What's gonna break your heart is to open a nest box and see the bluebirds head pecked off. If u don't want to protect the blue birds then I suggest u take the boxes down. The bluebirds can not defend themselves against the sparrows beak. The sparrow will go into the bluebirds box and kill it.
Sorry, too many people have learned the hard way what house sparrow will do. They get more aggressive deeper into nesting season.

OK, OK, you got me. I'm horrified. Maybe I'm not cut out for this.

I don't even kill bugs! (well, OK, I do in the house. )

I'm distraught. Mother nature is torturing me.

Can I trap the sparrows and take them far away? Or does everyone just kill them?

Ann

Ann, I'm really sorry. If u take them far away, they become someone elses problem. I had a sparrow kill my momma tree swallow still sitting on her eggs. The sparrow built his nest on top of her. It is a sight I will never forget.

Here is a site that will help you. It will answer any questions u have:
http://www.sialis.org/

Karen

Ann, House sparrows multiply faster than rabbits. They will in time fill up all the houses you put up and sooner or later you will certainly have dead Bluebirds. I can understand your feelings BUT when I first started with Bluebirds I personally witnessed my once beautiful male with a bloody stump for a head laying across 4 broken eggs. He defended his brood with everything he had. I never did find the female. I just hope she was out when it all happened. As far as catch and release birds can travel thousands of miles and navigate to a precise location. If you catch them and release them the sparrows will probably beat you home or they will just become a problem for someone else. I trap every year all year and because other folks just let them breed I still lose Bluebirds and Tree Swallows to hosp attacks on occasion. This is real life not a Disney movie. Sorry that is just what I know. You have to make your own decision on how you will handle it.
Good Luck,
Cathy

I agree - if you want Bluebirds to nest in your boxes - you're going to have learn to recognize house sparrows as "the enemy".
If you're not up to that - I'm sorry, but I think you should take the boxes down so you're not aiding and abetting "the enemy". They will take the boxes over.
House sparrows will even gang together and cooperate to take over a bluebird nesting box. I've seen it time and time again. Several male sparrows will draw off the male bb and a female sparrow will slip in take the nest. If the mother bb is inside sitting on her nest the sparrow will peck her to death.
This is my 8th year of hosting bluebirds - My air rifle has many notches carved into the stock..

OK OK OK!!! I never would have gotten started if I'd known killing was involved, but I'm neck-deep in my bluebird lifestyle and I need help. But PLEASE don't send me any more graphic descriptions! I GET IT!

What's the best way to trap them? I absolutely will not be shooting at them. Once I trap them, what's the most "detached" way to dispose of them? I need to be able to "pretend" I'm not doing this.

Forgive me, but I'm a veterinarian and a vegetarian, and this is profoundly distasteful to me. This is a nightmare. But I'll do what I have to to protect my beloved blues.

Ann

All the information one could ever want is located at the below linked website.

Warning: This webpage deals with both active and passive means of managing House Sparrow (HOSP) populations. It also has some graphic photos.

Here is a link that might be useful: Managing House Sparrows

Hello-
I, too, hate the idea of "disposing" of House Sparrows, but, I unfortunatly, learned the hard way what a Sparrow can do in a matter of seconds. I actively began trapping this year, after long thought on my part. The Blues are so special to me, I concluded that it was worth it. I use an Inbox Trap that I ordered on line. I don't think anyone enjoys having to do this, but, in order to have Blues, it does seem necessary. I sort of think of the House Sparrow like a mouse that would make its way into my food pantry in the house. You trap and kill it because it is a nuisance and must be gotten rid of before it destroys all your food.
The HOSP is not protected under the law so it is perfectly legal to dispose of them and their eggs. If it makes you feel any better, I completely understand your anxiety about it.
Alison
Leesburg, VA

Ann, I didn't start out hating the HOSP and now I cannot dispatch enough of them. They are distructive rats and major disease carriers. Zoos and big box stores are even beginning to actively trap them because of various diseases they spread, including salmonela.

It's not just the blues that are at risk but ALL that live in our nestboxes. Please do not release them to become someone else's problem-you must deal with them.

Linda

Easiest/cheapest way to deal with them is with an inbox trap. I have put the link below for the van ert, I find them highly successful. If you order one cover the orange dot with a leaf as they are wary of the orange coloring otherwise. You need to monitor closely when you have an inbox trap installed and check it often. Best way to see what you have caught if you didn't see the HOSP go in is to put either a large heavy clear plastic garbage bag or a mesh laundry bag over the entire house and secure so there are no holes for the bird to escape, then open the house, the bird will fly out, release it if it is not a HOSP. I like to just hand them off to my dh if I catch a HOSP, he has no problem disposing of them. My preferred method to get rid of the HOSP I trap is a bb gun, it is the easiest, quickest and most handsoff way once the HOSP is in the bag. Any other way would be more hands-on disposing. Whatever way you do it, it must be quick. Good luck, it is a must to actively manage HOSP if you want a successful nesting of Blues or any other native cavity nesting bird.

Donna

Here is a link that might be useful: universal sparrow trap..the van ert

Ann - when I trapped them it was by using a dummy house with a drop door that I made out of scrap pine, coat hanger and some cheap door hardware. I rigged it with a lid that opened so I could let the bird free if I saw it trap anything other than a HOSP. I also drilled several "vent" holes in the floor. I'd tape it directly to front of the real nest box post with a few wraps around with duct tape.

Once I'd caught the HOSP, I'd remove the trap with him still inside and plunge the whole trap into a large bucket of water and let it stay there a minute or two. This kills them pretty much instantly - and you don't see it happen. When done, upend the trap into the mouth of a garbage bag and open the lid.
I prefer the air rifle approach,however, because I can select the males for dispatching. Once they've taken a nest over, removing the female will not make the male go away - he'll just stay defending the nest and find another female.

You can't be selective with a trap though - if you see it catch a female and then let her go, you'll never get the male. They're smart.

With a trap you also run the risk of catching a native species...so when I put traps out I'd always watch to make sure it was a HOSP going in.

beeconk, if you let the female HOSP go you are letting them move on and find another male to make more males. I do away with both. I have caught the female first more than once and was still able to get the male afterwards. The male bonds to the box and if he looses the female will try to attract another female to it. The female will move on once the male is gone though so you won't catch a female once you have caught the male. You are right though they are smart. You have a good way of disposing of them if you have a moveable trap box like that.

Donna

Ann, all of the above bluebirders have given you the best advice and please know they DO understand how you feel. We all love birds and all the wonderful creatures God has given us to enjoy. I was coming home a few minutes ago and saw a cat crossing a street with what looked to be a squirrel hanging from it's mouth...it so upset me that I nearly wrecked the car! Point is, everyone here is sensitive and undertanding and have been in your shoes. It's a terrible situation in which to be, and the decision is not an easy one. These wonderful, expert bluebirders are here for you.

The most profound piece of advice that they have given everyone is either manage the HOSPS or take down the boxes so that hopefully, the blues will find a safe haven elsewhere. No one wants to do that, but personally, I would rather "think" my blues were safe somewhere else, than the alternative. Maybe the passive means of managing the HOSPS will work for you.

I wish you the best of luck!

Donna

OK, I'm going to try to brainwash myself. After all, last year a huge family of rats showed up (they were feasting on bird seed) and I found a way to see to it that they all died. So I guess I'll find a way to do this. Somehow.

But if I catch my sparrows, won't new ones just move in? I do see that the males guard the houses. But if they "disappear," won't another male show up? I guess that is why this is a neverending project for you all (and now me....)

I appreciate all the kind & understanding replies. I'm really not sure how I'll manage to do this, or how many nights I'll have nightmares. I understand what you're saying about what the HOSP do, and yes, I would lose my mind if they killed my blues. I'm just freaked out about hands-on killing.

Ann

Unfortunately, you are correct in it is a never-ending project. It does drop down to a lower frequency once you have some level of control. I had plenty of reservations and was eventually able to over come them. I knew I had to do something when I put my first box out and HOSP immediately claimed it, then to top it off I watched starlings physically pull the HOSP out of the box, so they could have a look. I've now drastically reduced both HOSP and ES numbers and all the birds in the neighborhood are grateful. I now use a BB gun to harass/dispose of any newcomers. Now HOSP and ES are very skittish and won't come around unless other birds are present. Now I can shoot a HOSP/ES off the feeder and none of the natives will even flinch, even sitting on the other side of the feeder. When I started several years ago, HOSP/ES were >90% of the feeder vistors and came in like a pack of hyenas. They are now

Chris What kind of bb gun do you have? I have lots of real guns and shoot them very well at long distances but my bb gun stinks!!!! I need a new one that shoots straight.
Thanks in advance
Cathy

Hey Cathy, not Chris but I have a very good bb gun. My dh bought it after the one I got when I was in 6th grade (many many moons ago!) finally died. The one I have now is a Remington Airmaster77 with a scope on it. I once got a perfect hit on a HOSP that was approx 70-80 feet away, as long as you are steady it is very accurate.

Donna

I have a middle of the road BB gun. Its a 66 Powermaster. I have some accuracy issues too, but I have a pretty good success. I would say pellets are more accurate than BBs. I also have better luck shooting down on something vs shooting up. Obiviously, the closer you can get the better. I open a window 3-4" and shoot about 8-10 ft back from the window at a target ~15-20 ft out from the window. Being back inside the house, they could barely hear it and you could get 2 shots sometimes. I also benefit from watching their habits, I noticed whenever our red-wing blackbird comes to the feeder a starling will be arriving soon after. Now the ES and HOSP are so skittish, I can't open the window or let them see me without spooking them. So I have to plan ahead and be ready when they might show up.

When a single male HOSP killed my TUTI nestlings and then sat on top of the box and chirped away, I KNEW I would have to work with the pellet gun. Now I can hit the chain on the swing set from 30'. A Gammo Whisper and Shadow with scopes can do the trick rather nicely and PBA pellets work really well.

The red tailed hawks love their snacks.

catlady, i feel your pain.. i cry at the sight of roadkill and then bless myself and say a little prayer for the animal and that it be in heaven.. I'm very sensative like you.. I've only caught and disposed of one sparrow so far for the first time a few weeks ago. what i did b4 disposing of the sparrow is went on sialas website and looked at the poor birds the sparrows decapitated and mutilated... then i just went on out and got him out of the cage.. grabbed him out of the cage with a plastic bag.. put him in a cloth drawstring bag.. and did a windmill motion and hit against a cement wall.. He died instantly and did not suffer at all.. and i must say it wasn't as horrid as i thought it would be.. once i did and new that he did not suffer, it wasn't as bad as i built it up to be.. don't worry about shooting him.. it's dang near impossible to get the little bugger.. they are very smart birds and i swear they can hear a pin drop a mile away.. good luck and remember what you're doing is not only right but it's a humane act in saving and preserving the blues we love... just keep looking at the pics and you'll build your courage up...

Having a debate here about elimanating English House Sparrows. I had heard to elimanate the male from the possible nest site. He is the one who calls in the female. Any ideals?

Although the male is the most aggressive/dangerous, the female can also be very aggressive, and hey, they both multiply. Both can kill native cavity nesting birds.
The male HOSP first claims a nestbox site. You will see him on top or very nearby doing that annoying "Chirp, Chirp" constantly, as he tries to attract a female. When a female arrives and accepts the nest site, she will begin building a nest. At this time, their commitment to the nestbox grows stronger, and it is easier to trap them one at a time, female first.
If you remove the male, the female will go elsewhere to find another male. If you remove the female, the male will most likely attract another female.
My preference is to eliminate both if I can, if I have the option. If bluebirds or other native cavity nesters are actively nesting nearby, I will not risk their lives by waiting, and I will eliminate the male as soon as possible.
Whenever I have time, I also use ground traps and eliminate HOSP; no matter their sex or age, they will multiply. In many areas, the native birds are hopelessly out-numbered.
BlueBars

Ann,

You must eliminate the sparrows. If you cannot kill them, find someone who rehabs raptors. Take the sparrows to him/her. Raptors need to eat too.

Linda C