Need PMCA starling/sparrow nest box trap advice.............

[geneinmurphy]

When I set my trap and raise it, vibration from the wind moving the trap (I have it mounted on top of a 10' pole) often triggers the trap with no bird inside and I constantly have to lower and reset it. Is there any way to adjust the sensitivity of the trap mechanism on the inside so it's not as sensitive and likely to trip on it's owm??? Thanks!!

[Louise Chambers]

Gene,

It helps to make sure the trap is perfectly vertical; if it is off a bit to one side or front or back, it is more likely to trip when you don't want it to. Use a level to check and maybe shim it if you have to. You can bend the wires in the treadle some if there is still a problem after you've leveled the trap. I used to have a similar problem with SD-1 (Spare-0-Door trap) in Trio, it would go off as I raised the house - so I had to be really careful with the last foot or so of raising.

If your trap is out in the open it's going to be harder; we often put ours on tree trunks or sides of sheds, etc, to avoid catching martins, bluebirds, etc. Do you have a more sheltered site where the trap could go? Or you could try not putting it up so high - maybe 5-7 feet instead of 10. It's a great trap, I often caught two starlings in AM and another by noon

Maybe others will have some ideas for you too.

Louise

[geneinmurphy]

Louise......mine is under a large oak tree and is level. I thought about mounting it on the tree, but if I mount it high enough to be effective, then I'd have to have a ladder to empty/reset it every time.......

[geneinmurphy]

Louise...(addendum).....is there any way to adjust the trip mechanism inside to where it's not as sensitive??

[Louise Chambers]

Yes, you can adjust it but I don't have one here that I can test to give you specific 'fix'. Most of the insert traps work on the same type of mechanism (SG-IT, Spare-0-Door, Universal Trap, etc) and you can adjust the trap by pulling the trip wire (the one a bird steps on to trigger the trap) further away from the inside wall and/or by bending the vertical wire that holds the trap shutter up. I suggest taking the trap down and just trying some adjustments to see which will make the trap harder to trip. Play around with it first by tripping it with a pencil to get an idea of which adjustment might work best.

Louise

[CUL Lou~Mich]

Gene. One thing I might suggest is that you look at the part where the door is on top of. Make sure there is not a burr, or point that is keeping it from going all the way against the front panel. I have two in a wooden North Star house, and they used to do the same thing. Then all at once for no good reason, they both started working great. I did nothing to them. However, I'm sure if there is a point, you could take a file and just file it lightly, until the point was flat. Oh, and look at the bottom of the door for the same thing. I'm NOT meaning there is a point, or burr anyplace, just that this is the only thing I could think of to check. CUL Lou

[Guest]

This is an easy trick that works for me--shim between the red door and the front inner wall of the trap, just enough to push the red door backward a little on the vertical wire. I use anything that will work--a twig or folded piece of paper. It can't be tight when you shim or the door won't drop. Do it just enough to get the play out of the door. When the bird hops onto the trip wire, the door will fall as it is supposed to. Sometimes the trap will still trigger when I raise the house, but this does work most of the time.