase. I live in a rural area so in the past I have relied on traps and shot gun. Early in the season I could walk outside and get pretty close and as they fly off I would use the shot gun. As the season goes on some get wise and will fly off as soon as my door opens. Now I can open a window on the second story of my house and have a clear 33 yard shot from the window to my housing. I built a platform feeder this fall hoping to draw a bunch in to continue shooting. However I have only gotten a couple from the feeder, I really made a dent in them this summer. Feed is just sitting the in the feeder going bad. More and more native birds are appearing as well.

[Thomabear]

Great job and repurpose of those old houses Tom. If you build a transport cage to get them home for proper disposal the mesh definately needs to be much smaller than a 1" square. I found that out the hard way when I caged a dozen or so only to come back a couple hours later to find about 50% of them had escaped, taking with them a PHD on trap avoidance. Man, they can squeeze through small openings like a mouse. Good luck getting those pests cleaned up and let us know how it goes.

[C.C.Martins]

Oh wow, those little suckers. Iv been using those little cups and bag that come with the spare o doors, got to find something else as a bag because if the bag collapses as it does the sparrow won't try to push through. With the bigger PMCA nest box traps iv got mesh bags, just put the whole thing in the bag and cinch it tight. Even then a few starlings have managed to find a way out. My fault, was trying to get it too fast.

Flyin lowe,
You will deflate some sparrow lungs!!!!

[flyin-lowe]

I had an inlfux of HOSP at my platform feeder today which was good from me, bad for them. I had only got one so far since Jan. 1 with my new air rifle. As I said a lot more native birds, cardinals and junko's are the most common. Since we have had snowfall I usually look out and see 5-10 birds around the feeder and on the ground. Today it was about double, got the binoculars and could so a lot of HOSP. Over the last hour I was able to get 4 of them. Starting to get dark now so I'll see what tomorrow brings.

There is some other type of sparrow I am seeing but definitely not a HOSP, some of them I am not able to identify so they are left alone. Based on google it kind of looks like a savannah as it has that type of pattern on it's upper breast.

[Thomas Maddox]

I had an inlfux of HOSP at my platform feeder today which was good from me, bad for them. I had only got one so far since Jan. 1 with my new air rifle. As I said a lot more native birds, cardinals and junko's are the most common. Since we have had snowfall I usually look out and see 5-10 birds around the feeder and on the ground. Today it was about double, got the binoculars and could so a lot of HOSP. Over the last hour I was able to get 4 of them. Starting to get dark now so I'll see what tomorrow brings.

There is some other type of sparrow I am seeing but definitely not a HOSP, some of them I am not able to identify so they are left alone. Based on google it kind of looks like a savannah as it has that type of pattern on it's upper breast.

I'm setting my traps out today. We have lots of chipping sparrows that frequent our feeders. Luckily I've never caught them in my traps. We also have white throated sparrows at times.
The bluebirds are starting to hang around. They are going in and out of their house. No nesting material yet(I monitor with a Blink camera). Have a great day!

[Dan G]

The whitethroated sparrows started showing up at our feeders a few weeks ago. Neat bird. They are about the same size as the house sparrows. I have to be careful when I line up on one!!!

[C.C.Martins]

Yep, when in doubt, let the moment pass. Good job. Come house hunting (nesting) time, there will be little doubt a house sparrow pair is at work. Nail them. A scope helps.

[Thomas Maddox]

Last year I couldn't seem to catch any in my traps. So I took my trap to local hardware store's parking lot where those varmits thrive. I hid it in some stuff they were selling on the side of the parking lot. I left , came back a few hours later, and boom caught one(with bread crumbs). I took it home and set it out. I had a pair of HOSPS that were trying to take up residence in my PM house. I set the trap directly under the PM house on the ground. I caught the pair by that evening.

[C.C.Martins]

Last year I couldn't seem to catch any in my traps. So I took my trap to local hardware store's parking lot where those varmits thrive. I hid it in some stuff they were selling on the side of the parking lot. I left , came back a few hours later, and boom caught one(with bread crumbs). I took it home and set it out. I had a pair of HOSPS that were trying to take up residence in my PM house. I set the trap directly under the PM house on the ground. I caught the pair by that evening.

Haha! Oh yes, I remember your contract hit! You had me wondering where I could get away with the same thing! Live bait is the best bait. Live sparrows are best! Neighbor had a sparrow wanting to take up residence in his roof, woke him up on Sunday, asked if it were ok to trap...30 minutes and it was in. Used the ST 1 with a female sparrow.

[Thomas Maddox]

Yes CC I was proud of myself. Ha ha. Here in SWLA I don't find many who mind that sort of thing. This particular hardware store is frequent has bird netting over their bird seed products inside the store because the PMs are so bad. I was helping them out. Lol

[deancamp]

Nice use of older houses, thanks for the post. I am refurbishing an old Trio that was my Mother's but I don't want to add to my existing colony. I help my neighbor manage her growing colony but find it difficult to put the time in to shoot sparrows there. I think this would be a good way for me to keep the Trio and put it to a good use. Can you give me a jump start on what you have learned over the years with these traps. Is it better to have multiple traps in one house? Do the sparrows naturally go to this housing over the .Martin housing because of the lack of competition? Works good mounting at a lower height? Any other pointers?

[C.C.Martins]

Nice use of older houses, thanks for the post. I am refurbishing an old Trio that was my Mother's but I don't want to add to my existing colony. I help my neighbor manage her growing colony but find it difficult to put the time in to shoot sparrows there. I think this would be a good way for me to keep the Trio and put it to a good use. Can you give me a jump start on what you have learned over the years with these traps. Is it better to have multiple traps in one house? Do the sparrows naturally go to this housing over the .Martin housing because of the lack of competition? Works good mounting at a lower height? Any other pointers?

Well I can try! Its an awesome trap. Simple and effective, will last forever. I found that traps set side by side will help to catch a sparrow pair, they will try to get to their mate. My intent is to fill the houses with them...I tend to go overboard. Seems like the bottom floor traps is best and the holes facing away from people seems to catch more. If you have a bush or structure near by thats where I'd put the house.
They do seem to like a house better, but had one pair last year focused on a gourd...two trap houses to choose from and the baztard went for the gourd. Watch for wasps, dont let them in the house sparrows won't go near it.

I put a fake quail egg and white feathers in the cavity.

Mr barrow and louises trap house is right at head level and whacks the sparrows, mine are about 10 feet up.
They are sensitive, lots of false trips but treat each trip as a catch, maybe there will be two in one so watch close.

Its really hard to find a spare o door now, real hard. I made most of them. Think PMCA is going to make some, and go into production but I do not know when that is. I got lucky and found a few on Craigslist, some I ordered from a Canadian company, then just started going crazy with making them.

Use a zip tie to tickle their feet when its time to get them out, they see the bag and it takes a bit of poking to get them out.

Its an awesome trap. Brilliant really.

[deancamp]

Thank you much! That will shorten my learning curve.

[C.C.Martins]

Jeff,
If your handy and just about all of us are....you can get a van ert trap in a trio.
Have to cut the trap itself down and re drill two small holes for the trigger...just a tad bit higher than where they are mounted. The door needs to be a blank door so you can cut a new hole in the blank for the sparrow to enter. Its slightly higher (maybe a half inch) than a spare o door entrance because the trigger needs room to go down to spring.
Its permanently mounted to the door, screwed into the door.
I suppose there is aomething you can make that will push in and move the door away to retrieve a sparrow but I cut 3 inch holes in the side of the trio and added access caps. When I catch a sparrow, I unscrew the cap, put the mesh bag over the cap and let it fall to the bottom, then get the sparrow.
I'll attach some pics in a second,
Tom

Ps: almost forgot...if you have a universal sparrow trap, it makes a perfect spare o door. Door height is the same. Remove the trap mechanism from the wire cage, flatten or cut off the metal "curls" that held it to the wire cage, and drill some holes to bolt or rivit it to the trio door.
There is a need to add a bolt to the pivot point, and get rid of the existing screw with thumb tab. I used some liquid nails to secure the bolt to the drop door, and two nuts outside the door to secure it. Takes a bit of tweeking to ensure the door isn't tight against the door and drops freely.
I bent the arm that holds the door down slightly so it will all work while inside the trio...you can see the bend in the picture.
It is a beautifully heavy door and when it falls it will stay down. I added some feathers to the trip arm to disguise it. It works great, and TA-DA!!!!! Instant spare o door. Two of these and one van ert trap and you are gold!
Hope this all helps

[deancamp]

Your the best! Thanks for the descriptive explanations.

[Thomas Maddox]

Jeff,
If your handy and just about all of us are....you can get a van ert trap in a trio.
Have to cut the trap itself down and re drill two small holes for the trigger...just a tad bit higher than where they are mounted. The door needs to be a blank door so you can cut a new hole in the blank for the sparrow to enter. Its slightly higher (maybe a half inch) than a spare o door entrance because the trigger needs room to go down to spring.
Its permanently mounted to the door, screwed into the door.
I suppose there is aomething you can make that will push in and move the door away to retrieve a sparrow but I cut 3 inch holes in the side of the trio and added access caps. When I catch a sparrow, I unscrew the cap, put the mesh bag over the cap and let it fall to the bottom, then get the sparrow.
I'll attach some pics in a second,
Tom

Ps: almost forgot...if you have a universal sparrow trap, it makes a perfect spare o door. Door height is the same. Remove the trap mechanism from the wire cage, flatten or cut off the metal "curls" that held it to the wire cage, and drill some holes to bolt or rivit it to the trio door.
There is a need to add a bolt to the pivot point, and get rid of the existing screw with thumb tab. I used some liquid nails to secure the bolt to the drop door, and two nuts outside the door to secure it. Takes a bit of tweeking to ensure the door isn't tight against the door and drops freely.
I bent the arm that holds the door down slightly so it will all work while inside the trio...you can see the bend in the picture.
It is a beautifully heavy door and when it falls it will stay down. I added some feathers to the trip arm to disguise it. It works great, and TA-DA!!!!! Instant spare o door. Two of these and one van ert trap and you are gold!
Hope this all helps

The white feathers! I've tried them, but no success with them. May they call sense that the feathers is have came from an arts and crafts store? It was once thought that birds couldn't smell or that it was poor, but don't believe this now.

[C.C.Martins]

Yeah, I believe your right. I can clean the sparrow ground trap and it takes a while for them to come around.
These white feathers come from a duck pond, geese feathers haha.
Maybe, just maybe you can get the smell off somehow. Maybe use a strong smelling plant like mint and put them together?
One of my ground trap feathers blew out, a female house sparrow grabbed it and was shaking it. Maybe to get rid of mites I don't know...shot her right between the shoulder blades so I can't ask or I would. Hahahahaha!