question on DRST

kendra2003

15 years ago

I have a question for those of you that use the repeating ground traps. I had mine set up and was catching an average of one HOSP per day. I currently have five in there (2 males, 3 females) and have not caught any more in some time. HOSP are still showing up, but none are going into the trap anymore. These five have been in there for a minimum of two weeks now (last one caught two weeks ago). The Sialis site says it's best to have between 3 and 9 to attract others, so I have no idea why no more are going in. My question is how long do you keep them in there? Obviously I'm feeding and watering them, but they don't seen to be attracting others anymore. Do I keep these in there indefinitely, or is there some time limit where I should dispose of them and start over?

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Comments (5)

rayinri
15 years ago
Hi Kendra
Those traps are best used in the late summer when there are plenty of dumb
young sparrows around. I have the trap but only use it in mid to late summer.
then you can trap 10 sparrows aday. Many sparrows have moved to nesting
area's and thats why your volume has dropped soon females will be on eggs
Its also very good in the fall when food is scarce. bate it with millet. Another good trap is the metal three compartment unit. In summer stuff it with feathers
and you can trap a ton of sparrows. (they love feathers) -----Ray
bandjzmom
15 years ago
Wow kendra, I am impressed that you have 5 in there already! I had almost no luck with my repeating ground trap. Seemed like I was only catching my wonderful and desirable yard birds in it, especially Cardinals and Song Sparrows.
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Lisa You will be losing sleep and pulling your hair out before this is over. I have not worked the last few years so I do nothing but watch out the window during nest building. I have seen these situations more than once. This year I am working and can only hope while I'm gone tragedy will not strike. Running out screaming and waving at hosps is always a good tactic. LOL It does work. First Keep trying with the drst. The natives will not go in it again after they get caught. The titmice always bite me when I let them out. So cute! I like to put it near a brushy area where the hosps hang. Next shoot at them with the bb gun every time you see them at the box. You will find out they are very smart. Even if you don't hit them you can sway them to another box by doing this. I would try to notice where they are flying in and out of your yard from and situate the drst there and also put another box with a 1 1/4" hole near there to see if I could entice them to switch boxes. Then let them get comfy and keep them busy. Then use the Van Ert. Of course like all traps it still must be monitored as other birds fit through that hole. You have to stop feeding the other birds or use only safflower seed when using the drst. Once they get busy nest building for real they will be more apt to eat from the trap. Keep us posted on your situation and your sanity. Any questions don't hesitate to ask. Good Luck Cathy
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kendra2003
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you for the information Ray. I do bait it with millet and bread. I like your idea about putting in feathers in the summer. I will try that. Everything you wrote makes sense. They are now looking to nest, and that is why I'm not catching anymore.
bandjzmom, When I first set up the trap, I did catch a few Carolina Wrens, which were immediately released. This trap didn't work for me last year because I had the same problem as you. All I caught were Song Sparrows, so I ended up putting it away. But this year there were no Song Sparrows, and there were way too many HOSP. So I gave it another try, and it's worked catching the HOSP.
bandjzmom
15 years ago
Hmmm...I may try mine again if I get an influx of the HOSPs. I also caught the Carolina Wrens in it. I studied up on how best to use those traps and I stocked it with millet, corn, white bread, and feathers too. I know a lot of people who do have good luck with them.
kendra2003
Original Author
15 years ago
I wanted to post an update in case it might help anyone else trying to catch HOSP in a repeating trap. I tried adding feathers, but there were still no takers. I dealt with the trapped HOSP and put the trap away. However, yesterday my TRES returned and at the same time more HOSP showed up. One pair tried to claim the TRES box. I didn't want to use an in-box trap, fearing the TRES would be caught, so I took back out the DRST. I set it up in a different location and I've already caught 3 of them. So if you're no longer catching HOSP, it may help to try placing the trap in a different location. The only problem with the new location is it also attracted deer mice. Apparently deer mice like white millet too. It was not fun trying to get the deer mice out without releasing the HOSP.

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rayinri

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question on DRST

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rayinri

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