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Gilbertson PVC Box

12 years ago

You all just helped me in the post "Best Nesting Box To Discourage House Sparrows." I currently have two bluebird boxes that are being claimed by one house sparrow pair. I'm getting ready to order the Gilbertson PVC box and also the Gilbertson Universal Trap. Should I order two boxes, or once I trap the male will that be enough?

Does anyone have any experience with this box? Any other thoughts or recommendations on this? I'm planning on ordering today. Thank you very much.

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Comments (5)

nicknackhummer
Original Author
12 years ago
Can you not go in and edit your message? I was just going to add that I do use raccoon baffles with my boxes, and they are on poles. Do the Gilbertson boxes come ready to attach to the poles? I'm not a very "handy" person.:o)
Lexarose
12 years ago
Nicknack, can you get a van ert to trap the hosp that are nesting now? They come in the mail pretty quick and are usually easy to install,then you can be rid of the pest. Can you get the new gilbertsons but keep the others up for tres or whomever? I think sometimes these birds like a variety of types to choose from. I'm not sure how they come as far as being easy to install,but I bet your local wild bird store would have all the necessary hardware to make it easy to mount your new boxes. Thank you for baffling and caring for these birds.
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Neopyte, I had my dh make my hole reducers, he has a drill press?? at work and used cedar. However I know you can purchase them also, hopefully someone else here will chime in with the where on that one. I had chickadees building last year but was a day late on the hole reducer, the HOPS ran them off. The box they had chosen wasn't one I could put a van ert in and I didn't, at the time, have a spare nestbox to use as a trapbox. Luckily the dees didn't get harmed but I was sad to see them not nest there, coincindentally the Blues ended up nesting in that same box, by that time the HOSP had either been eliminated or left the yard. They usually say to not put the reducer on until the chickadee lays the first egg as they don't care for the 1/8 hole as much but can get into it fine. If you have HOSP around though, I would do it before and hope for the best. Better to be safe than sorry. As far as seed the chickadees love sunflower seeds, hearts and chip or BOSS, the also like peanuts and suet around here. Also it isn't a good idea to put a nestbox near the birdfeeders, too much bird traffic that way. The closest nestbox I have to a feeder is about 50ft, the rest are much further away than that. It is best to point the hole of the nestbox away from prevailing winds, preferabbly towards a tree but away from the way the direction the rain usually blows during the summer months. Donna
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Hi Renee. Here are a few. Not sure what you would like to see so I will load up a bunch and hope something hits the mark. These were all taken this afternoon. Mama laid her fourth egg today and began incubation this afternoon. I was glad she stopped at four. I can only imagine how crowded those nestlings will be in that Gilbertson PVC box. I have the nestcam installed so it should be interesting viewing. Here Papa leaves the feeder with some meal worms for her. Another trip a bit later. This next bunch was taken just before she began incubation. One of the juveniles that was chased off several weeks ago came back this afternoon, apparently hoping to grab a few meal worms. Mama seemed totally surprised and did not chase her, but instead hopped up on a post and began calling for Papa. She did a full 360 degree turn before he showed up. I never saw such wing-waving. In this shot you can see him arriving from the left. Together they chased the juvenile off again. OK, now here is Papa bathing and then preening. I took a lot of shots but I will only show you a few. Here is a sequence where Papa is feeding Mama. She is on the shepherd's hook and he tries to perch next to her, but kept slipping down. It took a while but he finally fed her the worms. And finally, here they are together. Hope I didn't OD anyone. Dave
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Perhaps a Gilbertson PVC box for the dees? My dees have chosen PVC boxes over wooden ones for the past 3 seasons (actually as long as I have been monitoring them). I place the PVC boxes near the forest edge vs the open areas that the blues like. Actually, even though this is a BB forum, I have a special place in my heart for the dees as I have at least 6 that stay with me year round. They recognize me and don't fly off when I refill the feeders. Even when I monitor their boxes, the mamas fuss at me from a short distance away.
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NHsuzanne, I don't think there is an actual "decoy box" that you buy, mine is just a basic Bluebird box from Wild Birds unltd that is set up to be used for trapping and not nesting. I purchased a Van ert trap and installed the 2 screws that come with trap inside the box and hung it on the house or a tree in the yard. When a male HOSP claimed the box, then I would install the trap itself onto the screws and set it. I put a piece of black electrical tape over the orange dot on the trap, and taped a few blades of dried grass to the trip mechanism so the HOSP wouldn't notice the trap. It worked great.
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nicknackhummer
Original Author
12 years ago
Lexarose, is the van ert trap better than the Gilbertson trap? I was going to order a Gilbertson with the new nestbox. Yes, I can keep the other boxes up. I had thought about doing that but wasn't sure about trapping the hosp. Thank you for replying.
Carol
Lexarose
12 years ago
That Van Ert mounts inside most wooden boxes with two screws. The screws you can leave in and just slip the the trap on or off the box as needed. Sorry Carol I've never owned a Gilbertson so I don't know anything about the traps for them. Maybe you won't need the trap if the hosp aren't interested in the Gilbertson, and use your other two boxes as trap boxes. Good luck with those hosp.
nicknackhummer
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks again Lexarose. I ended up ordering the Gilbertson box & hosp trap. I'll see what I end up needing to do. Carol

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