S & S Controller Repeating Nest Box Trap

[Steve Kroenke]

We have a satellite martin colony at Lowes in downtown Shreveport and starlings cover our Trio houses with crescent entrances. Shreveport is INFESTED with starlings. So far, the crescent entrances have let the martins in and kept the starlings out. This satellite martin colony is thriving in the heart of starling country.

Well, we want to inflict some losses on the huge starling population and I bought a S & S Controller Repeating Nest Box Trap from the PMCA. We plan to install this trap near our satellite martin colony at Lowes.

I would appreciate hearing from other folks who may have used this trap and how effective it is. Thanks.

Steve

[Sparky]

Steve,
In my opinion the Controller is the best trap out there. Set it up and leave it! I bought 1, now 2. They are flat awesome. I come home every evening and empty the basket of Starlings for disposal. It is a Starling magnet at my colony. They like the nice round hole that is in the Controller. HOSP's are not that frequent in the trap. I don't know if the HOSP's are not interested or I have to adjust the fulcrum again. I adjust it per the instructions which is 3 quarters taped together.

You should really be in business with a Controller. It's the best investment I have made for S & S control!

One recommendation and one I need to act on, is to use an aluminum upright (structural aluminum, rectangular or square) for the pivoting pole. The specified laminated (2) 2 X 4" treated pole tends to warp after awhile from the weight. Then, you have to reverse it to counter the bending. I believe this is my problem with the trap's fulcrum adjustment needing attention.

[Guest]

Steve do you have a link to this S&S Controller you purchased?

I'd like to see what it looks like


dick

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Steve, check with Larry Melcher, he has an excellent trap also. I hope you have great success with the PMCA trap

[Sparky]

Steve do you have a link to this S&S Controller you purchased?

I'd like to see what it looks like


dick

dick,
It's in the PMCA shop. See http://purplemartin.org/shop/product_in ... 11c377a65c

[Guest]

Steve,

I have one of these I built out of scraps. It's amazing how well it works. Mine is mounted on a 1.5" galvanized line pole from a chain link fence. I used a Coates mounting plate to attach it to the pole. I have seen another trap that is static and looks easier to build, but I have not used one yet. It has a fake front with a 4" PVC elbow behind the entrance and a 10' PVC pipe down to a holding cage.
Don't forget that traps require monitoring to avoid capturing the wrong birds. I would worry about it at a remote site. Mine is located by some trees where the martins don't go but I still have to watch it closely. By the way it catches sparrows just as well.

Rahn

[Steve Kroenke]

I appreciate all the responses to my post. We are concerned about the visibility of the trap at a business and hopefully we can locate the device and perhaps "camo" it where people will not notice. Unfortunately, we had one complaint last season about our martin colony from a local businessman who said the martins were "pooping" on his customers' cars. We move one of our houses away from his business. However, we want to try to make a dent, even a small one, in the local starling population around Shreveport. If the Lowes' location does not work out, then there are some other places where the trap can be used. Thanks again.

Steve

[Kelly Applegate~MN]

The S&S Controller is a great trap, mine will take several scum in a day. But, like others said, it can create concern if people know it's capturing birds. I always keep my euthanization of S&S discreet and out of public view. My neighbors think that the captured starlings are part of a bird study. I call it a "conservation effort". The Controller trap will need daily monitoring, twice a day is even better. Other species will sometimes get caught, like BB's and nuthatches. If a starling is in the holding cage with them, the starling will kill them. Another thing to watch for..... cats, cooper's hawks, and racoons may frequent the vicinity of the trap atrracted to the catches. Other than that, the S&S Controller is a martin colony's best friend!

[Dennis Martin]

Hey Steve,

Glad your season is starting out so well. I've been reading your posts on your home colony also.

When is article coming out in "The Shreveport Times?

[Steve Kroenke]

Thanks again for more responses. I believe this trap will do wonders at catching starlings at Lowes if things work out.

Tree, thank you for that link about trapping tips. Maybe we can put the trap near the building rather than close to our martin housing. There is a good location near the building.

Kelly,

You are so right about discreetly euthanizing starlings/sparrows. I have found that most folks will not understand. Thank you for sharing your experiences with this trap and the great information.

Dennis,

I was hoping the article would have been published last Sunday or Monday. But it may be this upcoming weekend. I have completed the interview and had my "mug shot" taken.

Steve

[Adam Romain]

Thanks for the link Tree!!! I believe in the past, I have been to the site, but not recently. I've had my trap on a pole out in the open, since I have no trees, but will move it back under the eave now that I've read the article and the martins have returned.

I've made a recent adjustment and as a matter of fact, I came home tonight to find my first male sparrow ever in the trap. Sorry to say he didn't make it!

[Guest]

Being a hobbiest cabinet maker I built my own exactly as put forth in the Troyer S&S Trap plans and installed it next to a large Oak Tree in direct view of the gourd racks and T14 house. It's roughly 100 feet from my martin housing. I should preface this by saying I see very few starlings and the only three I've seen around the house so far his year have been the three that I've removed from the cage of this trap. As a matter of fact I just removed the third one 10 minutes ago. That makes three fewer around here. My experience so far is they work well. I set the balance beam using 3 quarters and haven't touched it since.

Martins are getting close but not quite here yet which is best because until just the last few days it's been very cold and very windy. All cavities are up at half mast and all openings are plugged which may be aiding the trap.


Bill Cowles
Whitwell , Tn

[CurtWelling]

Steve,

Your comments about the crescents keeping out the starlings is very interesting.

I know you are a round hole advocate. I am too, for areas that don't have heavy starling populations. I've euthenized hundreds of starlings at my location in the last 6 years with little obvious effect.

Actually, I shouldn't say that. I have effectively kept starlings out of my martin housing, but that's about it. I have 4 kids, practice medicine, coach soccer, etc so I can't always be here. The crescents really seem to have helped at my site. They drive the starlings from the crescents to the round hole traps nearby.

The bottom line is I had between 50 and 60 pair of martins nest successfully at my site last year. There were zero successful nests by s&s.

This year, I'm going to add some sparrow specific traps with small openings under the bottom of my wooden house.

[gwarnerjr]

Steve, I built a NB Compact trap last year and caught 68 strarlings. This year I have caught 3 so far. This trap is similar to the SS Controller but homemade. I had a problem with catching nosey bluebirds so I put in a 1 1/2" 'escape hole' for them. Glenn

[LarryMelcher/KY]

Steve,
I made some NBT's out of marine battery boxes. They don't look as pretty and as nice as a wood house NBT, but they were perfect at work. Not one human problem.... they didn't look like a bird house to the "non-birder".

I have found that a NBT does not have to look "good" for Starlings to be attracted to it. Used in combination with SREH's, all you need is the fake black holes painted on a light colored background to get the Starlings attention. They build nests nearly anywhere. A friend of mine said he had some build nests in the exhaust ports of his boat parked in his driveway.

Another problem. You will increase your chances of catching Starlings in a Nest Box Trap if you take away other nest opportunities. Plug all entrances they are getting into, such as holes or cracks in buildings. You must take away nest sites similar to using SREH. If Starlings have nest sites available, they will continue to raise young and be in the immediate area.

Thanks, Emil.