My brother-in-law in VA has also declared war on starlings as they’re invasive in his area. He has created some rather ingenious traps to catch them and then he kills them. If his trap catches another bird, he lets it go.
My wife has adopted a group of about 4 crows. She tosses them a scoop of dog kibble every morning so now they’re sitting in the driveway waiting when she comes out. She calls it tending to her murder.
I live in Arlington, Virginia, DEEP inside the Washington Beltway in a very nearly urban but technically suburban neighborhood. We get so many kinds of birds (and lots of other wildlife, too) that it is really quite surprising. The birds include hummingbirds, cardinals, woodpeckers, robins, orioles, finches (some of which are quite colorful) blue jays, crows, LOTS of doves, and many others. We also get rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels (of course), foxes, and there are rumors of deer, although I have not seen one in my neighborhood yet.
And yet have never seen a rat or a mouse, or indeed anything that might generally be regarded as “vermin” including cockroaches, except the occasional (twice in eleven years) ant attack, which we handle quickly with Combat Ant Bait disks. We set out the disks and they’re gone in two days.
The biggest problem is that my wife grows a garden in the summer and we have some apple and pear trees, and the various animals get nearly all of it.
dwane.scoty1 over 3 years ago
“Miss, we can’t let the undocumented migrants flood into the garden, can we?”
Skeptical Meg over 3 years ago
C’mon Gene. You know the same voltage DC gives a bigger hit than AC.
e.groves over 3 years ago
Except for Robins and an occasional Woodpecker, the only birds I see anymore are sparrows, Starlings and Grackles.
bxclent Premium Member over 3 years ago
https://www.audubon.org/news/birdist-rule-72-its-okay-dislike-some-birds
uniquename over 3 years ago
My brother-in-law in VA has also declared war on starlings as they’re invasive in his area. He has created some rather ingenious traps to catch them and then he kills them. If his trap catches another bird, he lets it go.
davidlwashburn over 3 years ago
My wife has adopted a group of about 4 crows. She tosses them a scoop of dog kibble every morning so now they’re sitting in the driveway waiting when she comes out. She calls it tending to her murder.
Flatworm over 3 years ago
I live in Arlington, Virginia, DEEP inside the Washington Beltway in a very nearly urban but technically suburban neighborhood. We get so many kinds of birds (and lots of other wildlife, too) that it is really quite surprising. The birds include hummingbirds, cardinals, woodpeckers, robins, orioles, finches (some of which are quite colorful) blue jays, crows, LOTS of doves, and many others. We also get rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels (of course), foxes, and there are rumors of deer, although I have not seen one in my neighborhood yet.
And yet have never seen a rat or a mouse, or indeed anything that might generally be regarded as “vermin” including cockroaches, except the occasional (twice in eleven years) ant attack, which we handle quickly with Combat Ant Bait disks. We set out the disks and they’re gone in two days.
The biggest problem is that my wife grows a garden in the summer and we have some apple and pear trees, and the various animals get nearly all of it.
Stephen Gilberg over 3 years ago
“Hello, Clarice.”
Solitha Premium Member over 3 years ago
It is a strange human trait that we put out food where animals can reach it and then punish animals for reaching it.
Cactus-Pete over 3 years ago
Exactly what is the electrical path that’s supposed to affect the birds? It’s also very unlikely that they’d feel anything through their feet.
AMBER1 over 3 years ago
What about the Squirrels?
CougarAllen over 3 years ago
Watch what you say, Cynthia! He just might shock you….